Winter clothing and educational materials for orphans in North Korea
November 2012
As part of our commitment to provide further support for 3 orphanages in Haeju City in southwest North Korea, Mission East visited in November to monitor the delivery and distribution of winter clothing and blankets in time before the cold winter weather sets in. The orphanage buildings are not well heated, and winter is a difficult period for these vulnerable children. We also provided some toys and educational materials to improve the psycho-social stimulation these children receive. During upcoming monitoring visits, we will check that the toys are present and in use. You can see photos of the children with their new clothing and materials in the photo story below.
We were pleased to find that the children were much livelier, energetic and playful than our last visits (in July and August). We were able to weigh and measure a representative sample of the total number of children, where we’ve observed the worst nutrition situation in the past. While the results were much better than what we found in the summer (we assume in part due to the arrival of the new harvest, as well as their consistent use of our nutritional supplement over the past 5 months), the figures are still very concerning, with 92 percent of the children suffering from chronic malnutrition and 10 percent from acute malnutrition. This is much worse than children in the general population in this area and the children continue to be extremely vulnerable to food shortages caused by failing harvests and disasters.
Read MoreAs part of our commitment to provide further support for 3 orphanages in Haeju City in southwest North Korea, Mission East visited in November to monitor the delivery and distribution of winter clothing and blankets in time before the cold winter weather sets in. The orphanage buildings are not well heated, and winter is a difficult period for these vulnerable children. We also provided some toys and educational materials to improve the psycho-social stimulation these children receive. During upcoming monitoring visits, we will check that the toys are present and in use. You can see photos of the children with their new clothing and materials in the photo story below.
We were pleased to find that the children were much livelier, energetic and playful than our last visits (in July and August). We were able to weigh and measure a representative sample of the total number of children, where we’ve observed the worst nutrition situation in the past. While the results were much better than what we found in the summer (we assume in part due to the arrival of the new harvest, as well as their consistent use of our nutritional supplement over the past 5 months), the figures are still very concerning, with 92 percent of the children suffering from chronic malnutrition and 10 percent from acute malnutrition. This is much worse than children in the general population in this area and the children continue to be extremely vulnerable to food shortages caused by failing harvests and disasters.
Even sadder, some of the children, seemed uncertain about what to do with the materials at all.
