ABOUT TIF
What are the objectives of Tsolmon Ireedui Foundation?
Tsolmon Ireedui Foundation (“TIF”) is a charity which was created to help children in Mongolia, with a specific emphasis on children of very poor families living in the suburbs of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city.
TIF is totally independent. It is a NGO, with no attachment to any religion, and it is a non-profit organization.
The key aims of TIF can be summarized as follows:
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TIF created and operates a free kindergarten, in order to provide free shelter during the day for children not attending school, and who are usually left alone at home when their parents go to work. It is clearly the number one mission of TIF to keep these children safe, which is a real issue when they stay at home alone in the winter, with temperatures as low as -40c in the city (Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world). It is not uncommon to have children staying without heating, as many live in wooden structures or tents, and their parents are afraid they could set fire to their home;
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The kindergarten has staff to take care of the children, help them to play, socialize and do activities during the day. There is also a cook to serve three hot meals per day. TIF organizes regular visits from pediatricians to check the health conditions of the kids and to advise their parents if necessary;
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The kindergarten can accept children from almost all ages, except for youngest babies for safety considerations;
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TIF intends to sustainably operate the kindergarten by securing sources of funds, and if
possible to expand this concept by opening and operating other kindergartens in the
suburbs of Ulaanbaatar which are the most in need;
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Help children get back to school, by assisting families through close contact with local schools and support in the administrative process for registration. This is an extremely important target for TIF, which is designed to be a short term help for these kids, in order for them to return to school and to be able to develop their potential;
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Distribute free second-hand clothes, toys, etc. to children in the kindergarten and more widely to those in need in the surrounding areas.
TIF intends to reach the above aims by maximizing to the best extend each donation receive and each dollar raised through a specifically designed organization as explained below.
TIF’s kinder garden is not an orphanage, it does not keep children at night and is only designed as a support facility for families which consent is required to accept children. It is a choice which was made by TIF founders in order to maximize the beneficial impact of the charity on the ground, and also because an orphanage requires a heavier infratsructure and is a much bigger responsibility. Maybe after TIF has operated for some years and the required skills and experience have been acquired, setting-up an orphanage could be revisited.
For its first year in 2009-2010 TIF was operating a small kinder garden (little two rooms house with maximum capacity of 10 children) in the Chingeltei district, in the northern suburb of Ulaanbaatar. The success of the kinder garden was immediate and TIF could not accept as many children as it would have liked to. As a result TIF founders decided to expand the kinder garden and TIF completed a two floors house in 2013, which a maximum capacity of approximately 50 children.
This kindergarten is currently the only place operated by TIF.