Stuff YOUR rucksack for Asral NGO Mongolia
A Small Way To Support Children And Families In Ulaanbaatar
Many of our guests ask the same thoughtful question before travelling to Mongolia:
“Is there anything useful we can bring?”
The answer is yes — but only if it is genuinely useful, requested locally, and given in a way that respects the people receiving it.
That is where our Stuff Your Rucksack for Asral NGO Mongolia initiative comes in. It is a simple idea: if you have spare space in your luggage, you can bring practical items that support the work of Asral NGO in Ulaanbaatar. No pressure. No obligation. Just a small, direct way to contribute to a project we know and trust.
Quick Overview
- Who you’ll be supporting: Asral NGO, a Mongolian charity working with children, women, and families in Ulaanbaatar’s ger districts.
- Where the support goes: To Asral’s community outreach work, including its education and child welfare programmes.
- What you can bring: Small school supplies, personal care items, warm clothing, socks, school bags, and other practical items requested by Asral.
- How it works: You bring the items with you to Mongolia. Once in Ulaanbaatar, we help arrange delivery directly to the Asral team.
What you can bring: Small school supplies, personal care items, warm clothing, socks, school bags, and other practical items requested by Asral. Not sure what to pack? Scroll down to our full suggested donation list.
Donations are given to Asral staff, not directly to individual children. This helps protect dignity, privacy, and safeguarding standards.
Table of Contents
What Is Asral NGO?
Asral is the Mongolian word for care, which says a great deal about the organisation’s purpose.
Asral NGO was founded by the High Tibetan Lama, Ven. Panchen Ötrul Rinpoche, with the support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Its work began in response to the social and economic hardship Mongolia experienced during the years of transition after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Today, Asral works from its centre in Ulaanbaatar’s Bayangol ger district, supporting families under pressure and helping prevent children from becoming homeless, neglected, or separated from family networks because of poverty, unsafe home environments, or lack of support.
We have known Asral for many years and support several aspects of their work, including their Made in Mongolia felt-making project — a social enterprise that supports women through traditional skills, community, and income generation.
Why Ulaanbaatar’s Ger Districts Matter
Most travellers arrive in Ulaanbaatar and see the city centre first: traffic, cafés, museums, apartment blocks, and a skyline that changes almost every year. Many only experience the ger districts from a distance — perhaps from a panoramic viewpoint such as Zaisan — without understanding the history, complexity, and everyday life within them.
But Ulaanbaatar’s ger districts are not all the same. Some are historic neighbourhoods, including those immediately surrounding Gandan Monastery, among the oldest in the city and established as the monastery itself developed. Others have expanded more recently as families have moved from the countryside in search of education, healthcare, work, or stability.
Life in the ger districts is not one story. They are places of family, enterprise, resilience, humour, frustration, and daily hard work. But they are also areas where infrastructure is often limited. Many households lack mains water, sewage systems, or central heating. In winter, when temperatures can fall far below freezing, heating becomes a daily necessity — and also part of Ulaanbaatar’s serious air pollution problem.
For children, these wider pressures can affect health, education, safety, and confidence. A hot meal, help with homework, a warm coat, school supplies, or a safe place to go after school may sound simple. But in the right context, simple support can be significant.
This is why we choose to support long-term, locally led organisations such as Asral — organisations that already know the families, the district, and the realities behind the statistics.
Keeping Families Together Through Practical Support
At the heart of Asral’s work is a clear purpose: keeping families together wherever possible.
Asral works to support the household around the child. From its centre in Bayangol ger district, Asral provides practical help through education support, social work, food, clothing, health assistance, and wider family support. Its work also includes Asral’s Made in Mongolia project, which supports women through traditional felt-making skills and income generation.
One of Asral’s key initiatives is the Hot Meal Project, part of Asral’s broader education programme. Each weekday, children from some of the district’s most vulnerable households receive a nutritious hot lunch at the Asral Centre, along with homework help, extra tuition, school supplies, clothing, and access to further support when needed.
The children are supported by a team that includes retired teachers, younger social workers, and education specialists. Their role is not only to help with Mongolian language or maths, but also to provide encouragement, consistency, and a safe environment.
Why We Started Stuff Your Rucksack
As a company, we are consistently moved by the generosity of our EL guests. Many of you want to bring thoughtful gifts for the people you meet in Mongolia.
But gift-giving while travelling can be complicated.
So, in conversation with Chimedavaa and Bumaa, the Directors of Asral, we created Stuff Your Rucksack for Asral NGO Mongolia as part of our long-term partnership with the organisation.
The idea is simple: Asral tells us what is useful. Guests bring what they can. We help get it to the right place.
Suggested Donations For Asral NGO
Please only bring items that are clean, useful, and in good condition. Mongolia is not a dumping ground for things we no longer want.
Small School Supplies
These are usually the easiest items to pack and can be very useful:
- Colour pencils
- Pens, including coloured pens
- Erasers
- Rulers and geometry sets
- Drawing notebooks
- Maths notebooks
- Correction pens
- Black drawing pencils
Personal Care Items
Small, practical items are often appreciated:
- Small hand towels
- Combs
- Hand soap or sanitiser
- White pantyhose for young girls
- Socks for boys and girls, all sizes
- Summer and winter socks
- Winter hats
- Scarves
Clothing And Larger Items
These take up more space, but can be very useful if you have room:
- Winter jumpers, preferably open collar
- White T-shirts, all ages
- School bags
- Winter coats
- Spring coats
Please make sure clothing is clean and suitable for children or teenagers. Warm clothing is especially useful in Mongolia because winters are long, dry, and extremely cold.
How It Works
Once you arrive in Ulaanbaatar, we will help arrange delivery of your donated items to Asral.
Depending on timing, it may be possible to visit Asral and learn more about their work.
Donations are given directly to the Asral team, not handed out to individual children. This is important. It protects privacy, avoids uncomfortable situations, and ensures the items are distributed according to need.
No Space In Your Luggage?
Mongolia is rarely a pack-light destination. Between warm layers, waterproofs, walking shoes, chargers, and everything else, your bag may already be full.
That is completely fine.
If you would still like to support Asral, you can buy items locally in Ulaanbaatar. This can work well because it supports local shops and avoids using your international luggage space. We can help advise where to go and what to buy.
Not Travelling With Eternal Landscapes?
If you are travelling independently in Mongolia but would still like to support Asral, please get in touch.
We are happy to help make the connection where we can. Asral is a long-term local organisation and we would rather point people towards a trusted project than encourage random gift-giving during travel.
Travel That Supports Local Mongolia
You can read more about our wider local partnerships and how we approach responsible travel in Mongolia on our Responsible Tourism page.
And if you have any questions, please get in touch. You may also like to explore our felting experience in Ulaanbaatar, created to help support the work of Asral and the local felt-making organisations we partner with.
So yes — get packing. Or, as we like to say, get stuffing.
Warmly, Jess @ Eternal Landscapes
Learn Through Mongolia’s Felt-Making Traditions
FAQ: Supporting Asral NGO In Mongolia
Can I bring donations for children in Mongolia?
Yes, but it is best to donate through a trusted local organisation rather than giving items directly to children. We work with Asral NGO in Ulaanbaatar and can help guests deliver practical donations requested by their team. There are, of course, other projects and organisations in Mongolia doing similar work.
Can I visit Asral NGO in Ulaanbaatar?
Yes, depending on Asral’s schedule and safeguarding requirements. Asral is not open daily, and its hours may change during holiday periods, so visits must be arranged in advance. The same applies to any local project or organisation you may choose to visit.
Why does Eternal Landscapes support Asral NGO?
We support Asral because it is a locally based Buddhist organisation working long-term with children, women, and families in Ulaanbaatar’s ger districts. Buddhism is the predominant religion in Mongolia, and Asral’s work is practical, community-based, and rooted in long-standing local relationships.
