Mongolia Winter Aid: One Sack of Coal, One Warm Home

Imagine a night when it is -40°C just outside your door. The wind howls across the steppe, and the only thing standing between your children and the freezing cold is a thin wall of felt. In the middle of the tent stands a small stove – and next to it, almost no fuel is left. A mother adds the last piece and wonders whether it will last until morning. For many families in Mongolia, this is not something to imagine; it is the reality of every winter.

Winter Is at the Door

Mongolia is home to one of the coldest capitals in the world and to some of the harshest winters anywhere. For low-income families who have migrated from the countryside to the cities, the winter months mean a daily struggle to survive. In this region, winter temperatures fall to -40°C and even lower.

Many of these families live in the so-called ger districts – settlements of traditional felt tents (gers) and simple houses on the edges of the cities. Thousands of children and elderly people there face serious health risks because they cannot heat their homes adequately.

The Most Basic Winter Need: Fuel for the Stove

In a ger, the stove in the middle is the heart of the home: it provides warmth, meals are cooked on it, and the family gathers around it. When the fuel runs out, the tent cools down within a very short time at night. In these harsh winter months, a family’s most basic need is simple: a little fuel to keep the stove burning.

This is where ILA Europe’s winter aid comes in. We deliver heating coal to families in need in Mongolia who live in these harsh conditions. Every sack donated is an act of sadaqah that ends up directly in a family’s stove during the coldest weeks of the year.

One Sack of Coal, One Warm Home

For a family living in a ger, a single sack of coal means far more than fuel:

• It keeps tents and modest homes warm for days in the freezing frost.
• It directly helps protect children from cold-related illnesses.
• It eases the worry families carry all winter about getting through the cold.

And remarkably little is needed to make this happen: just €25 delivers 250 kg (one large sack) of quality heating coal to a family in need. An amount that is small for us can mean the difference between a winter spent freezing and a winter filled with hope for a family in Mongolia.

Give the gift of warmth this winter: support the Mongolia winter aid now.