Katalpa fund

In 2002, Mrs. Griet Talpe and Mr. Etienne Kaesteker started their support for Mongolia by financially adopting 36 children who lived at the Verbist Care Center in Ulaanbaatar. And they implemented a number of dedicated and supportive projects for those children's needs.

Educational projects in 2004 - 2018

As a result of full financial support with payments of tuition fees, 36 young Mongolians studied and graduated from universities and colleges in Mongolia, Korea, and Germany.

Projects for Health and Treatments in 2006 - 2014

6 children could improve their health by the treatments with the support of this kind of project

Young Adult projects in 2009 - 2018

After years, all children grew up to become young adults with own wishes and passions. By the request of young adults, several start-ups and micro-business projects are funded and implemented. These include barber shop “Diva Salon”, an Internet coffee & printing center, a mobile nursing service, a retail selling spot for fuel, a rabbit farm, and sheep/cattle breeding projects.

Other necessities of young adults were to create their own family life when reached the appropriate age for marriage, and then the dedicated project to support private homes and land blocks were implemented for 10 young families.

“Good Partners” Savings & Credit cooperatives project from 2016 to the present

This is a self-sufficient and supportive organization that complies with Mongolian legal requirements, and serves its members only, currently 34 adults whose number of family members are already reached more than a hundred people. Soft loans are provided and are available for members to satisfy their wishes for achieving the next level of development by taking opportunities to finance easily for their expenses of postgraduate studies (2 loans), private businesses (8 loans in use), and purchasing new homes (17 loans taken) and spending household purposes.

“Rich Mongolia” sheep project in 2008 - 2018

The special project with high socio and economic impacts, was focused to stop the movement from the countryside to the city by contributing to young herder families and improving their way of living, as implemented in partnership with the business company. A total of 130 herder families participated from different provinces and were awarded over 15000 sheep until the completion of the project.

“Little young talents” club project from 2022 to 2025

Approved on 16 June 2022 with a fund of EURO 11,000.00, this project is under implementation in Deren soum of the Dundgobi province. Led by Ms. Urantsetseg Sodnom, teacher of the secondary school, the “Little young talents” club supports school pupils, orphan kids, nomadic families and village stakeholders.

The “Little young Talents” club would operate with a minimum standard of studying room with some facilitation whose primary users are nomadic pupils and orphan kids at the Deren soum, Dundgobi province. And the village administration would motivate and support let the club members who are keen to learn and collect the local history, culture, heritage, myths, and local unique poets from herder families who have kept this tradition.