The Nomadic Torgood small tribe minority group and the Kazaks of Mongolia’s South Western Gobi, Hovd-Bulgan Region, have, since the year 2000, eyed off, questioned, tested, rejected and embraced with trusted friendship an outsider from the land of Australia. Jill Howe has this place and these peoples planted in her heart. She has lived and worked since 2003 in Hovd-Bulgan at the request of the local Area Director. Jill is the only foreigner in this community.

Hovd-Bulgan is isolated by the Great Altai Mountain Range. Track roads often forget they are suppose to be roads and extreme weather brings minus 20-50 degrees in winter and +30-50 degrees in the 3 summer months. Jill lives in a ger with the constant grey powder-sand storms of the Gobi desert. The beautiful Bulgan River provides the life source of existence for man, animal, bird and crop but even this is being abused with overuse, pollution and decimation of the reserve trees. Life style for all is one where ‘living takes time’ and where conveniences of running water, electricity, and IT communications are heart-desirables well out of reach. Torgood and Kazak nomads live about and in the town and can shift their ger dwelling 2-4 times a year in search of pastures, water and a cool place to live. The Global thrust of western ideology and action does little to nothing to assist this isolated community in a developing nation. Most aid organizations consider Hovd-Bulgan area too far and too difficult to offer help.

Jill Howe’s official role with Hovd-Bulgan leaders to fulfill visa purposes now allows much freedom ‘to live and walk and have her being’. This means many things unfold in her life and in the lives of others. All has been good to miraculous thus far! By living in the community Jill can identify and assess needs in ways to deliver meaningful and timely assistance to a very “wanting” people in an extremely isolated environment .

A natural disaster called a dzud has fallen on the herders of Mongolia. A dzud starts with little to no summer rain resulting with little winter fodder to cut/store, followed by heavy and early snow falls. Snow continued for 8 months followed by a flood and raw steeps. Hovd-Bulgan region is the largest rural area in Mongolia and has been classified by Mongolian disaster department has being of the highest affected area. However there has been little to nothing in the way of help to the nomadic herders of the area despite millions of foreign dollars pouring into the nation. The dzud has provided the rich and powerful to again use their corrupt ways to pocket the donations and leave the struggling herders in extreme poverty.

Jill operated the only human food relief providing monthly food vouchers to herders for either 2, 3, 4 or 7 months. Herders were forced to take bank loans to buy fodder for the few animals left.
85% of all animals died in the dzud and the community has been thrust back 5 years into extreme poverty.

AS Jill works on the ground and in the community she makes sure that all money donated goes directly to aid the herders. The herders need your help for basic food essentials such as flour, rice, oil, salt, sugar and soap. They also need help to put their children through university. AUD$1,000 per year for 4 years is all it takes. Can you help – group up and help. Jill’s heart community really needs your help at this horrific time of life in the Hovd-Bulgan community.

If you would like to support this work please give generously below:
_{(The full amount of your donation will go to Jill and her work)}