Region: Central Asia, Mongolia
Author: Sas Carey, Mongolian Medicine Project - NOMADICARE
Consortium Member: Virtual Foundation Director (ECOLOGIA)
Status: Completed - Final Report
Budget: $8667
Collected: $8667
Needs: $0
Result: To provide Dukha (Reindeer Herders) in Northern Mongolia with basic vitamins which they do not find in their environment, to promote better health and thus ability to sustain their threatened lifestyle.
Donors: Mongolian-American Cultural Association Children's Aid and Development Fund, New Jersey [June 2004]; Totem Project of Cultural Survival, Massachusetts [June 2004]; Anonymous [July 2004; The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, New York [August 2006]
Comment: Damage to gums, loss of teeth, and impaired vision are some of the signs of vitamin deficiency experienced by the Dukha; vitamins A and C will be of great help to them.
Goal
To provide Dukha (Reindeer Herders) in Northern Mongolia with basic vitamins which they do not find in their environment, to promote better health and thus ability to sustain their threatened lifestyle.
Need:
In October 2003, Sas Carey of the Mongolian Medicine Project traveled to Northern Mongolia to assess the health care of the reindeer herding peoples (Dukha). Her preliminary findings indicated a deficiency of Vitamins C and A, which have caused scurvy (bleeding gums and teeth loss even of young children) and blindness.
Implementation
First, the Mongolian Medicine Project will purchase and take the vitamins to the Dukha people, explain what they are and how they work, and encourage the Dukha to incorporate a “one a day” vitamin into their daily routine. At the same time, we will also research to locate natural, local sources for the needed vitamins, especially Vitamins C and A.
Expected Results:
Diminished eye, teeth and other health problems connected to vitamin deficiency.
Time Frame: Summer 2004
Budget
| Multivitamins (one a day for 180 people for a year) | 2365 |
| Interpreter (one month) | $ 275 |
| Transportation, food and shelter from Ulan Batar to Northern Mongolia (train, camel); up to one month including stay to deliver vitamins and teach about their use | $500 |
| Virtual Foundation fee | $314 |
| Total Requested for Project | $3454 |