Temuka

Six-month-old Temuka’s mother sings to him, and his eyes light up. She rolls a small blue ball to him, and even though he can’t pick it up, he reaches out, tries to push it back and laughs with her.

Several times a week, Urnaa brings Temuka to OneSky’s Family Center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and our team supports her as she builds skills to help Temuka develop and grow. Urnaa says now when Temuka cries, she watches him closely and speaks softly to him, trying to understand what he needs, rather than letting herself become anxious or impatient.

Urnaa moved with her husband to the city to find work. Like so many other young families, they fled the rural steppe region where their loved ones had lived for decades when climate change made it too difficult to survive. Now, they are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of other migrants in the impoverished ger (yurt) district that rings the capital city but lacks basic services like electricity and running water.

Before the OneSky Family Center opened, Urnaa spent long hours alone with her son because she lacked access to extended family or preschool services. “OneSky is giving me a new beginning with my son,” she says, noting that Temuka is now happier, more curious and engaged.

It sounds simple to care for a small child. Yet, 350 million children around the world are not receiving the quality care they need to thrive. In some cases, children have been abandoned, like the little ones who OneSky first cared for in China. In other cases, loving parents, like Urnaa and her husband, are doing their best with the resources they have. Temuka could be any child, anywhere.

Cramped living spaces, harsh conditions and feelings of isolation can reduce a caregiver’s ability to truly focus on a young child’s need. Yet, when children are small, they all need exactly the same thing: responsive, nurturing care.

If a loving adult, like Urnaa, talks to her child before he speaks, or reads to him before he even knows what a word is, or looks him directly in the eyes and responds to his needs—that is when transformation happens. That is when Temuka feels safe enough to explore, create and discover. His brain begins connecting the dots. One million neural connections form in the first few years of his life and those connections create the pathway for whatever follows.

Now, with OneSky’s family skills training and the added benefit of Urnaa forming friendships with other mothers at the Center, she says firmly, “I will overcome everything for my child. No obstacle can stop a mother.”

It’s never about politics or borders when we’re talking about caring for a young child. It’s not about welfare institutions in China, or low-resourced industrial zones in Vietnam or ger districts in Mongolia. It’s not about whose children or which country. It’s about humanity and about family.

It’s about any child, anywhere.

As a OneSky supporter, you have been part of our journey to benefit more than 286,000 children with quality early care in Asia. As OneSky celebrates our 25th anniversary, we look forward to transforming many more young lives in the coming years. In fact, OneSky aims to have reached 1 million children by our 30th anniversary in 2028!

Your gift today means OneSky-trained caregivers can create safe, nurturing learning environments so young children, like Temuka, can thrive. We have so much more to do, and we need you.

With gratitude,

Morgan Lance
CEO, OneSky for all children