A Closer Look at Caring: How the Church Is Helping in Jordan, Cambodia and Mongolia

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps God’s children all over the world. The faith offers aid and teaches people how to help themselves, no matter their religion or background.

Last year alone, the Church showed its commitment to welfare, self-reliance, humanitarian aid, emergency relief, and volunteer service by spending US$1.45 billion to care for others. The 2024 “Caring for Those in Need” summary shows that the Church provided assistance in 192 countries and territories, demonstrating its global reach. This included 3,836 humanitarian projects. Church members volunteered 6.6 million hours of service at Church Welfare and Self-reliance facilities, in service missions, and in community service projects.

Snapshots of these significant global commitments are shown in the ongoing efforts in countries such as Jordan, Cambodia and Mongolia. These nations, while geographically distinct, offer a compelling look at the Church’s diverse humanitarian strategy — from providing vital support to refugee communities in the Middle East to empowering long-term health and education in different parts of Asia.

In these nations, the Church’s compassionate outreach vividly demonstrates the breadth and depth of the broader global mission of providing essential care and opportunity.

Jordan

Since 1990, the Church has engaged in more than 600 humanitarian projects in Jordan. Some 125 of these have been done in the past five years.

Mobility

One project in 2024 brought the gift of mobility to many, including children. The Church donated 1,125 wheelchairs to the Al Hussein Society in Amman, Jordan. This gift included 300 specialized pediatric wheelchairs to bless the lives of disabled children. Al Hussein Society staff also taught parents how to use and maintain the new devices.

“This is a population that can’t sit by themselves,” said Annette Myers, a pediatric physical therapist who helped train Al Hussein staff on fitting the chairs to each child. “We see almost immediately how a properly fitted supportive chair increases each child’s ability to interact with their families and with the world around them. It is delightful to see their lives improve so dramatically.”

Health Care

In Talbieh, Jordan, the Church collaborated with Medical Aid for Palestinians in 2021 to provide essential care to those who could not afford it. The Church also provided essential medical equipment and supplies.

Self-Reliance

Last year, the Church donated 150 sheep to Al Jahuth, a local humanitarian organization in Madaba, Jordan, to create a milk-sheep farm in the city. The farm trains refugees and others to make dairy products so they can generate income and then buy the milk sheep or goats with the proceeds from their sales.

The Church provided nine months’ worth of feed along with the sheep and funds to purchase a truck to ensure the success of the fold.

“Many refugee families raised sheep or goats before being driven from their homes in Syria,” said Sana’a Al Hashem, one of the children of the founder of Al Jahuth. “This is something they know how to do well. For others, it is a new venture, an opportunity to learn new skills and stand independently.” In either situation, she added, “having a milk goat makes a huge difference to these families to be able to provide better for themselves.”

The flock now has more than 200 sheep and is projected to reach nearly 600 in the next five years.

The Church and Al Jahuth have engaged in a similar project that involves beehives and goats. With Church funding, Al Jahuth buys beehives and goats, then trains recipients to cultivate cheese and honey for food and for income.

Syrian refugee Dohad Mohamad Alsholbi said the beehives helped him rebuild his life after moving to Jordan.

“When I first arrived, living was very difficult. I was very depressed,” he said. “I found that it could be a good source of income, thanks to God. I am proud to have an income, to have a second chance in life with the bees. I believe in the Lord, that He is providing for my children. He is helping me, and I have to keep going in order to continue to reach success.”

The Church has also helped with vocational training in Jordan. In 2023, for example, the faith worked with the Young Women’s Christian Association to address the country’s high unemployment rate. The collaboration was funded by the Church, helping Jordanian citizens and many Syrian nationals in the country to learn a trade and gain employment.

Learn more about the work the Church is doing in the Middle East.

Cambodia

In Southeast Asia, Cambodia represents another significant area where the Church is making a tangible difference, often through programs that enhance local capacity and provide opportunities for a better future. Cambodia is also one of 12 countries targeted by the Church’s expanded global initiative for women and children’s health and nutrition.

Health Care

Last year, the 130,000-square-foot Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital opened in Kandal Province about 50 kilometers (35 miles) south of Phnom Penh. The new hospital represents one of the Church’s largest humanitarian projects completed in the Asia Area. It was the fruit of a multi-year collaboration between the Church, the Cambodian government, and others to expand access to quality health care for more than 400,000 people in the region.

“Having surgical and maternity care available at Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital will save lives,” Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet said. “Women in this region have been suffering from high maternal mortality rates due to the need to travel to Phnom Penh for care. Now, with this hospital’s services, we are responding to that need and improving access to critical healthcare.”

The Church of Jesus Christ has also helped renovate three other hospitals in Cambodia. These are the Kampong Thom Provincial Hospital, the Baray Santuk Referral Hospital, and the Stoung Referral Hospital.

The Church has also provided substantial funding for new heart center in Siem Reap (318 kilometers north of Phnom Penh). Ground was broken in early 2025 for this addition to the Siem Reap Referral Hospital in northwest Cambodia.

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At the Battambang Hospital earlier in 2025, the Church collaborated with the local health care system to provide laparoscopic surgery training for 11 doctors, 12 anesthetists and 18 scrub nurses. The training from specialists at the University of Utah’s Center for Global Surgery. With the help of humanitarian volunteers, the Church provided instruments and equipment for laparoscopic surgery and paid travel costs and living expenses of the training team.

“Our main purpose is, of course, is to teach laparoscopic surgery,” said Dr. Raymond Price, a surgeon with Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah. “But our presence and our training process strengthen the entire health system. Doctors and hospital staff see improved ways to schedule and organize surgery, do nursing, keep instruments sterile, do pharmacy, anesthesiology, how to take care of equipment, and so forth. We help them gain confidence that they can perform modern surgery and improve patient outcomes.”

These projects are improving health care for hundreds of thousands of people in rural Cambodia.

Flood Relief

In 2023, the Church donated 15 tons of rice to feed about 2,400 people affected by flooding. The project was done in coordination with the country’s Ministry of Cult and Religion.

Seng Somoni, the ministry’s secretary of state, expressed profound gratitude.

“The generosity of the Church is an active participation with the government, and through this involvement becomes a blessing for people who are in need,” he said.

Education

Throughout Cambodia, many young students lack access to quality education. In 2024, the Church funded several construction and renovation projects to create safer and more sustainable learning environments. These projects included building new classrooms to mitigate overcrowding, updating facilities to enhance safety, and repairing facilities that needed maintenance.

Mongolia

Moving to East Asia, the Church’s global humanitarian efforts extend to Mongolia, tackling distinct regional challenges and providing important support. The Church has engaged in humanitarian projects in Mongolia for more than three decades.

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Education

The Church of Jesus Christ supported a project in 2024 that gave school computers to secondary schools in rural areas of the country. The Church worked with Mongolia’s Ministry of Education to deliver 1,000 computers to secondary schools in western Mongolia. This project blessed around 43,000 students with enhanced education opportunities.

In March 2025, the Church donated much-needed items to kindergarten No. 335 in Khan-Uul district. This included kitchen equipment such as dishwashing machines, food trays, rice cookers, and waste sorting bins. The new kindergarten serves 340 children.

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Disaster Response

Earlier this year, the Church donated fire extinguishers along with food and household supplies to emergency departments in three of Mongolia’s eastern provinces. The aim is to help those provinces (Khentii, Dornod, and Sukhbaatar) provide immediate assistance to citizens affected by fires.

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Helping the Homeless

In March 2025, the Church gave food, household goods, underwear, bath towels and socks to the Catholic Church’s House of Mercy in Ulaanbaatar. The House of Mercy serves hot meals twice a week to 300 people and provides free hygiene, hairdressing and bathing services.

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Maternal and Neonatal Care

Also in March, the Church donated a fully equipped training room and demonstration equipment in nursing and obstetrics to the Amgalan Maternity Hospital in Ulaanbaatar. The donation provides practical training for medical professionals and students and health education for the public.

The hospital collaborates with schools that train specialists in midwifery and nursing and organizes internships for students at the hospital. The training room helps students gain experience in real-world settings. It is also being used to train doctors who have graduated as general practitioners to become midwives.

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In 2024, the Church continued to combat neonatal jaundice in Mongolia. The faith provided necessary equipment to many households and hospitals.

Giving these devices to primary care family clinics enables timely treatment, saving many infants from potential risks. The donation also reduces the burden on district general hospitals and provides other people with the necessary services.

Learn more about how the Church is helping in Asia.