On March 21, 2018, The Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH) welcomed a group of leaders and experts from Mongolia working in the area of providing shelter, support, and other services for women and children. Members of the group included Amarjargal Tsolmon, executive director of the Desert Rose; Solongo Byambasuren, founder of the Good Future; Gaamaa Namjil and Tegshbayar Nayantai, respective director and manager of Our Home; Undrakh Chinchuluun and Gereltuya Batsukh, respective founder/adviser and development officer of Princess Center; Bayarmaa Galsanvaanchig, an officer at the Zamiin-Uud Branch of Mongolian Gender Equality Center; and Undrakh Zorigt and Sanchir D, respective program coordinator and legal adviser of the National Center Against Violence.

The group came to Taiwan to visit different types of GOH service centers and other local women and children’s organizations in Taipei and New Taipei. The trip was spread over three days, from March 21 to March 23. On the first day, the visitors came to GOH headquarters, where a session on the topic of gender and protection for women and children was held. They then visited the GOH in-kind donation center and the branch office in New Taipei City in the afternoon. This branch office is one of the many GOH service centers that provide services related to work skill training, employment, sexual exploitation, and teenage pregnancy for women and girls in need.

The itinerary for the second and third days included a visit to the Chung Yi Social Welfare Foundation – Chung Yi Children’s Home, three GOH shelters, the office of the Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare, one of the GOH Dandelion Counseling Centers, and the GOH Taipei City Branch Office. Both the visitors and the hosts were experienced in working with survivors of sexual and other forms of violence, teenage mothers, and homeless children. Ideas flowed during the fervent discussions. Successful examples and challenges faced by service providers in Taiwan and Mongolia were shared during the three-day visit, channeling the exchange of valuable experiences between the two countries.