Improving the lives of rural North Koreans
Mission East began its work in North Korea in 2011 and was the first Danish NGO to operate in North Korea, maintaining an active country office in Pyongyang between 2019 and 2020.
Two in five North Koreans are undernourished, and one in five lacks access to clean water and sanitation. Mission East has helped rural communities improve their food supply and water and sanitation facilities.
In recent decades, the people of North Korea have struggled with the consequences of economic decline and frequent natural disasters. Chronic food shortages – and, at times, widespread famine – have meant that the country has, on occasion, requested humanitarian aid from abroad.
Mission East began its work in North Korea in 2011 – as one of the few international organisations. In the early years, we focused on distributing food and, over the years, have provided food aid to tens of thousands of young North Korean children in kindergardens, nurseries, orphanages, and paediatric hospitals. The children have received essential nutrients to ensure a balanced diet at this critical stage of their physical and psychological development. Three orphanages in the country’s southern Hwanghae Province received ongoing support for several years in the form of protein supplements, clothing, stimulating toys and stationery.
The projects in North Korea adopted more long-term objectives, such as ensuring a better food and water supply for the rural population. In one village, residents have been helped to replant trees on the barren mountain slopes. Thanks to the tree-planting project and responsible farming on the slopes, there are fewer landslides and soil quality is being safeguarded. This leads to higher crop yields. In the same village, 400 families have gained access to running water in their homes, and their children have been taught about hygiene.
Over the years, Mission East has also provided assistance to North Korean villages affected by natural disasters, particularly floods – for example, by rebuilding houses and restoring water supplies.
