Ariunzaya sits down on the banks of the river, her favourite spot on this picturesque farm. "I like sitting next to the river because I feel at peace."

The tranquility she experiences here stands in stark contrast to her past. She believes that a happy family is full of fun, laughter, with warm hearts towards each other. Her own childhood was very different.

Ariunzaya's father was a violent alcoholic who would come home drunk and burst out in fits of rage. On one occasion her father broke both her arms.

Domestic violence poses a significant threat to individuals and public health. According to research by the National Center Against Violence (NCAV) in Mongolia, during 2006, of women and children who suffered from domestic violence and received help from the NCAV, 98% of them had sustained bruises and soft tissue injury, 71% had suffered brain concussion, while 10% had sustained bone fractures, and other injuries (broken nose, wrist, sprained ankle or broken collar bone). Others had fractured skulls. Their cut lips and eyebrows were stitched. One out of four clients had thought of committing suicide or had attempted suicide.

The negative effects of domestic violence in Mongolian culture are apparent, indicated by growing incidences of divorce and increasing numbers of children deprived of parental care, single mothers, and unsupervised children. Forty-one per cent of all divorce cases were caused by domestic violence.1 Alcoholism is a primary contributing factor that exacerbates domestic violence. Fifty-one percent of Mongolia's adult population regularly abuses alcohol.2

Child abuse alarmingly high
The six children on this farm have all suffered abuse such as physical and emotional abuse; one girl was raped several times. In Mongolia very few cases of rape are reported as the girls experience feelings of shame and fear. This is connected to traditional Mongolian attitudes which view rape victims as having been polluted.  According to a survey conducted by the National Center Against Violence, 26.6% of all rapes are committed by relatives while about 40% of the victims are young girls (5-14 years old).

Neglecting a child is also classified as abuse, as it includes harming or potentially harming a child by not providing for the child's basic necessities including physical and emotional security, health, development and education, care and safety, as well as, failure to protect the child from such harm or prevent such harm despite having knowledge of the harmful situation.

Young people under 18 years of age account for 46.6% of the total population in Mongolia. One in two children are subjected to some form of violence. Violence against children is common in all spheres of the society, including kindergartens, schools, care centres and at home.

In this world of violence, hearts of compassion can be found. Khorulsuren Adiya, a World Vision social worker and former primary school teacher, runs the youth farm and the local Child and Family Information Center.  She says: " I like working with children. I give them hope and see their lives changed."

Khorulsuren grew up in this part of the world which gives her a connection with local people. She says "I know what it is to be in need."

Khorulsuren first met Ariunzaya when she dropped out of school and enrolled in informal classes at the local orphanage. As the trust grew between them, the anguish of Ariunzaya's home life was slowly revealed to Khorulsuren, and the National Center for Children stepped in to remove her.  After a period in a local institution, she arrived in the group home environment of World Vision's farm.

School, skills and friends
Since living on the farm Ariunzaya has learnt to cook. She also grows vegetables and makes dairy products including dry curds, yoghurt and cream. "I can milk the cow but not fast," she says with a chuckle. She has even mastered the art of catching fish from the nearby river with a handline.

On this farm she studies well and has completed ninth grade of formal schooling. She finds the history of Mongolia, Russia and China, interesting,  but dreams mainly of becoming a chef. She has just started a college course in cooking, with World Vision paying her tuition fees.

"In the evening I collect the cows and along the way I look at the flowers and beautiful views," says Ariunzaya. "I am thankful to World Vision for bringing me to this farm, and I will be sad to leave."

As Ariunzaya quietly sits besides the rivers edge, the silence is broken by Davaadorj, a boy who lives on the farm, shouting from a distance, "Hol itdeerei" which means "Come and eat!"

Davaadorj, smiling again after a testing and tumultuous childhood, looks forward to a new beginning.

Davaadorj, 10, is a humorous and inquisitive boy who asks many questions. "I cannot milk the cows because I am just a boy, but I have learnt to ride the horse" he explains with a smile.

He stops smiling when asked about his family, as it brings back memories he would like to forget. Living on this farm helps him to forget and put away those bad memories in a peaceful place surrounded only by nature. He eventually says: "My childhood was difficult."

He grew up with his parents but his mother abandoned them when Davaadorj was a toddler. His father was an alcoholic. His aunt came to take care of him, but she worked in the railways away all day and his father was also away all day, sometimes for several days at a time. Unsupervised, his older sister who was mentally unstable used to physically abuse him with her fist.

During those difficult times he often used to confide in his grandmother who would give him food and money. "My grandmother was nice to me, she had more things in the house and she grew vegetables," says Davaadorj. Eventually Davvaadorj's younger brother was sent to live with his grandmother, but Davaadorj remained at home with his father, neglected and abused.

When Davaadorj was in second grade the teacher at his school told World Vision about the plight of Davaadorj - that his guardians were unable to provide school stationery for him and he was wandering around outside with no parent supervision.  The teacher mentioned that he was an outstanding scholar but needed help to continue studying. World Vision decided to invite him into the youth farm.

Khorulsuren recalls when Davaadorj arrived at the farm: "He was introverted."
 
After a while, though, Davaadorj made friends with the other children on the farm and now gets on well with them. He diligently takes up the responsibility of caring for the chickens and pigs. "Davaadorj used to do as he wished because he had no parental supervision. Now he is very different, he is growing up to be an obedient child," says Khorulsuren.

"I like this farm because of its beautiful nature and clean air. The calves and piglets are cute but a chicken is the cutest out of them all," says Davaadorj with a grin. He feeds the pigs, cleans the home and helps Ariunzaya make food by peeling the vegetables and in the evening he herds the calves into the overnight shelter.  

Davaadorj's future dream is to become a motor mechanic. His time at the farm is just beginning, while Arunzaya's may soon be at an end. Since last year, she has been studying cooking at college, with the tuition fees paid for by World Vision. She hopes to become a chef. When she leaves, another frightened child will take her place.

One of Khorulsuren's priorities is to equip the children for their future. She provides counselling in this tranquil environment essential to their restoration. She encourages them to learn as much as they can, reminding them that they will have to leave one day and concentrating on improving their confidence and independence - the best way for them to overcome the trauma of their past.