About Norwegian Lutheran Mission Mongolia
For 32 years, Norwegian Lutheran Mission Mongolia has worked alongside communities and local authorities in western Mongolia to improve health, education, and the well-being of children and families.
Our Story
Norwegian Lutheran Mission Mongolia (NLM-M) was registered in Mongolia in 1994 as a non-profit, non-governmental development organization. The organization’s first staff arrived that year, initially establishing a presence in Ulaanbaatar and Darkhan.
Over 32 years, NLM-M’s work has evolved through a series of long-term development projects. Early initiatives focused on rural livelihoods and poverty reduction, including animal husbandry, family gardening, and wool processing in Darkhan-Uul and Selenge aimags — work that helped establish local enterprises, some of which, such as a wool-craft shop in Ulaanbaatar and a felt-production company in Darkhan, remain in operation today, together employing over 250 people. Parallel projects strengthened primary health care and reduced child and maternal mortality, contributing to Darkhan-Uul and Selenge aimags reaching relevant UN Millennium Development Goal targets ahead of schedule.
From the mid-2000s, NLM-M expanded into child welfare and child-rights work, later focusing on the rights of children living in rural school dormitories — work that contributed to a national dormitory standard adopted by Mongolia’s Agency for Standard Metrology in 2019.
As the organization’s focus shifted toward western Mongolia, its Ulaanbaatar office — its headquarters from 1994 to 2016 — gave way to a new main office in Khovd in 2016. From 2018 to 2024, NLM-M’s primary program supported children with disabilities and their families in Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii, in line with Mongolia’s Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Sustainable Development Goals; by 2023 the project had directly reached approximately 8,500 people, including 1,750 children with disabilities. In 2025, NLM-M began a new two-year project, “Strengthening Civil Society Cooperation,” funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), which is expanding support for children with disabilities into Uvs Province alongside Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii.
Early years of NLM-M’s work in Mongolia
A visiting delegation with NLM-M staff
Our team today
Our Presence
Norwegian Lutheran Mission Mongolia currently maintains offices in Ulaanbaatar, Khovd, and Bayan-Ulgii, with its main office and operational headquarters in Khovd since 2016. NLM-M’s programs are concentrated in the western aimags of Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii, historically extending also to Gobi-Altai. The organization’s team combines Mongolian national staff across all three offices with a smaller group of Norwegian staff and volunteers, primarily based in Khovd, with dedicated branch leadership in Bayan-Ulgii.
Our Approach
Partnership-based
We work closely with Mongolian government bodies, local associations such as the Association for Parents with Differently-abled Children, and international partners including NORAD and UNICEF.
Community-driven
Programs are designed around the needs of local families and communities, with an emphasis on local ownership and participation.
Long-term commitment
With 32 years of continuous presence in Mongolia, we favor sustained, multi-year engagement over short-term interventions.
Accountable
We maintain a low-cost operating culture and rigorous reporting on anti-corruption, human rights, environmental impact, and gender equality, in line with donor requirements.
Leadership
Norwegian Lutheran Mission Mongolia’s operations in Mongolia are led by Jostein Namsvatn, who serves as Country Director, based in the organization’s main office in Khovd.
Part of Norwegian Lutheran Mission (NLM)
Norwegian Lutheran Mission Mongolia (NLM-M) is the Mongolia programme of Norwegian Lutheran Mission (NLM), a Norwegian Lutheran mission and aid organization founded in 1891. Today NLM carries out mission and development work in Norway and in around 15 countries across Africa, South America, and Asia, combining Christian mission with practical assistance in areas such as health, education, and community development.
