Donations and humanitarian efforts from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members spread across parts of Asia in 2024.
Worldwide, the Church expended $1.45 billion in 192 countries and territories in 2024. These expenditures helped care for those in need through humanitarian efforts, outreach and relief, food and commodities, fast-offering assistance and more. Through funding and commodities, the Church supports thousands of humanitarian projects around the world without regard to race, nationality or religious affiliation.
Many of the projects around the world are done in collaboration with other non-profit and charitable organizations.
A new hospital in Cambodia
In Cambodia, the Church worked with the Cambodian government to open a new hospital.
The Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital in Kandal Province, about 35 miles (50 kilometers) south of Phnom Penh, opened in March 2024.
The hospital has 150 beds, advanced medical equipment and other modern technology. It is expected to raise the standard of care available to over 400,000 people living in the Koh Thom District and surrounding areas, reported a news release from the Church’s Cambodia Newsroom.
Elder Kelly R. Johnson, a General Authority Seventy, spoke at an inauguration ceremony for the new hospital and said the Church’s humanitarian efforts are made possible by the generosity of its members.
“Because of the generosity of members around the world, we’re able to take these resources and provide wonderful upgrades to medical facilities to bless the people,” he said.
Prime Minister Hun Manet praised the swift construction of the hospital.
“The completion of Techo Sen Koh Thom Hospital is a remarkable achievement,” he said. “When we first saw the plans, we anticipated it would take a decade to realize this vision. Yet, here we stand, just two years later, celebrating its inauguration.”
The Prime Minister also said women in the region have been suffering from high maternal mortality rates because of the need to travel to Phnom Penh for care, so this hospital closer to them will improve the lives of many women and children.
The Church has also helped renovate three other hospitals in Cambodia: The Kampong Thom Provincial Hospital, the Baray Santuk Referral Hospital and the Stoung Referral Hospital.
Making boxes of kimchi in South Korea
As part of the Church’s global humanitarian efforts, volunteers worldwide spent 6.6 million hours at Church welfare and self-reliance facilities in service missions and through Church-sponsored community service projects.
In Seoul, South Korea, hundreds of members of the Church joined with friends and neighbors to make and donate 100 boxes of kimchi in December 2024, according to a news release from the Church’s South Korea Newsroom.
The event involved preparing 900 heads of pickled cabbage, red pepper powder, various vegetables and other ingredients. Volunteers packaged the prepared food so it could be delivered to 250 households, including senior citizens living alone.
Elder Christopher H. Kim, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the North Asia Area Presidency, attended the event along with his wife, Sister Seongmi (Sue) Kim.
“We prepared the event in the hope that the warm love of Christ would be conveyed to our neighbors regardless of religion or denomination,” he said. “We will continue to strive to deliver joy in various ways through humanitarian support to the local community and our neighbors.”
Donated equipment in Mongolia
In Mongolia, the Church’s global humanitarian efforts in 2024 included helping support education. One project involved the donation of 1,000 school computers to secondary schools in western Mongolia, according to the Church Newsroom.
Also in Mongolia, the Church has continued to donate equipment to clinics to help combat neonatal jaundice.
The equipment includes sets of tools to go to clinics across the country, meaning the burden on general hospitals will be lessened. Since 2021, the Church has donated 255 of these sets in Mongolia, according to a news release from Church’s Mongolia Newsroom.
Natural disaster recovery in the Philippines
After a severe tropical storm struck the northeastern Philippines in late October, the Church donated food, water, clothing, temporary shelter and other essential supplies to support recovery efforts and help families rebuild their lives.
Dozens of Latter-day Saint meetinghouses in the affected areas also opened as temporary shelters for nearly 1,000 people, according to the Church’s Philippines Newsroom.
Many full-time missionaries and other members of the Church also donated their time and labor to help clear debris and help others in their community in the days and weeks after the storm.
