Seoul YWCA

An intensely frozen day, 27th Dec. Seoul YWCA  conducted a training session for Y-VM volunteers. Six out of eight had attended, and they learned about intellectual developmental disabilities. They would be a volunteer for various people who has disabilities and help their life skill for them to be included within the community in United Kingdom.       Each of them will be sent the the UK one by one in a different project, but most of them will face new environment in a foreign country and someone who has diverse difficulties. In order to prepare for the project Y-VM volunteers had this chance to get a preliminary training. In the first session, they listened to a lecture regarding  intellectual developmental disabilities and met with 17-year-old intellectual disability students to get to know each other.   The third session was to self- experience being a handicapped person. Each of us got a test paper looked like above. If you reflect the paper to a mirror, it'

Do you remember the Starbucks funded Youth Dream Factory? There were second event called "Creative Job Talk Concert" linked to the Youth Dream factory on December 17th. About 50 high school students got together and met with three successful entrepreneurs. One of them is Mr. Shim Yong Hwan, who is the CEO of N History Research Institute. He advised all of us are considerable individual composing of current society, so it's important to have critical thinking and raise social issues' awareness through story of poet of resistance, Yoon Dong Ju in Japanese colonial era in Korea. The students attended had a great time with the speakers and got to think of what kind of job they are dreaming for the future. SeoulYWCA felt also rewarding to make this event happen! We hope the students(mainly Y-teens) keep dreaming and achieving what they want with Seoul YWCA!

 On the December 9th, Seoul YWCA had a big worship for Christmas and celebrating 94th anniversary. All the committee members, former presidents, YWCA staffs got together at the grand ballroom hall in the Seoul YWCA building. As a yearly event, committee choir sang merciful hymns that made us more unified within the Lord. We deeply feel thankful for former committee members an former presidents who keep supporting Seoul YWCA all the time. The event was wrapped up with monodrama <Silence> by a theater company Danhong. The show sent us serious message that it's important how to live within the Lord when you face suffering.

Have you known that International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is on the November 25th? It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly  to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden. Seoul YWCA conducted a campaign for this day in front of the Myeongdong Cathedral Church.   We distributed "No violence to women!" stickers to campaign participants and collected signatures for Equal Pay for Equal Work.

Seoul YWCA Member Activity Team organized a volunteering program called "Dream Sharing" that makes baby hats for Burmese refugees. The special participants came from Ambassadors' Spouses Association in Seoul(ASAS) composed of various countries' ambassadors' spouses. They are focused on cultural exchange activities and volunteering in  South Korea. There were seven ASAS members taking part in the Dream Sharing; Aissatou NDIAYE from Senegal, Mah Manesh Taherian from Iran, Nehal Selim Hanna Egypt, Chisanga Kapumpa from Zambia, Sarah Bile from Cote d'lvoire, Raheela Nasrullah Khan from Pakistan, Susana Yturry from Peru. Although some of them were not used to sewing and making hats, eventually completed adorable baby hats with Seoul Y committee members' help. These hats will be sent to Maehongson where Burmese refugees are living in. It was such a lovely international volunteering activity with ASAS members. Seoul YWCA wants to show our gratitud

 Seoul YWCA World Fellowship Department has kicked off the preparation of World Friends Youth Volunteering Program for children and women's education in Myanmar. During November 11th ~ 13th and 26th~28th, all of the members had an official meeting to get to know each other, what kinds of activities they are going to make, what items they have to bring. Not only they learn about the volunteering programs itself, but also they had substantial lectures about Official Development Assistance, Sustainable Development Goals that would be necessary to understand why we are doing this abroad. Twenty six members including Seoul YWCA staff as a program manager and Professor Kim Jung Mo as a Chief of the team, will have more meetings for preparation to give educational service to children and women in Myanmar.                                * A group photo of all World Friends members                                * Practicing Taekwando for cultural exchange program