But this post is not for complaints! No! This post is about Christmas, and especially about a project that has become very near my heart that I want to share with everyone.
A few months ago I joined up with a few other teachers here to do some fundraising for a nearby orphanage. Liz (from Australia) and Mary (from the USA) had held a few events over the past year, and decided they wanted to make a more formal organization/club/group to hold regular events and be able to keep the work going. So, we jumped right in. A newer bar in our area has been trying to make a name for itself, especially with the foreigner community, and they immediately jumped at the chance to work with us. From the start, they have offered us the bar (called For Foreigners) to use as a venue for any event, at any time, and are right there to help with anything we need. We have had dance parties, movie nights, and raffles, all in the name of charity, and all made possible because of the generosity of the owners and staff of For Foreigners.
Let me give a little bit of background and information about the orphanage:
The orphanage is located in the rural town of Goseong. It has been run by the same family for something like 50 years, and is currently home to 38 children with ages ranging from 2 years old to 20 years old. In fact, it is one of the only orphanages in Korea that sponsors their kids all the way through college!
A photo of the orphanage from when it first openedMost of the children are not "orphans" in what most people would consider the standard definition of the word, in that their parents are not deceased. Unfortunately, Korea has no child-support laws or system in place, which means that when there is a divorce, the husband can turn the ex-wife and children out of the house with no legal repurcussions, and no longer has to be responsible for any part of their well-being. Since most women here 1) marry young, and 2) don't work after marriage, they cannot find jobs on their own, and end up homeless and unable to care for their children. In other situations, the children end up at the orphanage because of child abuse or because they are simply left there on the doorstep.
Korea (as far as I know) doesn't have a foster care system, and there really isn't any adoption inside the country. A few orphanages up in the capitol city of Seoul adopt Korean children abroad (think Angelina Jolie and Katherine Heigl), but that's pretty rare as well. As a result, the orphanage is where these children live. This is their home, and this is their family.
For Christmas, we decided to do something different than just holding an event and donating the money raised. Instead, we wanted to get as many of our friends personally involved as possible. We posted a list on Facebook of the names of all the children at the orphanage, and asked our friends to choose a child to sponsor for Christmas by buying them a gift. Within 10 hours, every child on the list was claimed! Friends that didn't get a child donated general gifts that the whole orphanage could use, or donated money so we could buy blankets, towels, and pillows. It was a spectacular outpouring of generosity from our foreigner community here in Changwon.
The pile of presents took up all the room in my apartment!
boys in their dorm room
the orphanage director shows us the new heating/cooling systemIt was time for presents! Many of the children saw us drive up in the van, and when they saw all the presents inside, they got a little bit excited... but still remained patient until we could get everything inside and were ready to start opening.
excited for presents!
can we start yet?We started with the younger kids, and handed out the presents which everyone had marked with their child's name. Each child was so excited to hear their name and come claim their gift!
After all the gifts had been handed out, the opening began. The little ones needed help, but in general it was gleeful chaos as the children happily tore into their presents.
It wasn't just the excitement of these children that was so wonderful to see, but their generosity astounded me as well. As they opened their presents, they passed things around, shared with the others, and appreciated their friends' gifts as well. I saw no jealousy, no quarreling, and no selfishness. It was a beautiful Christmas sight!
We had wrapped up the towels and blankets for the directors of the orphanage, as well as gave them some gifts of their own. These two are truly wonderful people. The way they talk about and interact with the children, you can see that they really love these kids like family. They are fantastic people who donate everything to providing a life for these children. If anyone deserves some Christmas, it's these two.
"Wow! Lunch meat!"It was an absolutely beautiful day, made possible by so much Christmas spirit and generosity. We are so proud and thankful to the foreigner community in Changwon for supporting us and being so excited to participate in making a wonderful Christmas for these children. We are incredibly grateful for For Foreigner's bar, not just for allowing us the use of their bar as a venue, but also for their unbelievable generosity in donating not only 20% of the drink profits from the events, but an extra $100 out of pocket to help buy blankets and towels for the orphanage!
So, all in all:
So, all in all:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!If you are interested in donating anything or participating in anyway, don't hesitate to shoot me an email for details on how you can help!
