HOPE: Helping Others Prosper through English : April 2010

Thanks go to Times reporter J.R. Breen, who gave our event and our initiatives some great publicity:

HOPE Unites in Drive for N. Korean Defectors
By J.R. Breen
Contributing Writer

HOPE (Helping Others Prosper through English), a Seoul-based charity that specializes in teaching English to underprivileged children, held its second Annual Clothing Drive last weekend to raise money for North Korean defectors.

``It went really well. We had a great turnout,'' said Public Relations Director Veronica Somos. ``It was helped by some online advertising ― 10 Magazine put us in their top 10 things to-do list, ATEK (Association of Teachers of English in Korea) put an ad for us on their Facebook page and we had our own Facebook page. It snowballed from there.''

Somos said that this year, HOPE is focusing on helping North Korean refugees, which they are doing through the Durihana Missionary Foundation. Although HOPE does not yet teach English to North Korean defectors, it plans to do so in the future, Somos said.

Durihana was founded in 1999, and helps North Korean defectors in South Korea and China. The founder, Pastor Chun Ki-won, has orchestrated the escapes of hundreds of North Koreans. He was arrested by Chinese police on the Mongolian border in 2002 on an escape route he pioneered.

At the event last Saturday, the charity raised 700,000 won in cash donations, which is split 50-50 between Durihana and HOPE. And they received ``over a dozen 50-liter garbage bags full of clothes,'' Somos said. ``One hundred people donated.''

``Gecko's Bonji Bistro was very generous and donated 200,000 won worth of food and beer,'' Somos said. ``We had half the downstairs floor first, then as the evening progressed we took over the whole floor.''

Somos, a Canadian English teacher in Korea, said that HOPE is not based out of a central office, but rather dispatches volunteers to a network of centers.

``HOPE sends volunteers to organizations that we call 'partner host centers,' which is usually a church or an orphanage,'' she said. ``There is a minimum of one hour a week of volunteering.''

Hope was founded in 2006 [sic] by Canadian English teachers. It has approximately 20 volunteers stationed around the city at places, including churches and orphanages.

``Back then was a time when it was more difficult for foreigners to find volunteer work within the Korean community,'' Somos said. ``I think it's important to note that this is not the case anymore. Over the past four years, there has been a host of new volunteer groups and organizations for foreigners cropping up, especially in Seoul.''

This Friday is the 'Soul! Dance Night' organized by HOPE and hosted by Bar Mario in Hyehwa-dong. The monthly soul and blues music event runs from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. There is a donation box for used clothing, books and school supplies, as well as a jar for monetary donations. Clothing donations will go to the Durihana, and classroom supplies and cash donations will go to HOPE.

``The event is also an opportunity for foreigners and Koreans to come together in support of HOPE's educational initiative ― addressing the problem of unequal access to English lessons for disadvantaged children in Korea,'' HOPE said in a press release.

HOPE volunteers will continue to host special charity events throughout 2010. For updates about these upcoming events or to become a HOPE volunteer, visit www.alwayshope.or.kr.

jrbreen@koreatimes.co.kr

We had a very successful 2nd Annual Clothing Drive on Saturday, April 10th. Gecko's Bonji Bistro in Itaewon generously hosted and sponsored the event. Dozens of people dropped by with donations of clothing and cash. All clothing went to North Korean refugees by way of the Durihana Missionary Foundation, and all monetary donations were split between Durihana and HOPE. We collected more bags of clothing than Durihana's van could hold and raised a total of 690,000 won. Amazing!

A big thank you goes to all of the wonderful people who made this event the success that is was. Here are some pictures taken by our devoted volunteer photographer, Liz Liberatore: