EDUCATION FOR ORPHANED KOREAN CHILDREN

한국 보육원 아동을 위한 교육

I had the pleasure of visiting Korea for a month in April to see in person how much Open Arms and the children have grown. OA members are just as amazing as the children! It was an honor to attend the AGM, Strategy session and Toddler and Early Years classes to witness what our members have accomplished. OA's growth is fuelled by members who have dedicated their precious time and talents. OA has brought together a diverse professional and student community forging lasting friendships. Our collective effort and voice is what makes OA such a beautiful and united organization and community. Thank you to all our incredible program volunteers who show up week after week for the children, partners and sponsors for making Open Arms far better than I ever imagined! As Sanjini said, 'Our baby is now a toddler'. I can’t wait to see what the future holds in their loving and capable hands. Please take a moment to read about our great news and see how our passion is truly making a difference! Have a happy and safe summer wherever in the world you may be.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sanjini, who is in Seoul for a short visit, led a strategy session to re-evaluate our current situation. We identified our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). We will be able to use the results of this to create an immediate list of goals and ideas for action and set the scene for the visioning process and goal setting later on.

PAST EVENTS

We gathered OA volunteers and the management team on April 12 for the Annual General Meeting (AGM). It was great to hear updates from all the different programs and to recap the past year. There was so much to share and celebrate! In particular, we acknowledged an incredible donation of KRW15,000,000 from the American Women's Association (AWC). Looking forward to keeping the momentum going in the coming year. Thank you to all the volunteers who participated in person and remotely and for your passion and commitment to the mission of OA.

Following the AGM, OA members and friends enjoyed some long-overdue quality social time! It was great to meet new people and to catch-up with old friends. The spirit and energy of the OA volunteers is the soul of the organization and we are continuously inspired by everyone's generosity of time, talents, and resources. A very special thanks to Agnes House Itaewon for hosting the festivities and to the incredibly talented chef Leandros for preparing a beautiful and delicious meal! - Justin (Canada)

We are grateful to Director Park for welcoming Open Arms volunteers to SMW for the first time since the start of the pandemic in January 2020. The weather was perfect for our Easter Party with 25 young children and it was held outdoors in their expansive garden overlooking mountains. The fun filled event included an Easter egg hunt, games (musical statue/freeze dance and egg race), crafts (make your own puzzle, animal mask painting, cookie decorating and egg dyeing) and lunch! Extra special thanks to Nicole Gorman for organizing the event and providing all the supplies and food! Thank you also to her 3 daughters for stuffing all the Easter eggs with treats! Thank you to James' wife Jinny for baking the adorable cookies. Thank you to Open Arms volunteers Nicole, Barbara, Sally, Ilse, Bernie and Anna and AWC members Ina and Hye. Hats off to Sally for driving the Seoul crew to Yangpyeong and back in weekend traffic! We hope this is the re-start of more events at SMW.

In our previous newsletter, Sanjini wrote “Our work at Open Arms feels very much like a reflection of spring- it’s a time for rejuvenation, renewal and growth” and our strategy session was just that. We grew closer through ice breakers, and learnt about the history of OA. This valuable experience helped me understand our mission, values and goals, with clear intention on achieving them. I left the session with a clearer understanding and excitement for our future. As an organization built by our volunteers, it was amazing to see the dedication and passion shared by all the participants. It has been an honor to be a part of OA’s history and I am so excited to see the many developments to come!

Big thanks to Sanjini for organizing and leading the session, all the participants for taking their time to join and share ideas, and GGGI for lending us their beautiful faciIity. - Maya (UK)

Kathrine, Maya, and I have started an Open Arms Social Club in which we will be organizing socials for the volunteers of Open Arms. This is with the purpose of building stronger connections as a team so that we can be our best for the children. It will give us opportunities to share our ideas and experiences with Open Arms, as well as to increase awareness of the people in our organization and the roles they have. Ultimately, this will solidify our identity as an organization. At the same time, we hope this will be a time to relax, have fun, and just get to know each other! - Lauren (Canada)

Katy Freeman

Director of

Education

Our programs would not be possible without the leadership of Katy and Sally. Katy oversees the educational programs and her passion, energy and love for the children inspires us all. She is Everything Everywhere All At Once! Sally ensures that there are qualified volunteers for our programs in a loving and safe environment. She is truly the caring friend and mother to us all. Thank you to our volunteers for making Open Arms programs a special part of the children's lives.

Sally McEachen

Director of

Administration

& Finance

👉 Summer Volunteer Schedule 👈

ALL PROGRAMS ON BREAK FOR JULY

The toddler program was super successful in preparing our toddlers to be ready (and successful) for the Early Years Program. We are now re-establishing the program as it was run before the pandemic. This is important for the children's development and also for delivering on our promise to the welfare homes and to see how we might need to adjust it to the toddler needs post-pandemic. I volunteered in this program at both CWWH and SMWWH and loved it so much - just as much as the toddlers I think! - Sanjini (Sri Lanka)

A wonderful few months of meeting friends from around the world, listening to stories, choosing ingredients for making sandwiches, having tea parties, making new friends and playing with ducklings. We strive to teach English through engaging and fun activities with our Early Years Programs, ensuring the children are learning about the diversity of our world and developing their English Skills. We would like to thank Hosana, one of our program leaders, and wish her all the best as she takes some time to prepare for the birth of her first child. - Katy (UK)

Our thanks to our lovely CW team: Hosana, Hannah, Ingrid, Judy, Junhwan, Lauren, Kathrine, Maya, Sunny, Yuna, Inês and Colleen

A very busy few months at DT with visits to Ambassadors' houses, trips to SFS to meet the ducklings, sandwich making, and tea parties to celebrate the king's coronation. As the girls get to know our volunteers, friendships and bonds of trust are made. Thank you to the dedication of our volunteers who come every week to meet with the girls and build their confidence when speaking some simple English phrases and helping to provide some very special learning experiences for them. - Katy (UK)

The children at MJ have been arts and crafting their way into summer over the last few months. Many thank to Sally, who organised for the children to get creative and messy with a pottery session. They'll be excited to see their finished masterpieces next time. In other sessions, they have made delicious sandwiches and Teacher's day cards, as well as the staple of board games and Uno once the hard work has finished. Heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who approach our Saturday lessons with caring and patience. - James (UK)

Thanks to Annette at Daraestudio for glazing and firing the finished pieces!

 COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING & ADVOCACY

Its been a few weeks since the ride but I just wanted to thank you for your generous donations. The ride was definitely not easy, everything hurt, but it was all worth it and I finished 215km!!! It was around 9.5 hours of riding and turned out to be a 11.5 hour day. Together, we were able to raise over $2150 and with that money, we are able to provide specialized birthday gifts to 59 kids. Again, thank you so much for your generosity and making this work!!! During the ride, I was thinking about what's next and I had a crazy idea to do this concept but bike across Canada to raise thousands of dollars to provide scholarships and educational opportunities for some of these kids. It doesn't just end here! Much Love, Eric (Canada)

Thank you Justin for mentoring ErIc and leading the fundraising campaign. Thank you CWWC Ms. Son for coordinating all the birthday birthday gifts!

I've been saving up some money to do something special for my 30th birthday. I'd been wracking my brain for a while trying to think of an idea, but then it hit me: I can think of no better way to celebrate my birthday than to help the children in Open Arms celebrate theirs! I can't tell you how happy and excited I am to be able to contribute! I truly hope it can help the children to feel special on their birthdays. - Ash (USA) also made a generous personal donation to the Birthday Program Fund

Zahra

Tunisia

MJ EY Volunteer Coordinator

In the embrace of Open Arms, I found more than a volunteer opportunity.

It was a life-changing experience for me.

I discovered a profound sense of purpose and connection through supporting these kids. In Open Arms, you can hear children’s laughter and see their vibrant spirit. We play, we laugh while teaching them English.

Yuna

Korean Australian

CWWC Toddlers & EY Volunteer

I love that Open Arms truly and wholeheartedly values the importance of heart-to-heart connection and helping children reach their fullest potential. Meeting the children who are beams of light and hope alongside seeing their faces brighten a little more each week is such a heartwarming experience. The volunteers are such amazing and inspiring individuals, passionate to help the youth thrive and grow.

We are looking for enthusiastic and enterprising members willing to take on the above voluntary roles, and we are always looking forward to recruiting new volunteer members to work with children in our programs! To see a summary of available roles, click above or see our Meet the Team page! All roles require good English, some also specify ability in Korean. To see a full job description, please email Sally at openarmskorea@gmail.com. Please also complete the Initial Interest form. The next round of recruitment will take place in the fall.

MEET OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Thank you to those who have contributed photos. If you would like to be given credit, please get in touch