Volunteering at Gwangju Children’s Home
Written by Um Jun-yong.
Hello! I am Um Jun-yong, a first-year student from Yongbuk Middle School. I live in a dormitory because my school is located in Namwon, which is far away from Gwangju. It is so far away that I only come back home once a week.
I visit Gwangju Children’s Home (GCH, 광주애육원) with my parents on the fourth Saturday of every month. I have volunteered there since 2015. Since I have set dates to see young kids there on a regular basis, I thank my parents for joining me and for helping me to pay more attention to volunteer work at GCH. Whenever I make visits there, I borrow English storybooks from the Children’s English Library (CEL) in Gwangju and meet the members of my volunteer group. The group is made up of me, my parents, first-year high schoolers Bae Han-saem and Bae Hanbyul, and two teachers, Tiana from the UK, and Tom from Canada.
When I arrive at the GCH, the kids always greet my family with a big smile. We check their homework first. They try their best to do their assignments all the time. Whenever I see them, I am so impressed. After checking their homework, I do “service teaching” using story maps. When I see the kids doing “service teaching,” I realize that they have been practicing a lot. After doing service teaching, they study the original text with their partners. Then they draw story-maps on a yellow board and make presentations about their stories.
My partner is Mun Ye-rin, and she is in the fifth grade. Ye-rin has consistently done her homework and reads English well. When I listen to her reading English, I feel her pronunciation is getting better and better. Time passes by quickly while we read the prepared English fairytales together. After all the activities, we share snacks together. Then, we have a talk with one another about how we felt while studying, which allows us to better understand each other. As for me, during sharing time I feel so sorry to have to say goodbye, and I hope I will see them in a month.
I would like to thank Padmapriya and Shilpa from India, Esther from the U.S.A., Julius from Kenya, Kevan from Canada, Nayan from Bangladesh, and Matkhiya from Uzbekistan for volunteering along with us. They have shared their country’s folktales or storybooks for the GCH children whenever KONA invited the children to the KONA Center and the CEL . Especially the children really enjoyed visiting the CEL. KONA invited the children on GIC Day, too. They liked to listen to the stories with puppets by the foreign volunteers a lot.
After volunteering, when my family drives Tiana home, my mother treats her to her favorite food: gimbap. While coming and going with Tiana teacher, I talk with her. She tries to speak Korean. While talking, my English skills get better and “Tiana teacher’s” Korean skills improve, too. I thank her for her passion and bright smile.
I am proud of Woo-young, a third-grader at the Children’s Home. Although Woo-young is now very confident when he speaks with others, at first he could not make a presentation about his story map. However, he can now give a wonderful presentation, thanks to encouragement from my mother and other teachers as well. I am very happy to have seen Woo-young change completely. Other students also have built a joy of studying English, too.
Though I will see them next month, I already miss them as I think of their hearts and minds growing. I am grateful for my good health that allows me to help them, and I feel it is so precious to be with my “younger brothers and sisters.”
THE AUTHOR
Um Jun-yong attends Yongbuk Middle School. He is a member of the UNESCO KONA Volunteers of KONA Storybook Center, which helps disadvantaged children learn English through storybooks and story maps. Every fourth Saturday, he goes to Gwangju Children’s Home (광주애육원) with his parents, other KONA family members, and two foreigners to help the children there with their English.