If the afternoon, we have been spending time with the babies in the baby room, having English, and playing soccer outside. In the evenings, we eat dinner and have another English class. At night, the older kids have been watching movies with the volunteer teachers. We haven’t had any problems sleeping, because we have been so busy during the day.

There is a couple from Chicago, some American English teachers, and an American consultant who lives in Seoul. We also have two Korean university students who speak English well helping us this week. Everyone seems great!

The children at Emmanuel welcomed all of the volunteers yesterday. The kids said hello to the volunteers and chatted with them briefly. The children also seemed excited for the upcoming week.

위의 내용과 다릅니다.

저는 임마누엘에서 10년 이상 피아노 교사로 일하고 있는 김수진이라고 합니다. 오랫동안 우리 아이들과 함께 지내면서 많은 일을 겪었지만 임마누엘 스테이 프로그램은 저에게도 우리 아이들에게도 아주 특별한 경험이라고 생각합니다. 지난 여름 스테이 프로그램을 시작으로 우리 아이들은 항상 외국인 선생님들과 함께 하는 이 시간을 너무 즐거워하며 아이들의 행복한 모습을 볼 수 있어서 저 또한 아주 기쁩니다. 이번 스테이 프로그램 또한 성공적으로 이루어 질 수 있기를 바라며 우리 아이들의 꿈을 위해 최선을 다하겠습니다!

Help Impact the Lives of Children Living in Orphanages.Volunteer. Donate. Connect.

As the only organization of its kind, KKOOM needs your help to continue changing the lives of children living South Korean orphanages. Give a little. Volunteer a lot. The choice is yours — but every action impacts a child.

Volunteer

Living in South Korea: Give your time at a local orphanage. Click here for volunteer groups and orphanage contact information. Already volunteering at an orphanage and have a project in mind? Apply for funding through KKOOM’s Volunteer-led Projects (VLPs) application.

Living Outside of South Korea: Host a collection drive for small items that the orphanages need most. Or, join a short-term orphanage stay program in South Korea. Want more ideas? Contact us.

Donate

There are many convenient ways to donate online or offline. Give once; give every month; support specific programs; support KKOOM as a whole. The choice is yours.

Connect

KKOOM is fortunate to have a very active and supportive community online. Join the conversation to learn about the latest achievements, connect with other volunteers and ask questions. Click on the icons below to connect to KKOOM:

[Wednesday, October 12, 2011] Dear Kim Jaejoong Fans:

On behalf of everyone at Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission (KKOOM), I wanted to thank everyone at the Shades of Jae’d: International Kim Jaejoong Fanclub and all of Kim Jaejoong’s fans around the world who supported the “Protect the Boss” Campaign in Kim Jaejoong’s honor. The Campaign has raised $1,498 USD to date, and additional funds are continuing to come in.

These funds will support young adult Korean orphans as they transition out of the orphanages and move out into the real world. KKOOM has established a Post-High School Support Initiative which will help Korean orphans prepare for life on their own as adults after they leave the orphanages. KKOOM will be able to provide scholarships for further educational study, access to job search resources, and transitional assistance as they get settled on their own.

I am confident that Kim Jaejoong will be very proud of your efforts and will be inspired by the opportunities you have helped make available to Korean orphans as a result of your generosity. For more information about KKOOM or to make an additional gift that will have a lasting impact on less-fortunate youth in Korea, I invite you to visit our website, www.kkoom.org . Thank you, again, for your support.

Warmest regards,
Aimee Jachym, KKOOM President

In conjunction with Shades of Jae’d: International Kim Jaejoong Fanclub KKOOM is proud to announce a campaign to honor Kim Jaejoong, the star of SBS’s new drama “Protect the Boss,” which begins airing on August 3, 2011.

Fans of Kim Jaejoong are invited to support this new campaign by donating via the button above. Funds raised will support KKOOM’s Post-High School Support Initiative. The donations will have a lasting impact on young adults, who must move out of the orphanages when they become adults. This is an important step toward KKOOM’s mission of improving the lives of Korean orphans through outreach and education, because with new funds, KKOOM can support these vulnerable young adults and help them make sound professional and personal choices by providing things like job training, educational opportunities, and start-up resources for starting lives on their own.

Check out this video, made by Shades Of Jae’d: International Kim Jae Joong Fanclub.

There is definitely not enough time to sum up what a great week it has been for us volunteers, but suffice it to say that the presentations were a hit for both the kids and the audience. KKOOM will post the videos online, hopefully by next week, and we’ll share the links with you then.

It’s been such a blessing to see the kids and volunteers bond together despite the language and cultural barriers. An evident sign of this was that last night, the kids were frantically making Facebook profile pages and adding all the volunteers as friends. We look forward to maintaining these friendships as we return to our homes in Australia, America, and within Korea.

If you’re not already doing so, we hope that you’ll continue to follow the work at Emmanuel on Facebook by “liking” the Emmanuel page.

After lunch, two of the staff members were kind enough to take us to experience downtown Gimcheon shopping and coffee. One of the volunteers here with me, Joe, bought a basketball for the kids downtown, which we made great use of after dinner. In the afternoon, we all had different classes to attend and teach with the children. In my class, I somehow found myself leading a group of elementary students in a dance production to the tune of a Korean pop song.

After a short pause for dinner, we went over to the nearby high school where playground basketball with the kids was a hit. The kids learned how to shoot layups and generally enjoyed running around with the volunteers. Every night here at Emmanuel, we have been working with our individual teams of children to prepare a presentation. All of our groups will give their presentations tomorrow, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow’s post to hear about how they went.

~Kellie

Here at the Emmanuel Stay Program, we’re tutoring the staff and students, preparing presentations, and learning lots of songs and dances, but the best part is just hanging out with the kids and their caregivers in their houses. Most of the students’ English level is very low, yet I feel like we’ve formed a deep friendship. Best vacation ever! ~ Danny DiCrispino, Incheon International High School