KKOOM took seven girls with the children’s home staff to Jerusalem Ministry’s Annual Arts and Crafts Camp in January 2019
To kick off 2019, KKOOM took seven girls in January from Emmanuel and Samsungwon Children’s Home to Seoul for three nights and four days. The Arts and Crafts Camp is just for elementary school girls who grow up in children’s homes in South Korea. Your support allows us to take the girls and we are the only children’s homes outside of Seoul who attend. For one of the elementary school girls, it was her first time visiting Korea’s capital.
Making perier circular bead keychains with their mentor. Photo taken by Jerusalem Ministry photographer.
Some of the girls we support posing with Jee from Jerusalem Ministry. Photo taken by Jersualem Ministry photograher.
The girls really got to show their talent and skills making unique crafts such as mini lights!
The girls putting their handprints and sharing one thing they are grateful for
Hosted by Jerusalem Ministry, the three day camp allows the girls to show their personalities by making creative crafts, such as slime, erasers, mini lamps, 3D paper model houses, and their favorite characters out of perier bead circles. Each girl was paired with a volunteer on a one-to-one basis throughout the camp to really build a strong bond together. They take several photos with the volunteers to create mini scrapbooks. The friendship with their mentor during the camp is one of the greatest things the girls cherish from the camp. On one of the last days of camp, all of the girls made a tree mural with their handprints to signify how we are connected in the circle of life and to share one thing they are grateful for.
Some of the 3D paper model designs the girls made
The girls did a great job!
After the first day of camp, they enjoyed the views of Seoul at Namsan Tower. You could see the beautiful skyline of a city that has a population of roughly 9 million people. Visiting places like Namsan Tower builds positive memories that the girls talk about for many years as they grow older.
Seoul has roughly two million more people than New York but with a smaller area, about 75 square miles smaller. So you can imagine how busy it was to ride the subway train together. Seoul subway is the longest subway system in the world. While riding the escalator with the girls, we told the guys “Seoul person” (서울 사람) to remind them to stay on the right side of the escalator as the people of Seoul brushed past us swiftly to get to their next destination.
The girls enjoyed samgyeopsal at a famous Korean BBQ restaurant in Myeongdong
One of the big highlights for any camp we attend in Seoul is eating at a very nice Korean BBQ restaurant in the busy shopping district of Myeongdong. There is one restaurant that we always go to for great service, delicious grilled mozzarella cheese, and all the samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) the girls can eat.
We give each girl spending money of approximately $20, so you could find them in Myeongdong finding hair accessories for themselves or gifts for their house mothers. They love going to the Art Box, which has over 120 locations in South Korea and sells an array of character items and gift items with unique designs.
These camps enrich the lives of the children we support. KKOOM is thankful we have friends and supporters around the world who believe in providing outreach activities to help build stronger character, self-esteem, and leadership skills for at-risk Korean youth. Thank you for making these enrichment opportunities possible to brighten their future!
Silly photo at Namsan Tower together with children’s home staff, KKOOM’s Chief Administrator and a volunteer
The girls loved shopping with their spending money in Myeongdong!
