EDUCATION FOR KOREAN ORPHANS

한국 보육원 아동을 위한 교육

Hello OpenArms,



Our work at Open Arms feels very much a reflection of Spring - it’s a time for rejuvenation, renewal and growth! We feel truly rejuvenated by our OA community which is growing at a delightful pace - welcome new volunteers! In addition to our program at CWWC and MJ, there has been much excitement due to the renewal of our Early Years program at the DT welfare home and our Toddlers program at CWWC. Soon we will also reconnect with our friends at SMW welfare home where we will host the OA Easter Egg Hunt 2023. We have been blessed with a generous donation from our newest partner AWC (the American Women’s Club) to support our growth in 2023! We are sending our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to AWC and would also like to say a special thanks to our very own Nicole Gorman, OA Fundraising Coordinator who is also a member of the AWC, for creating this link. We look forward to a lasting partnership with AWC and its generous members and hope to see more of them at our volunteer sessions.

We are very excited at the prospect of seeing our registered members at the upcoming OA AGM 2023 and social event. It’s a wonderful opportunity to bring all our dedicated volunteers together and strengthen our community. The stronger we are as a group the more support we can offer the children. The AGM will update our members about our progress, underscore the importance of our work with the children in reaching our vision, and also highlight the joy it brings us as volunteers! Growing and nurturing our OA community is critical, it is what enables us to grow the safe space we have created for the children. It provides them with hope and acceptance in a world that would otherwise be a tough place even for the most motivated and determined child. Thank you all for being part of our mission to allow the children to realise their self-worth and reach their full potential!

It’s been a few years since we created our first strategic plan. As a very young organization in an ever changing landscape with limited resources we are aware that we need to ensure that we are being as relevant and prudent as possible. If anyone is interested in being part of our strategy planning sessions in April please do get in touch, we would love to have your participation and input - I promise it will be fun! 

Open Arms Creates Open Minds!

We are excited to announce the return of our Easter Egg Hunt at SMW welfare home! This is our first in person event there since the start of the pandemic in 2020. We are partnering with the American Women’s Club of Korea to help run this event.

We are now running weekly programs on Mondays (Toddlers) and Tuesdays (Early Years) at CWWC, Thursdays (Early Years) at DT and monthly on Saturdays at MJ welfare homes. Every program is unique but it is clear that the children love our fun filled learning activities and time spent with OA volunteers. It’s you who bring life and joy to our programs so a huge thank you for your dedication and support. Please sign up to volunteer with us so we can continue to offer 1:1 quality time with the children.

Many volunteers were waiting on the sidelines to volunteer with the toddlers and we are grateful to be able to provide each child with individual attention. CWWH is currently the only home where we have started with toddlers and we have found a noticeable difference in their trust and interaction with OA volunteers in the Early Years program. We look forward to the years ahead with the toddlers as we help inspire them down a path of future success. Every child is precious and deserving of what the world has to offer and it is ever so apparent in these beautiful little souls.

It has been great to build new relationships with the girls at DT. They are beginning to get to know us as we are getting to know them. We have learnt that they love to be engaged in practical activities where they can explore and try something new. The girls thoroughly enjoyed making some valentine candies with some English instructions, planning and making fruit smoothies and also learning the names for the different parts of the body in English too.

Making the candies was also a big hit with our Tuesday night group too, especially the tasting part! It is so rewarding to see the children's progress over the last few months with some children starting to read simple sentences and with some being able to identify the different sounds in the alphabet. It truly is such a blessing to be able to connect with the children and see the joy in their faces when they make these achievements.

The children are always happy to see us at MJ for our monthly Saturday sessions. Thanks to James who provides lots of fun and engaging activities such as, seed planting, paper flower crafts, paper hat making and the biggest hit, which is playing games! For some of the children they love to just come and spend some time with our volunteers playing board and card games. Building connections and relationships with the children is for many of us such a privileged and rewarding experience.

 Community Fundraising & Awareness

Many of our volunteers keep in touch after they leave Korea and we are so happy to have a growing world-wide community! Thank you Eric for all you are doing to help the children. We are inspired and encouraged by it!

We are looking for enthusiastic and enterprising members willing to take on the above voluntary roles. To see a summary of each role, click above or see our Meet the Team page! All roles require good English, some also specify ability in Korean. If you would like to be involved, or to see a full job description, please email Sally at openarmskorea@gmail.com

Photo credits to: Joohee, Junhwan, Emma Yoon, Katy Freeman, Ilse Lauwers, Dee Dee Wasmund, Hannah Jeong-Won, Sally McEachen and all those who have contributed photos. If you would like to be given credit, please get in touch.