Seoul YWCA’s News in April, 2013

Gangnam Youth Center

Play club, ‘Yeon-ah’, Its Periodic Performance

The play club of Gangnam Youth Center, ‘Yeon-ah’, staged the play called ‘Bears wanted to pop the question’ at the Daehakro theater from February 28^th to March 3^rd. Yeon-ah composed of 20 passionate young girls and boys has been realizing its dream through performances and workshops.

Youth Department

Y-teen Leaders Training

Youth Department of Seoul YWCA’s headquarter offered training for Y-teen leaders on March 16. Leaders from 10 Y-teen clubs gathered to discuss about the plan of their activities this year and learned about Seoul YWCA’s core activities as well. They also watched the movie on human rights, called ‘If you were me’ and talk about gender roles.

Garak Social Welfare Center

Jangjidong Dalgona Day

Garak social welfare center held the Dalgona Day on March 11 as a part of the Eoulim Village Project. Dalgona is Korean sweet made of sugar and baking soda. Villagers were happy to share the sweets and to talk to each other.

Nowon Women’s Resources Development Center

Barista Test Administered

On March 29, Level 2 Barista Test was administered in Nowon Women’s Resources Development Center. The certificate of ‘Level 2 Barista’ will be provided to successful candidates by Korea Coffee Association. Nowon Center offers the one-stop job service regarding coffee business by implementing not only the barista training but also the test.

Bongcheon Social Welfare Center

Inauguration of ‘Hopeful Network for Our Village’

Bongcheon Social Welfare Center celebrated the inauguration of a ‘Hopeful Network for Our Village’ to promote community spirit in our villages. Hopeful Network will try to review 22 villages’ relationships and recover their community spirit.

Seongdong Youth Center

New Committee Member Interview of Youth Steering Committee

On March 23, Seongdong Youth Center interviewed middle and high school students in Seongdonggu region to select new members of Youth Steering Committee. YSC has been reflecting youth’s opinion to the center by policy suggestion and campaigns so that they could strengthen their empowerment and autonomous capacity.

Yeongdeungpo Women’s Resources Development Center

Integrated Job Service

Yeongdeungpo Women’s Resources Development Center conducted ‘Integrated Job Service’ to restore self-confidence of job vulnerability from March 12 to 15. IJS offers counseling, job searching plan, vocational training, and employment supporting.

Youth Department

POSCO-YWCA ChinChin Wifi Zone Kicked Off

Chin Chin Wifi Zone Project was kicked off at Daeshin Middle School on March 22 and at Gongreung Middle School on March 25. To make joyful atmosphere in schools, it will try various sub-programs such as teacher workshop, mentoring, concert, festival, and changing school space.

2013 Board & Committee Member’s Gathering for Study

On March 28, Seoul YWCA Board & Committee Member’s Gathering for Study has taken place from 9:30 am to 4 pm. Leadership and professionalism of 150 participants including board members, committee members and staffs were grown by the lectures and discussions. Here is the summary of Pastor Kim, Ki Seok’s lecture on YWCA movement for environment.

Christian’s Life Movement and YWCA

“Happy Inconvenience to Save the World”

Kim, Ki Seok, Pastor, Cheongpa Church

Human in relationships

‘Tourist asks and pilgrim thanks.’ Do you want to live as a tourist complaining and asking? Or do you want to be a grateful pilgrim in your journey o lgrim in your journey o f life?f life? Christian has to choose which way you want to follow. We cannot fully know who human is and what human can do. Bible asks us where we are instead of precise defining a human being. Human only can be identified by facing God. The reason why God made us is to make a beautiful relationship with us and the time human is identified is when we answer the question, “Where are you?, with responsibility.

See the world through Gods’ eyes

We can find from the relationship between the human and nature that the God ordered the chaotic world and let the human beings live in there. However, human has treated the earth disrespectfully as a result of their excessive desire. God asked us to use the nature at a minimum but we transformed and abused it. We must live on the interest on the nature. But we even lost the principal of it. God made all creatures; not only human being but spiders and stones. Christians have to see the world and nature through the God’s eyes.

Human desire and destroyed earth

Capitalism snowballed human desire. As a consequence of excessive human desire, the earth is sick. Here are some practical cases we can find now. One third of the world’s food is generated by pollination by insects and 80% of those are honeybees. The numbers of honeybees, however, is remarkably decreasing. This means that the death of humans will come.

How about the greenhouse effect? Carbon dioxide concentration is higher and the germs inside the icebergs are released because the icebergs and icecaps are melting. Human desire kills other living organisms and causes worldwide climate disasters and ocean ecocide.

Happy inconvenience

Now is the time to look back on God’s order of creation and make us humble not only for me but also for the earth. In this capitalist society, we have to content with our lives today, saying to ourselves ‘That is enough.’ We should show to others that the life enduring inconvenience could be happy. Living as Christians could prove that the different kinds of lives in this age are possible. I hope that the YWCA’s life movement will go on with a concept of happy inconvenience.