South Korean volunteers continue relief work in Haiti on Lunar New Year holidays

By Kim Nam-hee
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Yonhap) - While millions of South Koreans began to head for their
hometowns all across the country on Friday to celebrate Seol, or Lunar New Year's
Day holidays, South Koreans working in the wreckage of Haiti have relinquished
the chance of seeing their beloved ones during the country's biggest holiday.
Approximately 90 South Koreans from various NGOs are currently conducting relief
activities in Haiti, which was devastated by a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake
on Jan. 12 which leveled nearly a third of its buildings and left hundreds of
thousands dead.
Kim Jae-hak, a member of Good Neighbors, a Seoul-based non-governmental
organization (NGO) for international relief activities, has been carrying out
humanitarian aid work with his 10 coworkers for the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean
country since he arrived there about a month ago.
"I almost forgot the word Seol because things have been extremely hectic here,"
Kim talked on the phone with Yonhap News Agency on Friday, a day before the start
of the three-day Lunar New Year holidays.
"I saw a baby crawling around in a village here yesterday, and it reminded me of
my second baby son. I'm just sorry that I am not with my sons," said Kim. His
first son is just two years old, and second son is yet to reach one year.
He added he broke into tears when his wife in Korea told him on the phone
Thursday that his first son said "I love my dad."
Instead of enjoying the traditional festive holidays, he plans to dig a well for
the Haitian survivors, who are suffering from shortage of water, along with his
co-volunteers of the organization. They will dig a well in a village in the
capital of Port-au-Prince as part of their mission to set up a new base of life
for widowed women and their children.
The Lunar New Year holidays will be the busiest period for him since he came to
Haiti since during the days his team is planning to establish temporary schools
for Haitian children injured or mentally shocked by the earthquake.
"Since there is not enough food here, I miss the Seol holidays in Korea where I
was able to enjoy delicious food with my family members and relatives together,"
he said. "But my top priority now is to help the Haitian people who are
struggling for survival."
South Korea has pledged over US$10 million in short-term and long-term relief aid
to Haiti, but its government and private aid to the Caribbean nation have already
surpassed its original target to reach about US$15 million, according to the
foreign ministry here.
The South Korean parliament recently approved a plan to send 240 peacekeepers to
Leogane, about 40 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince, joining international
efforts to aid the Caribbean state.
The advance unit of 30 South Korean troops was deployed on Wednesday in the
Caribbean state to lay the groundwork for the arrival of the country's main
peacekeeping contingent on a mission to help rebuild the quake-ravaged nation.
The main contingent is scheduled to depart for Haiti later this month and will be
stationed there by the end of December 2010.
kimnh@yna.co.kr
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