(EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on Jan. 7)

Quality overseas aid top goal

South Korea has been supporting a hospital in Thimi, a small town southeast of
the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. The 50-bed hospital was built for free by the
Korean government in April last year.
But a few months after its opening, the walls and ceilings started to come apart,
allowing in water from torrential rains. The local press criticized the Korean
builder for ignoring calls for repairs. We can only express regret for the lack
of expertise from this part of the Korean International Cooperation Agency, the
government agency that spearheads overseas aid projects.
Korea has now become a major donor country after the Organization of Economic
Cooperation and Development accepted it as a member of the Development Assistance
Committee. Koica plans to establish a training center to train experts in
official development assistance, committed to organizing and overseeing overseas
aid programs. To a donor country, appropriating projects wisely is as important
as the amount of charity spending and the work it offers. Expediting aid programs
requires special expertise.
We need to foster project management professionals to plan and create feasible
projects to help aid recipient countries. They should be competent in local
language, culture and customs and have prowess in organizing and facilitate large
projects. The new ODA institute should be focused on incubating experts who meet
those qualifications.
The government at the same time plans to encourage a private overseas volunteer
group called World Friends Korea to expand its membership to 20,000 by 2013 from
the current 3,000.
Yet quality rather than the quantity of the volunteer work should matter. They
must be well trained and systematically supported so that they can bring honor to
the name ???Korea??? everywhere they go.
(END)