A festival was held to create a happy family and a healthy society. On April 23, 2006, the New Life Welfare Foundation held the eighth New Life Family Walkathon. This event, held in Namsan, Seoul, was sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Government Youth Committee, and the Korea Child Abuse Prevention Association.
Over 10,000 members of the Foundation along with their families, including Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah, Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan City Lee Myeong-bak, Chief of the Government Youth Commission Choi Yeong-hee, Chairman of Save the Children Korea Kim No-bo, to name a few, took part in this walkathon.
Efforts of the New Life Welfare Foundation to Create a Healthy Society
A healthy society is full of hope and laughter, not marginalizing anyone with sufficient protection for the disadvantaged. The New Life Welfare Foundation has been making efforts for volunteer services in various fields of life to create a healthy society. They have looked after those suffering from diseases and/or poverty in the welfare blind spots, and visited nursing homes and child welfare facilities to help neighbors enjoy a healthy life. Through emergency relief and recovery efforts for disaster-affected areas due to floods, typhoons, etc., and volunteer services performed at the site for the Daegu subway tragedy, the Foundation has embraced their neighbors’ pain and shared hope with them and in doing so they have contributed to the growth of a healthy social culture.
The 8th New Life family Walkathon was held under the slogan, “Laughter Creates Miracles,” with the aim of creating a happy family and a healthy society by restoring laughter from a harsh industrial society. The donations collected through the Walkathon, were to help the families of the 7 children with heart disease and 20 children with rare and incurable diseases, and support the costs for their surgery and medical expenses. Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah expressed her gratitude to all the participants and the sponsoring organizations, and wished that the hope of a new life would be found in the faces of our neighbors through the walkathon.
A Beautiful Flower of Laughter Bloom With Family
“Today, this is a place to share love so that the spring of new life will come to our neighbors’ faces that have been clouded by pain and courses. Just as a mother’s comforting hand, full of love and sacrifice, contains the miraculous power to cure all diseases and pain, we will embrace the heart of a mother and become a mother’s hand to care for the pain of our neighbors and completely cure all sicknesses from the body, and in doing so create the greatest and most beautiful miracle in the world.”Chairwoman of the New Life Welfare Foundation Zahng Gil-jah
As if to show that the purpose of the walkathon was to create a healthy society full of laughter and hope, the members’ faces were full of bright laughter all day long. Mayor of Seoul City Lee Myeong-bak gave a speech of encouragement, saying, “It is so good to see the members’ faces full of happiness. I believe that your steps today will save lives and create a miracle that will give warmth to society.”
After completing a simple stretching exercise to upbeat music, the participants started the walkathon with the cue from Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah. All families had a great time, walking along the beautiful course with cherry and forsythia blossoms in full bloom. Through the warmth of the Foundation members, the families of the children who were able to safely regain their health after undergoing surgery, also participated in the walkathon. The parents who had been anxious, seeing their child struggling with disease, were delighted, saying, “When my child was sick, the world seemed dark, but now the world looks bright and laughter has bloomed in our family.”
A Time to Take One Step Closer to a Healthy Society
At the finish line in Baekbeom Plaza, a brass band composed of the Foundation members and the US military band performed resonating music. A variety of side events organized by university students also provided great joy. The “Message of Hope” section, which conveys support to children suffering from diseases, and the “Carnation Messenger,” where children write messages on ribbon-shaped carnations and pinned them on their parents’ shirts, received a good response from the children.
Members who had a meaningful day with their families, said, “Actually, I came to give happiness to my neighbors, but rather I received more.” It was a time to confirm that the joy of volunteering was the foundation for creating a healthy society full of laughter. Sharing and volunteering of the New Life Welfare Foundation will continue in the future to shine a light of hope in the places covered in shade, and to bring a bright smile to teary-eyed faces.
