April 23, 2012

• Interview With a College Graduate Who Was Raised in a Children’s Home
  

  
  Perhaps some of these names will be familiar to you…

  - United States President Andrew Jackson
  - United States President Herbert Hoover
  - South Africa President Nelson Mandela
  - Poet Edgar Allen Poe
  - Lord of the Rings Author J.R.R Tolkien
  - Composer Johann Sebastian Bach
  - Musician John Lennon
  - Actress Marilyn Monroe
  - Baseball star Babe Ruth
  - Founder of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs

  Did you know that each of the people listed were orphaned either as babies or in their childhood? While a few of them were adopted, if they had been born and raised in Korea all of them would have likely grown up in one of the children homes (보육원). That list was just some of the many famous people who grew up in children homes or away from their parents.

  Do you know that such diamonds live in the homes of Korea? Our full time volunteers with Jerusalem Ministry have served for at least 4 years each at different homes and we have seen and know the potential of these kids.

  But the situation the children face when they leave the home isn’t a fair one. While the children receive a small amount from the government upon leaving the home, because they are considered adults after graduating from high school they are no longer under the care or provision of the home. They have to take care of themselves, which includes study, work, pay their bills, and other responsibilities. It’s a lot for an 18 year old, especially one without anyone beside them believing in them.

  This video is an interview of a girl who graduated from one of the homes in Seoul and attempted to study at university. One of our full time volunteers mentored her through college. It wasn’t much, but the hope our volunteer continued to put in her enabled her to believe in herself and to succeed despite the tough odds against her.

  That is what so many of these children need… someone to believe in them. While some may look down on the children because they don’t have family, we know it was never the children’s fault for them to have to live in the home. These children are not deserving of the struggles they have to face. These children are pure.

  Jerusalem Ministry (www.jerusalemministry.org) has started up the Seeds of Hope scholarship for the children to help enable them to meet their potential. Our plan is for our three full time volunteers to mentor three scholarship recipients, children with absolutely no family who desire to study at university.
  These children will receive a monthly scholarship, likely 500,000won per month, to aid them in their expenses and enable them to reach their full potential.

  We know that as we are faithful with these three, that more people will also see the potential of the children from the homes (보육원) and commit as both sponsors and mentors to the kids. We believe that within a few years this scholarship program is going to grow from a few seeds of hope into a forest of provision and encouragement for children across Korea. We desire for Korea to have their own Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandelas, and Johann Sebastian Bachs that Korea can celebrate as their own.

  Our life as volunteers is tied with the children. If they fail then we have failed as well. If they succeed we too will have succeeded. And we know they will succeed, because otherwise we would not have committed our lives to reach out to them. We see the true potential in the children and we believe in them.

  • 12:13 am
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