SNU students remodel houses for the elderly

Students of Seoul National University’s volunteer group “Lovengers” pose in a room after repairing a senior citizen’s house in Sillim-dong, southern Seoul, Sep. 20. They have repaired the houses for senior and poor citizens in the area who live alone since January. / Yonhap

By Jhoo Dong-chan

A group of Seoul National University (SNU) students has repaired houses of senior and poor citizens who live alone.

They first met one another last December through the school’s club activity called “SNU Sunshine Volunteer” while delivering briquettes for people in need around Sillim-dong and Nangok-dong area near their university.

They decided to repair the houses of senior citizens who live alone and are unable to do it by themselves. They learned how to wallpaper in January.

“We wanted to utilize our major in helping them,” said group leader Kwak Jin-won who majors in civil and environmental engineering at the school.

They named their volunteer group “Lovengers,” a mixture of the word love and the Hollywood blockbuster “Avengers.”

In the first three months of their volunteer work, Lovengers members collected money to finance their wallpapering that usually costs more than 300,000 won ($250) per house.

However, their activity won the school’s charity project award in May, and the school has since sponsored their work expenses.

Also, the Gwanak District Office is helping them by providing a list of those who need home repairs including wallpapering. Students then visit the place one or two weeks prior to the work to consult with house owners.

The group members say house repairing work is not easy and requires a lot of effort.

“I remember one house of a man in his 50s who was receiving a government allowance for the underprivileged. The house was disaster,” said Kwak.

Food container in his fridge was swarmed with maggots, and the fetid odor filled the entire house. The owner has seldom left home since he was attacked and hurt badly by a robber when he was younger.

“It was really tough to carry heavy furniture in and out to remodel his house,” said Kwak. “But the house was the man’s universe. We changed his universe into a better place. What we did there was a worthwhile job.”