Filipino women cheer up children from NK

Rep. Jasmine Lee of the ruling Saenuri Party cheers up students from North Korea at the Kumkang School in Seoul on March 22 as members of the 601 Habit, a Filipino women’s group, look on. / Courtesy of Karl Garcia

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia

When Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the central Philippines last November, a group of Filipino women reached out to the Korean and foreign community in Seoul to raise funds to help survivors in their home country.

The 601 Habit, a group of 13 Filipino women, managed to raise enough funds to build and donate 116 boats for Filipino fishermen, who lost their homes and livelihood due to the super typhoon.

Now, the group is giving back to the Korean community as a show of gratitude.

“The 601 Habit had been overwhelmed with the response from Korea and the Koreans (and of course fellow Filipinos and other nationalities) when the group launched its first project, the Life Boat Project, last November,” the group said on its Facebook page.

“We are also very pleased with the response for its next project, Hands-On Philippines. Thus, just a few months after its organization, the ladies behind the 601 Habit would like to give-back to show our deepest appreciation,” it continued.

The 601 Habit decided to reach out to children of North Korean defectors living in Seoul for their first “give back” project.

“We are one with the South Korean government in supporting these children. In the little ways that we know and what our group is capable of, we have committed to sponsor every fourth Saturday of the month to feed the children, spend time with them and develop programs that may eventually and hopefully have a positive impact in their young lives,” the group said.

The 601 Habit organized a once-a-month activity for North Korean children who are students at the Kumkang School in Gaebong-dong, Guro-gu. The school was established to prepare North Korean kids for life in South Korea. At present the school has 24 students, aged 6 to 17.

For its first “give back” activity, March 22, Filipina actress and 601 Habit member Cherish Maningat prepared fun games for the North Korean children.

“Since it was the first time, we decided on a getting-to-know-you theme ... We had team-building activities and games. The kids were cooperative and very happy with the activity,” Rina Arinas-Imm, a project manager for the “give back” activity, said.

The event was attended by Rep. Jasmine Lee and officials of CJ Welfare Foundation, CJ CSV Senior Vice President Kown Jung-hyun and CJ CSV specialist Kim Hyun-jin. The CJ Welfare Foundation provided packed lunches and snacks for the students, and promised to continue supporting the 601 Habit’s activities.

Kwon said it was a natural choice for the CJ Welfare Foundation to support the 601 Habit’s project since the company’s vision is “to promote a culture of sharing and community service.”

“We also felt that beyond facing the difficulties of living in a foreign country themselves, it was both remarkable and commendable that women from the Philippines (the 601 Habit) would work so hard to support marginalized students of the Kumkang School in Korea, which is why we wanted to contribute whatever support we could,” he said.

Arinas-Imm said the 601 Habit will continue the “give back” activity at the school every fourth Saturday of the month for the rest of the year.

“The group is very happy with the warm welcome we got from the kids. We are looking forward to seeing those eager faces every month and spending quality time with them even for just a few hours. The 601 Habit hopes to continue giving back to Korea in whatever way we can for the generous help they have given us,” she said.

The 601 Habit is already preparing for next month’s program for North Korean students. They’re planning to have different activities, such as photography lessons, drama classes, film showings and English classes.