Asia Development Foundation donates $90,000 to World Taekwondo for women, children
World Taekwondo (WT) President Choue Chung-won, fourth from left, poses with Cho Nam-chul, fifth from left, executive director of the Asia Development Foundation during a donation ceremony at the WT headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of WT
By Kang Aa-young
The Asia Development Foundation (ADF) donated 1 billion won ($90,000) to the World Taekwondo (WT) headquarters in Seoul, Friday, aiming to help the underprivileged in developing countries through taekwondo.
“I hope our cooperative relations with the WT will be further strengthened through a successful operation of the ADF-funded WT Taekwondo Cares projects” said ADF Executive Director Cho Nam-chul, following a ceremony to announce its donation at the WT headquarters in Seoul.
Half of the donated funds will be used for WT Taekwondo Cares projects in Nepal. Free taekwondo education will be provided to female victims of domestic violence, jailed juvenile delinquents and students attending the school sponsored by the Um Hong Gil Human Foundation which was set up by the namesake South Korean climber.
The other half will be used for taekwondo education in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries, according to the WT.
“In cooperation with Asian WT member nations, the WT will do its utmost to use the ADF funds for orphans, reformatory inmates and victims of natural disasters in Asian countries in the most transparent manner, thus giving them hope and dreams,” WT President Choue said.
In September last year, the WT signed a four-party Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement to promote taekwondo and the Korean language with the ADF, the International Center for Korean Culture and the GCS International.
The program has helped promote taekwondo in its Member National Associations (MNAs). According to the WT, it takes into consideration the target of each project it develops with priority given to “grassroots” sport development, including social minorities or refugees, rather than “elite” sport development.
The program aims to establish Taekwondo Academies in Jordan and Nepal, after which academies and projects will be developed in countries such as Rwanda, Ghana, and Colombia.
The funds from ADF will be used to help support underprivileged communities in developing countries in Asia, by promoting taekwondo culture.