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“Thank the God that You are Here in Uzbekistan” Dr. Young-il Song, KOICA Global Doctor in Uzbekistan More
Taegeuk Mark Waving at Overseas COVID-19 Response Hospitals? Overseas COVID-19 Response Hospitals Supported by KOICA More
Why International Cooperation with Developing Countries is Important in a Hyper-Connected Society More
Covid-19, let's overcome it with KOICA! KOICA’s efforts to prevent and respond to the spread of Covid-19 More

Global COVID-19 Stories

Global COVID-19 Stories

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Coronavirus Hairstyle gaining popularity in East Africa!On a relaxing Sunday afternoon last May, kids are having fun while having their hair styled in the shape ofthe novel coronavirus in a beauty salon in Nairobi, Kenya. The hairdresser of the salon is having quite a busytime braiding girls hair into antenna-like spikes which people refer as coronavirus hairstyle for about 1 USD,saying that the purpose of such a design is to raise awareness of the crisis.Since you can raise awareness of the pandemic and keep social distance due to the spkies at the same time,maybe it could be regarded as killing two birds with one stone, couldn t it?An Old Cuban Lady wearing a COVID-19 Precaution BoxOn the 8th of July, Feridia Rojas, a retired Cuban nurse was walking around the streets in Havana,while wearing a cardboard house she built to protect herself from the spread of the coronavirus disease.On the box in the shape of a house with a red roof reads a message saying, I am at home, what about you? in Spanish. While expressing the stress from being stuck in home due to the pandemic, she also delivered amessage that we all should avoid going out as much as possible in her own creative and adorable way.Giving a Haircut is Tough?!A man wearing personal protective equipment is taking a look at another man sittingon the other side of the screen. Could it be a picture from a COVID-19 treatment facility?No. It is a scene from a barber shop in Manila, Philippines.In the Philippines, barbers are giving haircut to customers while wearing personal protective gears.Barbers in the Philippines are strictly following government guidance as the recent reopening of barbershops were approved under the condition that they abide by soci al distancing measures.As the hair gets lighter after a haircut, we hope the barbers clotheswill get lighter soon with the easing of COVID-19 pandemic.COVID-19 Prevention in Daily LivesPeople are responding to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic on their own ways,holding themselves tight in these dire days. Outdoor restaurants in Thailand are placeswhere not only the tourists but also local residents pay their daily visit.The tables at Bangkok s outdoor restaurants are now equipped with vinyl screens tofilter respiratory droplets. It may seem stuffy, but we should adjust ourselves tochanging situations to protect our daily lives, shouldn t we?Changes are also shown in Erawan Shrine to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Dancers are now wearing notonly fabulous costumes and makeup but also facial shield. After reopening of certain fields were approvedby the Thai government, people are still responding thoroughly to the COVID-19 crisis.Enjoy the Bread, and Don t Forget to Wear a Mask!Photo source: Twitter @Abiadmk Mask Parotta, a new mask-shaped bread from Hotel Temple City in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India,is gaining popularity. Parotta is a flat bread that is well-known and frequently consumed ni Southern India. Lately, the number of COVID-19 confirmed patients are skyrocketing here in Tamil Nadu.However, some people are still not wearing a mask even in these serious times. We developed this newmenu to remind them to wear one, said a relevant party from the hotel s restaurant. The mask-shapedparotta is a quite popular menu. Compared to 50 parottas sold daily in the past, the new version is sellingmore than 500 per day. Of course, when going out to enjoy mask-shaped parotta, don t forget to wear a mask!Photo source: yonhapnews

Becoming the Grain of Wheat for Welfare Service for Persons with Disabilities, Miral Welfare Foundation

Becoming the Grain of Wheat for Welfare Service for Persons with Disabilities, Miral Welfare Foundation

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KOICA FriendsBecoming the Grain of Wheat for Welfare Service for Persons with DisabilitiesMiral Welfare Foundation There are numerous people working hard to create a society where persons with disabilities and without disabilities live in harmony. We can never leave out Miral Welfare Foundation when discussing diverse efforts to support persons with disabilities in Korea. We could not hesitate to learn more about the Foundation, who are now spreading their helping hand to overseas developing countries to support persons with disabilities.The Gathering of Experts on Welfare Programs for Persons with DisabilitiesMiral Welfare Foundation is registered social welfare foundation established in 1993 in Korea for the purpose of supporting persons with disabilities. The Foundation was derived from Korea Miral Mission Society, on the basis of the spirit of Christianity. It has been providing welfare programs for persons with disabilities for the past 27 years.InKyoung, the head of International Cooperation Department gave us a brief explanation about Miral Foundation. Miral Foundation was established to support the rights of and enable a better life for the most vulnerable people, aiming for complete social integration of persons with disabilities. Domestic lifecycle welfare services are performed by 49 subordinate facilities in 8 regional offices in Korea, and international sustainable development cooperation projects are being performed in 16 offices in 14 countries around the world. Moreover, we also make suggestions on welfare policy for persons with disabilities. Currently, we are accredited with a consultative status by UN ECOSOC, and serve people regardless of their religion, race, or political ideologies. Miral Foundation s services are wide in range, yet realistic. The foundation aims to integrate persons with disabilities to communities by establishing special-education schools, running Welfare Centers, Vocational Rehabilitation facilities and GoodWill Stores, and conducting diverse activities in different sectors of our society. Among its programs, Miral School, established for students with disabilities, is quite well-known among persons without disabilities.The foundation, committed to support persons with disabilities in Korea, also started to put efforts in international supporting programs since 2004. Here is when a question might pop up into our mind. Why should we help persons with disabilities overseas, when there are still many suffering in Korea? That is a question we have been asked often. When you visit some developing countries, you can see a whole village suffering from poverty. Still, the households with persons with disabilities are even more marginalized than others. The purpose of development cooperation programs is to eradicate poverty in developing countries and ensure better life for them. However, without supporting persons with disabilities, we cannot achieve that goal. Our foundation was born to support persons with disabilities from the beginning. Our dream is to bring our experiences and know-hows on welfare programs for persons with disabilities overseas, and turn developing countries into a better place to live in. (left) Assistive device for better mobility of children with disabilities(right) A child with disabilities receiving rehabilitation treatmentA Grain of Wheat Sown on Kisumu, KenyaFor two years since 2017, Miral Foundation proceeded with Strengthening self-reliance of the families who have child with disability in Kisumu County, Kenya . Kisumu was selected since the majority of local residents are those suffering from extreme poverty as the region is economically excluded in Kenya due to political reasons. With the support of KOICA, Miral Foundation planned and promoted Project on Strengthening self-reliance for children with disabilities and female guardians with children with severe disabilities. The first task was selecting 50 households per village. The most economically vulnerable households with children with disabilities while earning less than 1.9 USD a day were the target.In fact, Mr. Kwang-Hun Kim, deputy section chief, who stayed in Kenya for certain time while the program was being promoted, explained that three aspects were of focus. First, strengthening self-reliance capability of children with disabilities. Second, strengthening economic capability of households with children with disabilities. Third, improving awareness on disability in communities. First of all, to children with disabilities who are deprived of basic rights their fellow kids are enjoying just because of their disabilities, we continuously supported drinking water and nutritious food.Then, by cooperating with Kisumu District General Hospital and Kisumu office of Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya, we provided rehabilitation treatment and assisting devices to prevent worsening of their disability condition and to improve physical functioning to enable better life. In addition, we partnered with female neighbors in the village in which children with disabilities live to provide activity assistance service three times per week, guaranteeing mobility and better life for children with disabilities, and securing working time for mothers with children with disabilities. A Picture taken during agricultural training for parents of children with disabilitiesWitnessing a Miraculous TransformationKenya office of Miral Foundation cooperated with experts of Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization(KALRO), to provide skill training for mothers with children with disabilities who had difficulty securing working time.Rather than only providing simple theoretical lectures, the Foundation rented 2.5 acres of land at an affordable price, established joint working facility, and provided trainings and actual agricultural practice sessions three times per week. The harvested goods at the facility were distributed to boost self-reliance capability of households with children with disabilities.The most difficult part at the beginning stage of the program was persuading the parents of children with disabilities who did not understand why their children should receive education at all. In fact, it s the family members of persons with disabilities whose awareness on disability is low, and who have prejudice toward disability. Ironically, the parents of children with disabilities have the lowest awareness on disability. Therefore, the first target to raise awareness was the parents of children with disabilities. We had to make them change their mind. They did not understand why their children, having disability and are far from self-reliance, should receive education at all. Ms. Min-Kyoung Lim, team leader, shared with us the difficulties she faced during the project. In local communities in Kenya, persons with disabilities are facing serious social discrimination. Some are cut from family ties just for because he or she is born with disabilities. Therefore, children with disabilities from economically suffering households are vulnerable to violation of basic human rights such as healthcare and education. We raised awareness on disability by providing lectures once every month for residents from communities without persons with disabilities. We also consulted with family members with children with disabilities and raised their awareness so that they could take care of the children well. (left) A child with disability and female guardian(right) Group meeting of female guardians from households with children with disabilities Eventually, the Foundation s efforts for the past two years achieved fruitful results. The mindset of the people started to change. 50 personal assistance providers created their own group and started to support persons with disabilities, the elderly, and the vulnerable in the village. While taking care of children with disabilities three times per week, they realized that persons with disabilities are no targets to express hatred, but just kids to be loved. There was a natural transformation on their awareness on disability. Another surprising change was shown in mothers. More and more mothers with children with disabilities showed their wills to send their kids to school. It was a huge change since they did not have any expectations from their children. The foundations asked the parents whether they could pay 15 percent of the tuition fee in 2019, and 30 per cent the next year, and they answered they would willingly pay for it. Thus, mothers with children with disabilities actively participated in economic capability building programs to earn the money, and a virtuous cycle was created.Community Disability Awareness CampaignStrong Cooperation System with KOICAKOICA made a strong impression with its support to Miral Foundation during the self-reliance capability building program for households with children with disabilities in Kisumu, Kenya. When we were running the pilot program before the actual project began, Mr. Eun-Seop Kim, the former director of KOICA Kenya office paid a visit to Kisumu. And his successor, director Hye-young Shin, understood the purpose of our program better than anyone else, and was very supportive. Every year, personnel from KOICA visits Kisumu to meet children with disabilities and their mothers. This gesture gave us the impression that our cooperation with KOICA is ironclad. The members of Miral Foundation fully trusted KOICA for respecting them with open-mindedness and sincerity, and for helping them with issues that seemed impossible to address by themselves. I remember meeting director Shin when I first arrived in Kenya. I was nervous since we received supporting fund from KOICA, and therefore thought she would want to evaluate me. However, when I first met her, she empathized with our tasks, supported us, and represented our opinions to other parties. We were truly thankful. She even bought us a nice meal, smiled Mr. Kim.(left, middle) Female guardians participating in agricultural activities(right) Assistive device for better mobility of children with disabilitiesEven after the program came to its end as of December 2018, Miral Foundation is proceeding with the 2nd Phase of Strengthening self-reliance of the families who have child with disability in Kisumu County, Kenya on same recipients and 15 additional targets in the same area as a part of KOICA civil society cooperation project since 2019.Maintaining a support program for persons with disabilities is a challenging task. It is impossible to get an achievement in short-term, and without improving economic situation and raising awareness, everything might just go into abyss. Nevertheless, Miral Foundation never stops supporting the most marginalized people from society. A few days ago, I watched a television program named You Quiz on the Block. When asked a question what his favorite constitution article is, a lawyer named Joon-hyeong Park answered that Article 10, All citizens shall be assured of human dignity and worth and have the right to pursue happiness is his favorite. I believe that is exactly what we have in mind. All people, whether they are disabled or not, should be assured of human dignity and have the right to enjoy ordinary life. Ms. Lim and Mr. Kim deeply agreed with it.Miral Welfare Foundation. Never ceasing to provide support to persons with disabilities facing discrimination under poverty. The projects the Foundation and KOICA are jointly promoting are going to be a miracle that grows grains of wheat that are yet sown in the ground.

KOICA Vocational Training Project in Uzbekistan, a Fruitful result of Long-lasting Cooperation

KOICA Vocational Training Project in Uzbekistan, a Fruitful result of Long-lasting Cooperation

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about KOICAKOICA Vocational Training Project in Uzbekistan Having been friends for 10 years. You can imagine how strong the bond between these two companions would be. A decade is long enough to create a solid friendship. There is a country that has been cooperating with KOICA for more than 10 years, putting its efforts in enabling sustainable development through expert nurturing: Uzbekistan.View of the Vocational Training CenterTalent Nurturing Centers in UzbekistanKOICA has been cooperating with Uzbekistan for more than 10 years, establishing Vocational Training centers all around the country. Vocational Training Centers are established to support national and social development and modernization of Uzbekistan, enhance quality of education by building infrastructure for vocational skill training and higher education, and nurture future industry talents through educational informatization including provision of IT training and informatization system establishment. The centers are training experts with professional knowledge, nurturing adequate talents for future industries.Since the opening of Tashkent Vocational Training Center in July 2012, Samarkand Center and Shahrisabz Center followed suit in 2016 and 2018 respectively with an enthusiastic welcome from the Ministry of Labor of Uzbekistan. KOICA is currently establishing Fergana Center, hoping to complete building by 2020, launched the construction of Urgench Center, aiming to open by 2022, and vocational training capability strengthening project this year.The purpose of a Vocational Training Center is to help the youth prepare skills required in industries and open up chances for them to seek jobs by providing vocational training, and at the same time, provide industries with high quality human resources stably, and ultimately contribute to the socioeconomic development of Uzbekistan.SSIC Opening CeremonyAchievement after achievement! Samarkand Vocational Training CenterIn particular, Samarkand Vocational Training Center is partnering with Keimyung College University to continue with civil society cooperation project after completing KOICA multilateral development cooperation project. The transition led to other fruitful results such as expanding into diverse areas while partnering with a university and supporting self-reliance of Uzbekistan by maintaining the quality of education in a high level.Through civil society cooperation program, Samarkand Center newly added two departments including computer design and mechanical engineering CNC to its existing four departments of automobile maintenance, IT, electrical engineering, and welding. It also established Samarkand Startup Incubating Center (SSIC), in which nine startups have joined currently. The startups can use SSIC facility at a relatively affordable price during their one year residency, and are provided with startup capacity building training programs such as consulting and workshop from business establishment experts once per month.In addition to the project, Samarkand Center, while partnering with WFK volunteer group, dispatched volunteer workers to four sectors (mechanical engineering, electronics, Korean language, computer training), creating synergy with industries.Samarkand Vocational Training Center recruits about 300 trainees each year who receive an 8-month training course including both theoretical lectures and practice sessions. As of July 2020, 1,943 trainees completed the course, and 95 percent of them, 1,287 to be precise, successfully got a job, demonstrating a high employment rate.Likewise, Samarkand Vocational Training Center is evaluated as a highly successful case since it is proceeding with KOICA Comprehensive programs consisting diverse projects such as multilateral development cooperation, private-public cooperation, WFK volunteering, and job training. This is especially symbolic that the Samarkand Center has established itself as a core institution that contributes to the economic development of community through its cooperation with relevant institutions including local universities, companies and local government, enabling the achievement of the program to spread out overseas.The 1st Vocational Training Center Training Device and Startup Idea ContestWith Vocational Training Centers spreading their presence throughout Uzbekistan while achieving fruitful results, Uzbekistan also came up with a meaningful result by joining the World Skills International as its 83rd member in January 2020. Therefore, KOICA is planning to promote diverse activities to nurture skilled talents such as holding National Skills Olympic Uzbekistan co-hosted by KOICA and Ministry of Labor.We often refer to the proverb, Give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime when discussing sustainable development. The saying can be applied to Uzbekistan. KOICA and Uzbekistan are achieving continuous results while cooperating with each other to enable sustainable development. That cooperation might be a model that reflects coexistence and prosperity, the concepts often regarded to be abstract from time to time.

Dr. William Rutagengwa, Director General of Nyamata District Hospital, Rwanda

Dr. William Rutagengwa, Director General of Nyamata District Hospital, Rwanda

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Addressing the COVID-19 Crisisin Rwanda with Skills Learnt throughKOICA Global Fellowship ProgramDr. William Rutagengwa, Director Generalof Nyamata District Hospital, RwandaDr. William Rutagengwa, who visited Korea and completed KOICA-Hanyang Master s Degree Program in Global Health Development (National Health Policy) in 2014, is working hard in Rwanda s public healthcare sector as an expert of infectious disease. Let s invite Dr. Rutagengwa, Director General of Nyamata District Hospital, to talk about the current status of COVID-19 in Rwanda, and what KOICA is doing in the country.Q. Nice to meet you, Dr. Rutagengwa!Nice to meet you. My name is William Rutagengwa. I m the director general of Nyamata District Hospital. From 2014 to 2015, I participated in Master s Degree Program in Global Health Development for National Health Policy. I m glad to meet the readers of KOICA webzine through this interview.Q. Would you tell us briefly about Nyamata District Hospital?Nyamata District Hospital is a national hospital in Bugesera, a city located 35km southeast from Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. We have 190 medical staff working in 12 departments including ophthalmology, gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, ER, equipped with 220 beds. We provide 500 medical services to 400,000 citizens per month. Not only that, as a national hospital, we manage 15 medical centers and individual clinics, and more than 50 healthcare centers.Nyamata District Hospital is currently used as a quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients. We were the first hospital in Rwanda to confirm the first COVID-19 patient in the country. The medical staffs had to go into 2 weeks of quarantine due to the incident. Q. What is the status regarding COVID-19 outbreak in Rwanda?Until now, it seems like the outbreak is well controlled under the management of the government. The number of deaths is only 2 in Rwanda since the pandemic. The confirmed patients are also receiving treatment without complications.Just like in Korea, Rwandans are following preventative measures such as mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. As the government is fully supporting the healthcare sector, it is possible not only to diagnose patients but also trace and treat confirmed patients. Nevertheless, as the pandemic is not expected to end soon, more support and response strategies regarding COVID-19 is essential.Q. What are tour roles regarding COVID-19 response in Rwanda?When the first confirmed patient was diagnosed in our hospital, the first national quarantine facility was established in the city of Bugesera, and I was at the site leading the COVID-19 TF team. Later, the quarantine facility was transformed into a treatment center, and I m still leading the overall activities regarding COVID-19 in our city. That includes improving community s perception to prevent COVID-19, tracing travel routes of confirmed patients, and running tests on suspected cases. This role is identical to all director generals of national hospitals in Rwanda.Q. How are you cooperating with KOICA regarding activities related to COVID-19 prevention?When the Rwandan government asked for strong cooperation of governmental and non-governmental agencies, and domestic and international organizations to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in Rwanda, KOCIA also answered our call.KOICA recently donated 2,500 facial masks, 220 hand sanitizers, 70 thermometers, and 2,500 medical gloves to Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) in urgency. And during a meeting hosted by the minister of health, KOICA promised to continue providing diverse medical support to Rwanda.In particular, KOICA contacted me regarding donation of medical supply. It was like rain pouring after a drought for us who are fighting at the forefront of the pandemic. In representation of RBC*, I checked the demand for medical and quarantine supplies and sent the numbers to KOICA, and KOICA delivered the supplies through me.I am sincerely grateful for all the activities KOICA has been doing to help us respond to the crisis. I am also honored to be a part of such a meaningful activity.* Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC): An organization under the Ministry of Health of Rwanda. Just like the Centers for Disease Control in Korea, RBC handles the responses regarding infectious diseases including COVID-19, AIDS, and Ebola, etc.Q. In 2014, you participated in KOICA-Hanyang Master s Degree Program in Global Health Development (National Health Policy) and completed the course. Could you tell us how helpful was it to you?My relationship with KOICA that started in 2014 is meaningful for me, too. As a trainee, I completed the Master s Degree course in National Health Policy, and was able to acquire expertise on public health that suits the international standard.Through the training course, I was able to understand various knowledge regarding national health policy, and it served as a great help in performing my work here in Rwanda. My capabilities also advanced a lot, and I had the opportunity to be a director general in three different hospitals during the past five years. I will keep on cooperating with KOICA and perform my role to overcome the COVID-19 crisis in Rwanda.Q. Finally, any comments you would like to share with KOICA, who is also putting huge efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, and Korean readers who are also fighting against the crisis just as the people of Rwanda?As our fight against the COVID-19 will not come to an end soon, Rwanda is also planning to establish response strategies in diverse viewpoints. We will continue learning Korea s innovative quarantine system and infectious disease control cases through KOICA and contribute to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda.I believe that if we put our full efforts together, we will be able to address the COVID-19 outbreak. I would like to send my deepest gratitude to countries around the world, especially to KOICA and the people of Korea who did not hesitate to support us.

Multilateral Cooperation Development Project

Multilateral Cooperation Development Project

KOICA CARD NEWSMultilateral CooperationDevelopment Project

SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals)

SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals)

KOICA CARD NEWS"SDGs"Sustainable Development Goals1. SDGs stand for Sustainable Development Goals, which are the plans of the UN and the international community to build a better and happier world for all by 2030.2. SDGs, which could be categorized into three dimensions, consists of a total of 17 goals and 169 targets.Poverty and Disease / Environmental Issues / Economic and Social Issues3. Sustainable Development GoalsThe 17 sustainable development goals4. The 17 sustainable development goalsGOAL 1: No PovertyGOAL 2: Zero HungerGOAL 3: Good Health and Well-beingGOAL 4: Quality EducationGOAL 5: Gender EqualityGOAL 6: Clean Water and SanitationGOAL 7: Affordable and Clean EnergyGOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic GrowthGOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureGOAL 10: Reduced InequalityGOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and CommunitiesGOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and ProductionGOAL 13: Climate ActionGOAL 14: Life Below WaterGOAL 15: Life on LandGOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong InstitutionsGOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal5. COVI D-19 crisis, which hit the whole world, is evidently a threat in achieving the SGDs, but at the same time, raising the significance of the goals.6. SDGs threatened by the COVID-10 crisisSDG6. Clean Water and Sanitation WaterAid, 3/4 of households in developing countries lack access to soap and clean water SDG13. Climate Action Nature Climate Change , The amount of CO₂ emission reduced by 17% after traveling limitations due to COVID-19 SDG8. Decent work and Economic growthILO , 120 million people might lose jobs this year SDG1. No Poverty, SDG2. Zero HungerFAO, 180 million people facing food crisis due to the COVI D-19 pandemicSDG10. Reduced Inequalities UNDP, Widening inequality due to COVI D-19 Development of humanity retreating for the first time in three decades SDG5. Gender EqualityUNWOMEN, COVI D-19, pushed gender role of women back to 50 years ago 7. Leave No One Behind This is the main spirit of SDGs8. To transform a crisis into an opportunity while the world is putting all its efforts in addressing the COVI D-19 pandemic, the necessary measures for achieving SDGs should also be strengthened.9. Korea s leading development cooperation agencyKOICA will put efforts to achieve SDGs with the international community and make sure that no one is left behind.