DILI, 2 february 2023 (TATOLI)- Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) announced Seven South Korean volunteer programs to resume the teaching program in Timor-Leste.
According to a statement seed by Tatoli, as part of KOICA’s grant aid program, the Korean Volunteer Program, also known as World Friends Korea (WFK), is resuming in Timor-Leste.
“KOICA announced that seven Korean volunteers who arrived in Dili last December will complete eight weeks of local adaptation training, including learning Tetun, and will begin volunteering on Monday, February 6th. The volunteers plan to work in the fields of the Korean language
education, youth development, music education, and more,’’ the statement said.
The sending of Korean Volunteers to Timor-Leste was beginning in 2005, after both South Korea and Timor-Leste’s Government completed the Send Off Korean Volunteers agreement.
“Since then, KOICA has dispatched331 volunteers in different sectors in seven municipalities. The number of volunteers has steadily increased over time, but in 2020, due to COVID-19 Pandemic, all volunteers in Timor-Leste returned to South Korea,”
Between 2021 and 2022 during the COVID Pandemic, Korean volunteers continued volunteering from Korea, called e-volunteering.
Timorese youths from Becora Technical High School, SENAI Training Center, Dom Bosco Training Center, and Ruak Foundation continued to have Korean lessons taught by online volunteers through Zoom meetings and were able to pursue career development in Korea as planned.
“The World Friends Korea volunteers to Timor-Leste have brought a lot of benefits to Timorese people who wish to improve their life by working in Korea,” the statement said.
One of the partner organizations of KOICA, Centro Quesadhip Ruak, has successfully sent 84 students who are taught by KOICA Volunteers to work in Korea between 2021 and 2022.
And finally, in July last year, KOICA resumed Korean Volunteer Program by sending 5 volunteers to 4 partner institutions to teach the Korean language.
On December 2022, 7 more volunteers arrived in Timor-Leste and they will be working in Dili and Oecusse. These 7 Volunteers will be sharing knowledge with the Timorese young generation in the area of youth development, music education, general administration, and the Korean language.
Korea Ambassador, who is present at the Graduation Ceremony of 8 weeks of local adaptation training for Korean volunteers, encourages the volunteers to contribute to improving the quality of education and youth employment in Timor-Leste and promoting friendly relations between Timor-Leste and Korea.
TATOLI