Issue No. 51 (Jan-Mar 2008)

PARTNERSHIP

Picture of GNI Field Staff

Message from GNI President 3"Communication"

Voice from GNI Field : Good Neighbors Pakistan 4“The Story of Sermina- Fighting for Life”

Volunteer Story 7“My love, Cambodia”

Field Trip to GNI in Nepal 9"Road to be a Good Neighbor"

UN Report 10"Child Survival Today"

GNI News 13

Spring is coming. Just as the spring brings backto life all creatures, I hope that spring alsoawakens the spirits of all GNI families’ fromwinter’s slumber.I was in the United States and Africa during themonth of February. In the US, we held anexhibition in San Francisco with the support ofan American attorney for the first time sinceGood Neighbors USA registered as acorporation in the US. In LA, we visited two Korean newspapers andexchanged various ideas in order to obtain acooperative partnership with the KoreanCommunity in the US. Henceforth, we will tryto fortify our relationship with Americans andextend participation to include Koreanresidents.Right after returning from the US, we had anAfrica regional conference with 6 Africancountry directors from GN for 5 days and 4nights. Recently, not only in Korea but alsointernationally, there has been a campaign toraise funds for eradicating famine and for Africadevelopment. At that point, we spent timeconfirming our roles as an international Non-Government Organization and discussingconcrete project evaluation strategies.I defined ‘Communication’ as a 2008management key word for Good NeighborsInternational (GNI). As we carry out projects invarious fields and subjects, more dialogue

between variousexperts is needed inorder to get betteroutcomes from theprojects. Therefore wehave decided tostrengthen regionalexpert group trainingin order to improvethe quality ofoverseas work fromstaff.GNI hopes to provide a means for interactionand input from GNI members that is smoothand efficient, as it is the GNI members thatprovide excellent ideas for changing the world.GNI believes that the basis of "communication"is to make staff understand each other’sthoughts and concerns and to conduct projectsthat coincide with the each member’s opinions. Last 21th of February, GNI took a leap forwardthrough their project evaluating meeting. Thisyear, we will dispatch delegates to Geneva,where the UN headquarters is located, andexpand the range of international cooperation. Ihope all GNI families working everywhere inthe world can work together to make progressfor a great year in 2008.. I hope all GNI families are well and continue tohave a prosperous year.

“Communication”

Mr. Il-Ha YiGNl President

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The massive earthquake in Pakistan four yearsago, which completely devastated the entirecountry, also ruined the dreams and futures ofmany children there. The lives of ordinaryPakistanis further worsened amid a series ofsuicide bombings, political uncertainties afterthe murder of former Prime Minister Bhuttoand gender discrimination prevalent around theentire country. But even that combination ofdire circumstances did not stop little Serminafrom pursuing her dream.

Struggling through life

Jaberia, a young woman living next door,visited Sermina, looking so anxious anddesperate as if she was being chased bysomeone. Jaberia was living as a nurse in anarea hospital run by a Korean. "On my way back home from work today, Iheard this ‘boom!’ sound outside the window,"said Jaberia, still trembling with shock and fear."I opened the window, and saw yet anotherrevolt. The hospital was also full of smoke andthe sound of gunfire. My colleagues and I wereso terrified. I’m so scared of walking outsidetomorrow."The alleged assassination of Bhutto enragedmany politicians and Pakistanis, who eventuallybegan massive demonstrations throughout theentire country. Amid the unstable political

conditions, looters took over the streets, settingfire to stores, looting businesses and killingpeople. Ordinary people like Sermina and herfamily could do nothing else than pray that theywould neither get hurt nor get killed.

‘You are just a girl.’

"Where are you going, Sermina?" Sermina’s elder brother called out for Sermina,who was quietly tiptoeing towards the doorwhile the sun was slowly rising at dawn. "What’s the use for you to study, girl? It’s alluseless once you get married, not to mentionthat you will only be harassed by the boys onceyou go to school. You know how the villagefolks will stare at our family if we send a girl toschool."

The Story of Sermina- Fighting for Life.

Mr. Song Ki-jungCountry Director of Good Neighbors Pakistan

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Sermina looks at her brother with disappointedeyes. She dejectedly sat around and put downher beat-up notebook and pencil which wasworn down to a really short length. "I was going to learn a new word in today’sclass..."After Sermina was forced to quit school in themiddle of her elementary school courses due topoverty, GNI’s new Vocational Training Centerwas her only hope to learn new words fromteachers and meet new friends. Her brothersoon looked at Sermina with saddened eyes andbegan to console her."You are already engaged, and you can justrelax and chill out until you get married. That’s

your happiness. There’s nothing else special inlife anyway," he said. Sermina just nodded butshe knew the truth. Most Pakistani womenhave to work hard to prepare their dowry formarriage. Even if they managed to get married,the women are destined to be trapped at homefor the rest of their lives, giving birth to onechild after another and taking care of them.And there is an insurmountable barrier betweenthe lives of men and women, while most ofthem are not even aware of the idea of sexualdiscrimination.

I’m not giving up

After the earthquake in 2005 completelyshattered Sermina family’s humble home topieces, the family moved to Haripur, a towntwo hours and a half away. Their father had tosell all of the family’s holdings-tiny patches ofland-to buy a two-room house. But the father’searnings from a local factory were barelyenough for the 12-member family, while none ofthem could sleep comfortably in the house theyluckily managed to find. Meanwhile, Serminahad to quit school to work in factories and makemoney for the school tuitions of her brothers.But Sermina also wanted to go to school and

become a teacher, which had only remained asan unattainable dream until she found the GoodNeighbors’ Vocational Training Center. Shebegan to have hope and dreams again when hermother encouraged her to go to the school andto start taking classes for illiteracy eradiation,which Sermina eventually did. Her father andbrother, unwilling to send Sermina to a school,stopped her several times, making her afrequent latecomer to the class. But Sermina didnot give up, constantly persuading her fatherand brother and now she is even taking English

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and computer classes. Learning something freely is still a very specialand dangerous adventure for most Pakistaniwomen in the conservative society of Pakistan,which has been scarred by years of internalpolitical disputes and centuries-long genderdiscriminations. Sermina and other Pakistani girls and womenstill face walls of discriminations and socialobstacles to overcome to pursue dreams of theirown. But for now, let’s just hope that there willbe more helping hands to help more Pakistanigirls like Sermina break free of social customs,pursue dreams of their lives and have a morefulfilling life.

My first impression of Cambodia

I’ve been living in Good Neighbors Cambodia’sestablishment near the border of Thailand for 1year. A four-wheel drive vehicle lurches for hoursalong dirt roads to the establishment - 7 hoursby bus and car from Phnom Penh, the capital. My first impression of Cambodia was that itwas just "a harsh land". It was a completelydesolate area, like a desert

Drinking Water Development Project

Vaing Moueng is a typical rural area and themajority of the inhabitants have jobs inagriculture. There are no water supply facilities,electric and other infrastructure, so people havebuilt a reservoir and used automobile batteriesfor electricity. But the reservoir is alwaysexposed to pollutants. The reservoirwater is basically muddy so many havestomach problems.

The dry season is a severe time people have tosuffer more due to a lack of water. And if hedidn’t have any reservoir for his own family, hewould have to carry heavy water baskets eventhough he was a child.In this situation, a well (with a hand pump) anda water purifier are extremely beneficial forthose living in Vaing Moueng, where manypeople are having difficulty maintaining a freshwater supply.

Establishing a well

We made a project plan in September and gotdown to a project with a clear and detailedstrategy for October. But one or more problemsoccurred while trying to establish a well. A lot ofthis was generated by mechanical andgeological problems.

My love, Cambodia

Mr. Min-Woo LeeGNVol at Cambodia

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Fall became winter. We couldn’t do anythingbecause of the cold. But we managed to have apretty good time with the natives, though thecold kept up for almost 2 months. Spring was here. We found a new place to digand tried seven times. We finally dug a well 50meters deep. After that, we were easily able todig 8 wells in only 40 days. We worked amiracle. Everyone joined in exultation at thecompletion of the wells. Many local residentshelped work. They found food for workers andworked hard without compensation. We wereespecially surprised and pleased at theircooperation. The well created a natural

gathering space for neighbors and, ultimately,stronger bonds within the community.

We are the world.

At first, I felt really uneasy because I couldn’tachieve anything. Frankly speaking, it’s justbecause of my fear of failure. But I took sometime for reflection and wished for more courage.So I could continue the remaining project with apeace of mind. The results were good. I began tothink about the reason I came here. What mademe participate in this project? Will it benefit allCambodians?I think it will not. But it sure can be valuable forsome people. We, as individuals, cannot help

everyone by ourselves. But we can make gooduse of our ability when it is needed. Giving ahelping hand to someone who needs it willcertainly be a big help.Drop a stone into a still pond. Rings of waterradiate outward. The rest of the water and thepond’s edges are eventually affected, even if in atiny way. So too are we mutually touched bywhat happens to another. It is obvious thathelping others makes our world better.

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The Global Citizenship School visited Nepalfrom the 14th to the 19th of January. Its aim wasto understand the current world situation and togive aid to the people in the area.

Initially, we visited a school in the Sangla areawhere Good Neighbors Nepal (GNN) isoperating after-school programs. In spite ofschool holidays, 51 children gathered towelcome us. Watching those children wearingtheir school uniforms and giving us a warmwelcome, we couldn’t help but sense that theyhad been provided with good-quality educationand abundant love. Those innocent childrentrying to show their gratitude for what they hadreceived reminded us of our difficult childhoods.

We spent the night in the accommodationsprovided for the children. The next day westarted to visit local families. We had to walk upa sharp slope (40 to 50 degrees) and passedfields. Witnessing the severe poverty, werealized exactly what we needed to do.

We next left Sangla for Badhikel, which isanother area GNN is working in. Badhikelprimary school is a registered school privatelyrun by GNN. It has a dormitory, library facilitiesand a computer room. It provides a much betterenvironment than other schools in Nepal, andenables the students to hope for a brighterfuture.

Every child in the world has unlimitedpotential. Whether their potential will berealized is dependent upon what theirenvironment can offer. In this sense, we are

confident that as long as GNN continues itswork there, children’s futures will be bright.Obviously, the more good neighbors we have,the happier the life these Nepalese children willlead. Feeling a deep sense of responsibility forNepalese children, the school principals whoparticipated in the visit decided to encouragetheir students to be great world citizens with aconcern for the rest of the world.

The Visit of the Global Citizenship School toNepal: Hope in Nepalese Children’s Future.

Mr. Chang Kwon KimPrincipal of Seoul Sunyu Primary School

UNICEF provides a wide-ranging assessment ofthe current state of child survival and primaryhealth care for mothers, newborns and childrenthrough the State of the World’s Children 2008.These issues lie at the heart of human progress,serving as sensitive barometers of a country’sdevelopment and well-being and givingevidence of its priorities and values. Investing inthe health of children and their mothers is notonly a human rights imperative, it is also asound economic decision and one of the surestways for a country to set its course towards abetter future.The remarkable advances in reducing childdeaths that many developing countries haveachieved in recent decades provide reason foroptimism. Since 1960, the earliest year for whichthe number of child deaths per year is currentlyavailable, the annual number of child deathsaround the world has been halved. And yet,much remains to be done, because every day, onaverage, more than 26,000 children under theage of five die around the world, mostly frompreventable causes. Nearly all of them live in thedeveloping world or, more precisely, in 60‘priority’ developing countries and territories.

Child survival: main threats and solutions

More than one third of all child deaths occurduring the first 28 days of life. Many of these

children die at home, without access to essentialhealth services and basic commodities thatmight have saved their lives. Some childrensuccumb to respiratory or diarrheal infectionsthat are no longer threats in industrializedcountries or to early childhood diseases, such asmeasles, that are easily prevented throughvaccines. Up to half of all under-5-years-olddeaths are associated with malnutrition, whichdeprives a young child°Øs body and mind ofthe nutrients needed for growth anddevelopment. Unsafe water, poor sanitation andinadequate hygiene also contribute to child

Where We Stand: Child Survival Today

UNICEF

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mortality and morbidity. The key interventions needed to address themajor causes of child deaths are well establishedand accepted. In fact, research reveals that onlyabout 1 percent of deaths among children underfive have unknown causes and that up to two-thirds of them are entirely preventable. Themost basic, yet important, services and practicesidentified include:

Skilled attendants at delivery and newborncare; Care of low birth weight infants; Hygiene promotion; Prevention of mother-to-child transmission ofHIV and pediatric treatment of AIDS; Adequate nutrition, particularly in the form ofearly and exclusive breastfeeding during thefirst six months of life; Complementary feeding combined withcontinued breastfeeding for at least two moreyears; Micronutrient supplementation to boostimmune systems; Immunization to protect children against thesix major vaccine-preventable diseases; Oral rehydration therapy and zinc to combatdiarrheal diseases;

Antibiotics to fightpneumonia;I n s e c t i c i d e - t r e a t e dmosquito nets andeffective medicines toprevent and treatmalaria.

The challenge is to ensurethat these remedies- alongwith comprehensive healthservices and a continuumof maternal, newborn andchild health care-reach

millions of children and families who, so far,have been passed by.

Making maternal, newborn and childsurvival a global priority

While the development community works toachieve each of the health-related MillenniumDevelopment Goals, its target in relation to childsurvival is Millennium Development Goal 4(MDG 4), which aims to reduce the globalunder-five mortality rate by two-thirds between1990 and 2015. In 2006, the most recent year forwhich firm estimates are available, close to 9.7million children died before their fifth birthday.Meeting MDG 4implies that duringthe next seven yearsthe number of childdeaths must be cut inhalf - to fewer than 5million per year-andat a much faster ratethan before. Theenormity of thechallenge should notbe underestimated,for the bulk of the

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efforts must be focused on the most difficultsituations and circumstances: in the poorestcountries, among the most impoverished,isolated, uneducated and marginalized districtsand communities, within nations ravaged byAIDS, conflict, weak governance and chronicunderinvestment in public health systems andphysical infrastructure. Business as usual will be grossly insufficient tomeet the health-related MillenniumDevelopment Goals for children. This isabundantly clear in sub-Saharan Africa, theregion furthest behind on almost all of thehealth-related MDGs, but also in severalcountries of South Asia and other parts thedeveloping world.The State of the World’s Children 2008 returnsto a theme that marked the launch of a series inthe early 1980s: putting children’s survival,health and development first. Then, as now,UNICEF and its partners aspired to reduce thenumber of child deaths by about half by a targetdate. Then, as now, it proposed simple, effective,

low-cost, practical solutions and strategies toreduce child mortality and improve child health.Now, as then, it is inviting partners from allwalks of life - from religious leaders to GoodwillAmbassadors, from mayors to Heads of State,from sports personalities to parliamentarians,from professional associations to trade unions -to join the movement for child survival anddevelopment. In order to achieve these objectives, the keystakeholders - governments and communities,donors and international agencies, non-governmental organizations and private sectorcollaborators-will need to unite and collaboratetheir actions and partnerships in support ofmaternal and child survival and health. Thesurvival of children must be placed at the heartof global efforts to advance humanity.

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GNI News

The ceremony for the completionof Rosun Primary school andJamo Community Center inVietnam

The country director of Good NeighborsVietnam, Mr. Bo-Yong Lee, held a ceremony forthe completion of Rosun Primary school andJamo Community Center, part of the Hoa BinhCommunity Development Project, on December12th 2007.The new school will provide a bettereducational environment with the four newly-built classrooms, and the new communitycenter will contribute to the unity of the localpeople and communication opportunities.The sponsors from Shinhan Bank in Korea andCommunity Chest of Korea were present at theceremony and offered congratulations.

Vietnamese organizationPACCOM visiting the GNIheadquarters

Five senior officials of PACCOM (People’s

Coordinating Committee), a Vietnamese publicorganization, visited the Seoul headquarters ofGood Neighbors International on Dec. 17 2007.PACCOM, a state-run subsidiary under theVUFO (Vietnam Union of FriendshipOrganization), has been supporting andworking with foreign non-governmentorganizations operating in Vietnam since 1989. The five Vietnamese delegates expressed upbeatopinions on GNI’s current operations inVietnam and pledged to continue close relationsand cooperation between the GNI andPACCOM. The GNI President, Mr. Il-ha Yi, alsopledged to expand the organization’s operationsin Vietnam and asked for more active supportfrom PACCOM.

Good Neighbors Internationalbeginning operations in Yemen

Mr. Oi-sik Chung, who wasdesignated to lead GoodNeighbors International’snew Yemen unit, left for

Yemen on Jan. 6 2008 to begin operations in thecountry. The Yemen office, GNI’s new fieldcountry, established in 2008, is expected tolaunch projects to support local children andrural development operations around thenation’s capital city of Sanaa. Yemen, whoseannual per-capita gross domestic productamounted to only $567 in 2003, has beenconsidered one of the poorest countries in theMiddle East by the Development AssistanceCommittee of the Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development.

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GNI office in Sri Lanka relocated On Jan. 08, GoodN e i g h b o r sI n t e r n a t i o n a lrelocated its SriLanka office fromits previouslocation inAmbalandoga tothe nation’s capitalcity of Colombo.GNI’s Sri Lanka

office, which had operated children educationprograms in the nation’s southern region ofGall, plans to further expand its operations tothe urban poor and impoverished children inColombo areas.

GNI delegate leaving forGuatemala to plan new projects inthe country

Good NeighborsInternational selectedGuatemala as the firstcountry for the GNI’s

operation in Latin America. Mr. Sung Rak Park,a deputy manager at the InternationalDevelopment Team of the GNI’s InternationalPartnership and Services Division, was sent toGuatemala on Jan. 1, 2008 for preliminaryresearch to open the new office during a sevenweek-long trip. GNI is expected to kick off newaid operations in more Latin Americancountries beginning in Guatemala.

GNI opens Geneva Office inEurope to enhance internationalco-operation

Ms. Hae-WonChung, the GNIS p e c i a lAdvisor, visitedG e n e v a ,S w i t z e r l a n dfrom January26th to March17th in order to

launch a GNI Geneva Office and to build astrong foundation with the United Nations andinternational NGOs.

Good Neighbors Internationalphoto exhibition of "Children inDisaster"

Good Neighbors International new locallyincorporated unit in Los Angeles, created in2007, held its first official event by opening aphoto exhibition of children around the world.

GNI News

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The event, held in the office of Strand & Seabornlaw firm at downtown San Francisco on Jan. 31,exhibited 51 photos of children suffering fromnatural disasters and poverty around the worldand global operations of Good NeighborsInternational. The event, aimed to show thegrim realities of the children in grave livingconditions amid conflicts and natural disasters,was sponsored by the area attorney’sassociation. Good Neighbors InternationalPresident Il-Ha Yi, Korea’s Consul General inSan Francisco, Mr. Bon-Woo Ku and many othercommunity leaders including the president ofthe Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and arealawyers attended the event. Good NeighborsUSA plans to hold such photo exhibits on aregular basis from now on and encouragemembers of the area Korean community andU.S. citizens to take part in donation campaignsmore actively. Good Neighbors International, asan international charity group with 3 supporting

countries including the US and 20 fieldcountries plans to further expand its globalnetworks to provide more help and aid todeveloping countries.

Chad- Area development projecthalted due to domestic armedconflicts

On Feb 02, 2008, an armed conflict betweenChad government forces and rebel groupsbroke out in N`Djamena, the capital city ofChad, stirring the local community. GoodNeighbors International has been operating achild education center and developing drinkingwater fountains in the area since last September.With government forces and rebels still clashingand the crisis raging on, GNI shut down itsoperations in the country and its employees andfamilies safely evacuated to neighboringcountries.

GNI News

- Asia -

Good Neighbors Afghanistan P.O. Box 5774 Kabul, Afghanistan agukyaka@gmail.com

Good Neighbors Bangladesh House No. 282(5th flr.), Lane - 4,D.O.H.S Baridhara Dhaka-1206,Bangladesh bangla57@hanmail.net

Good Neighbors Cambodia P.O. BOX 0141, Orchrov District, BanTeameanchey Province, Cambodia domylee@goodneighbors.org

Good Neighbors Indiahappy-ahn@hanmail.net

Good Neighbors Indonesia JL. BGR Boulevard Villa Gading IndahBlok A1 No.7 Kelapagading JakartaUtara 14240 Indonesiaheewoo11@hanmail.net

Good Neighbors Mongolia 63 Bair 1-1 Toot, 1-R Duchin Myangat,3-R Horoo, Sukhbaatar Duureg,Ulaanbaatar, Mogol sjhur0115@hanmail.net

Good Neighbors Myanmar 375E2 Shwehninsi st. Mayangone, T/SYangon, Myanmar maing@mptmail.net.mm

Good Neighbors Nepal G.P.O Box 8975, EPC 1605, Katmandu,Nepal gnnepal@hanmail.net

Good Neighbors Pakistan House No. 18, Workshop Road,Habibullah Colony, Abbottabad,Pakistan kijung@brain.net.pk

Good Neighbors Philippines #90 Saint Andrew St. JPA SUBOTunasan Muntinlupa City METR. ManilaPhilippinesiljuhwang@hanmail.net

Good Neighbors Sri Lanka No 46, 2/1, Quarry Road, Dehiwala,Colombo, Sri Lankaseunghyung73@msn.com

Good Neighbors Tajikistan PO Box 212, Main Post, 734025,Dushanbe Tajikistan tajik91@hanmail.net

Good Neighbors Vietnam 1105 A4 Lang Quac Te Thang Long CauGiay Hanoi Vietnam dangian65@hotmail.com

Good Neighbors YemenPO box 15401 Sana'a, Republic ofYemen gooisik@naver.com

- Africa -

Good Neighbors Chad B.P 1490 N'djamena Chad cdepark@gmail.com

Good Neighbors Egypt 4th floor, 10 Road 151, El Maadi, Cairo,Egypt gnepaul@gmail.com

Good Neighbors Ethiopia PO Box 12937, House No.248, Kebele15/16/17, Lideta Sub-city, Addis Ababa,Ethiopia logosist@gmail.com

Good Neighbors Kenya PO Box 76327, Nairobi, Kenya gn1391@hotmail.com

Good Neighbors Rwanda B.P.5125 Kigali, Rwanda coree@goodneighbors.org

Good Neighbors Tanzania Plot No. 305 and 307, Block A MikocheniArea 17, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania discbang@hanmail.net

- America -

Good Neighbors Guatemala srpark75@hotmail.com

Good Neighbors InternationalHeadquarters in Korea 101-4, Choengpa-dong 2ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea 140-132 Mapo PO Box 7, Seoul, Korea 121-600 mail@goodneighbors.org

Good Neighbors USA 550 Township Line Rd, Suite 200 BlueBell, PA 19422 gniusa@aol.com

Good Neighbors USA in LA 3325 Wilshire Blvd suite 1350, LosAngeles, CA 90010, USA gnusa@goodneighbors.org

Good Neighbors Japan New Light Bldg. 205, 2-25-6 Hongou,Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japana-takagi@gnjp.org, http://www.gnjp.org

509 West 110th St. 8F, New York, NY10025, U.S.A. sj2213@gmail.com

- UN Liaison Office in New York -

- Support Offices -

- Field Offices -

Network of Good Neighbors International