NongHyup has launched a joint project with several private organizations to provide a package of various welfare services to farmers.

The “Farmers’ Happiness Bus” project, launched in a ceremony at NongHyup in Seoul on Tuesday, will offer a combination of medical services, entertainment and cultural performances, free legal counseling and other welfare activities for farmers.

Medical services will be provided by Jaseng Hospital of Oriental Medicine and Himchan Hospital. Korea Legal Aid Corp. also joined the project to offer complimentary counseling. 

During the launch ceremony, the groups pledge 40 million won to cover the medical expenses of two children from rural families suffering from hard-to-cure diseases, with each receiving 20 million.

Volunteers with the “Farmers’ Happiness Bus” will first visit Pocheon, north of Seoul, in Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday and Thursday. An advance team of medical volunteers left for the areas on Tuesday. NongHyup and other participants plan to send volunteers to at least two rural areas every month in order to benefit over 30,000 farmers this year.

NongHyup operated welfare programs for more than 100,000 farmers living around the subsistence level from 2009 to 2012.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)