Mustard Seed, an organization that provides educational help for underprivileged children in Seoul, is seeking volunteer teachers for a one-day English camp in Sillim-dong.
The camp, in its second year, is expecting to host about 150 children aged 7-13 on July 12, providing English lessons and fun activities. The camp organizers are looking for up to 20 native-speaking teachers to join its volunteer team.
Volunteers help underprivileged children make flower bouquets at last year’s Mustard Seed English Camp. (Mustard Seed)
Oh Eun-young, the president and founder of Mustard Seed, said that the children all attended the local Ggulbang, a center for children who qualify for state support.
The camp will involve English classes in the morning sessions, before a shared lunch. It will be followed by a session in which kids learn English songs and then an English song contest.
There will also be a “Mustard Seed Market,” in which kids will use camp currency to buy things donated by Mustard Seed members.
“We are gathering things like toys for children, clothes, some English books,” said Oh. “But we are also collecting clothes for their mothers, mugs, neckties for their fathers, things like that. So they can buy something for their mother, grandmother, father or for themselves.”
The camp will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Nanhyang Elementary School. Two meetings will be held on July 4 and 5 to prepare volunteers for the camp.
Lunch, an event T-shirt and teaching materials will all be provided, and organizers will provide transportation from Sillim Subway Station to the camp.
Those who want to volunteer should email wisemom69@naver.com with their name, contact details, job, age and T-shirt size. Volunteers should also say what age they would prefer to teach and which preparation session they would like to attend.
By Paul Kerry (
paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)
