Sunday, December 20, 2015

Winter Helpers

Our university has taken it upon ourselves to help the elderly throughout the year. Raising money for rice, blanlets, other non perishable food items, etc. In the winter it is very cold and most do not have a satisfactory way of heating their homes.
Charcoal "bricks" are a way for them to do that.
Each brickette is approximately 50 cents and each home will burn 3 per day. For 1 home that is about 400-600 bricks per winter.  Each brick weighs about 9 pounds.
We got together a small team of helpers to deliver these bricks to several family homes in our neighborhood--about 30 people both professors and students.
Out of 2000 homes in need in Daejeon, we delivered to only 7 this day. There are other companies/groups of people who also help on additional days.
It was a great experience and though it isnt much, we are glad we have set in motion a longer project for the year and not only winter. The elderly in Korea do not get a pension or much, if any, help from the government. Some can get 200$ per month from the government but not all. Most rely on their children to help them with money (the Korean culture) but some adult children do not--or are not willing--help.
To deliver them to the home we got in a fireman line and handed them up the line until it reached their door. The people at that end placed the bricks in the selected spot and so on it went. Most people have an entire room or multiple rooms of their home filled with these bricks.