Daegu, Republic of Korea — On Sunday, Dec. 19, the U.S. Army Garrison Daegu command team joined a group of garrison volunteers to deliver dozens of presents to a local Daegu orphanage.
The event was organized by USAG Daegu’s Religious Support Office (RSO), which put out a call to the community for donations to the Love & Hope Orphanage.
“This year in particular I am very thankful for the giving heart of the USAG Daegu community,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Byung Min, Garrison Chaplain for USAG Daegu and Area IV. “Whenever we put out information or requests for donations, there has been a tremendous response. I am very grateful for that.”
Min said the relationship between the base and orphanage has been going on since 1952, but he credits one local volunteer, in particular, for contributing to this long-standing relationship — Isaac (Huitae) Kim.
Kim, a chapel volunteer, has helped coordinate events with the orphanage for the past 29 years.
“Service members come and go, but Isaac Kim is [always] here,” said Min.
“We are extremely grateful to have him in this community because we can rely on him to organize these events and maintain the relationship with Love & Hope.”
Kim said he gets great satisfaction out of brightening the days of the orphans.
“We visit the orphanage every month and deliver birthday cakes to spread joy to the children. When we visit you can see the joy, the smiles on [their] faces. They recognize and remember us whenever we drop by.”
The gift drop event required two months of preparation and adaptation to shifting COVID-19 protocols, said Kim.
USAG Daegu RSO received enough donations from the community to provide gifts for all 120 orphans.
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