Into the Warmth of Companionship in the Cold Winter: Chaplain’s Office’s Darakbang Evangelization Association Mission an N
- Date2025.03.04
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Once again, scholarship students of the chaplain office (Directed by Ahn Sun-hee)’s Darakbang evangelization association collaborated with the volunteer organization ESSEL and actively carried out missionary activities during the 2nd semester of 2024. Since its founding in 1960, the Darakbang evangelization association has continued missionary work both domestic and international for 63 years and after becoming an organization under the chaplain office in August 2008, it has inherited its previous activities while conducting various missionary programs focused on university student clubs based on Ewha’s Christian spirit, which are love and volunteering.
Firstly, the missionary scholarship student team consisted of six Ewha students from various majors. They planned and carried out a Future Camp Project for the Girls throughout the whole semester. During the semester, they taught classes designed for multicultural students (with immigrant background) in order to improve their literacy at the Yongsan Self-Sufficiency Center located in Seoul. They interacted with the children every Saturday, conversing and sharing their lives.
‘Missionary scholarship students’ conducting literacy improvement education at the Yongsan Self-Sufficiency Center in Seoul
Jin Ye-ju (Social Studies Education major, class of ’21) described the missionary scholarship students’ activities as “the program that best reflects Ewha’s vision of enhancing the value of future women leaders and contributing to events that are socially meaningful.”
During school break, a 3-day Future Girls’ camp was held based on the activities carried out during the semester. This camp featured elementary students from immigrant backgrounds such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Mongolia. The program was conducted at the Darakbang Evangelization Association’s building and the E-House dormitory of Ewha Womans University, including various activities such as sex education, literacy improvement education, and cultural education. To honor and spread the Ewha spirit which began from a single female student, the missionary scholarship student team gave them a campus tour. The elementary students were greatly interested in Ewha’s history as they looked around Ewha Campus Complex (ECC), the Natural History Museum, and the Welch-Ryang Auditorium. They particularly enjoyed the Natural History Museum where they could see and learn about various organisms that make up the Earth.
'Missionary scholarship students' taking a final photo at the Attic Room Evangelism Association building | 'Missionary scholarship students' visiting the Natural History Museum (middle photo) and the Grand Auditorium (right photo) during the campus tour.
The sincerity of the missionary scholarship students was passed on to the participants. During the literacy improvement education, participants shared the kind of bread they wanted to make and the memory they had with it. One participant mentioned she wanted to express her gratitude towards the teacher by the bread which contains the joyful times she had at the camp. On the last day, the children pitied their last day saying, “it was an unforgettable 3-day experience,” and also expressed their aspiration to “come back to Ewha Womans University to see the teachers again.”
Yang Hye-seung (Fashion Industry major, class of ’23) shared the passion of the companionship which she experienced through the missionary scholarship activities, saying “It reminded me of the meaning of solidarity transcending religion. I was so immersed in the activity that I forgot it was volunteer work.”
ESSEL, a traditional medical volunteer association group under the Chaplain office’s Darakbang Evangelization Association continues its tradition of medical missions since 1971, carrying out overseas missions in the summer and domestic missions in the winter every year. The ESSEL team, composed of seven nursing students from Ewha Womans University and eleven dental students from Yonsei University, visited the Euipung Church in Danyang, Chungbuk last February, from the 7th (Friday) to the 8th (Saturday) to provide medical care and spread God’s love to 41 local residents.
‘Team ESSEL’ reading the medical missionary charter of constitution out loud at the Euipung Church before beginning activities.
Euipung Church is located in an area that has low access to healthcare, making it difficult for elders who make up the majority of the village, to take care of chronic illnesses. ESSEL’s continuous activities throughout the years have built “relationships.’ The local pastor and residents helped the students move their supplies with their truck, there were also people who recognized familiar faces from the team and showed gratitude.
Team ESSEL, prepared with prayers and hymns, split up roles between nursing and dental students to carry out medical service. The nursing students conducted medical consultations, measured blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and checked daily habits and health conditions. Lee Ga-hee (Nursing major, class of ’23) recalled on her experience, saying “Medical volunteering is not just about providing treatment; it is a process of sharing our hearts.” The nursing students carried out Aural pressure therapy using sticker needles and nursing education based on the consultation results. Dental students from Yonsei University proceeded with scaling, resin filling, teeth touch-ups, adjusting braces, and oral examination.
‘ESSEL’ carrying out medical missionary activities.
ESSEL’s visit to Danyang in the cold winter brought warmth, dissolving the residents’ worries, and it was also a valuable experience for the students to realize the value of medical volunteering while seeing the residents being comforted by their service. Shim Yeji (Nursing major, class of ’24), mentioned “This mission went beyond simple medical volunteering, it was a time in which I could communicate with patients and understand and empathize with their lives,” and added “Even a small effort of mine can bring real changes.”