Imagine that the Japanese invasion has just ended. After being tortured to insanity by Japanese soldiers, you come home to find that your parents are dead, your wife has run away, and your once extravagant house has been burned down. You have no choice but to live under a bridge with other war victims, and beg for food. Even though you have frostbite, you bring food to those who are not able to move. You might think that no person would perform such deeds. Yet that’s what grandfather Gui-dong Choi had been doing for over 30 years.
In September of 1976, grandfather Choi met Father Woong-jin Oh. Father Oh was stunned after seeing the physically disabled grandfather move about to help those needier than him. Impressed by grandfather Choi’s devotion and sacrifice, he built a shelter and named it the House of Love. Now, the Kkotongnae community has grown into the nation’s largest general welfare facility, with more than 4000 residents and 1000 volunteer workers.
This summer, I visited Gapyong Kkotongnae. Gapyong Kkotongnae is located in Gyeonggi Province. I had been on a field trip with my middle school, two years ago. However, this time I had offered to do volunteer work for 3 days by myself. I went to the House of Peace, a facility for the elderly to be respected, receive proper medical treatment and to face death in peace. I helped grandmothers with Alzheimer’s disease eat meals, take baths and go for a walk.
I was shocked to find that these grandmothers were not very much different from my grandmother. They had all once been treated with love from their families. Yet, they had been left under the care of the church once they had been diagnosed. I thought of how much they must have been disappointed in the world for leaving them in such despair. Thus, I tried to truly understand what they were trying to say and kept reminding them that I was there to be as their granddaughter.
One of the grandmothers kept calling me gangaji‘(puppy)’. It seemed that she had called her former granddaughter this, and felt that I was similar to her. Even though she could not remember my name, she kept smiling and patting me on the head. Another grandmother had dementia, and kept yelling at the other grandmothers. Yet, when the time came for me to leave, she would not let go of my hand. I was so touched by the honest affection they had for me during the 3 days I was there.
I noticed that the people who worked at the facility (volunteers, priests and nuns) were careful not to treat the residents with pity. They truly loved and respected those living there and tried to pass on the message of God’s love to them. A lot of first-time volunteers make the mistake of treating the inhabitants as if they are infants incapable of understanding. This just makes them feel less confident of themselves, and rely more on others.
The founder of Kkottongnae, Grandfather Choi once said that “Even if you have only the strength to beg for food, it is the blessing of the Lord.” It means that if you are able to fend for yourself, you have the ability to help those less fortunate than you. If a disabled grandfather with an unstable mind has been able to help his acquaintances, why should we, healthy teenagers, not be able to? Even the poorest of the poor are our neighbors, and we are obligated to help them. For those of you who are interested in donating or volunteering, visit the Kkotongnae website.