Message from the Chairwoman of MANNAM

MANNAM is a volunteer organization whose goal is succinctly defined in our motto, our rallying cry, our call to arms: When Light Meets Light there is Victory. Our mission is to bring all people of different nationalities, creeds and cultures together through volunteering and to learn and understand about each other: when good things come together, the result will be even greater – world peace.

We volunteer silently and without fanfare. We do our work behind the scenes. We do not work for accolades or self aggrandizement; our lights are hidden. Likewise, all this is made possible through the anonymous yet wonderfully generous contributions of those many individuals who support our organization, some 100,000 across the world as of start of 2013.

Korea has long been known as the country of courteous people in the East and the 'land that does not forget kindness'. Our aim is to spread our vision and the goodness in this culture across borders. We want to bring the light of love across the globe and from this will come cries of "Victory!"

Wherever there is a place that requires love and sacrifice, our desire is to be there, wherever it may be. These are the principles instilled into our organization by our Honorary Chairman, Mr. Lee. We hope you will be our steadfast companions on the journey yet to be traveled.

Thank you.

My Happy Voluntary work in MANNAM

 I am a member of MANNAM. I am writing because I'd like to share my happy feeling with others who are hesitating to do volunteer work.

I teach Korean language and visit an orphanage and a hospital with foreign members regularly. I like to be a friend with the foreign members because I can get a chance to learn many things, especially about their cultures.

I think that exchanging our thoughts each other is the first step to make the world be one and I really appreciate having these meetings.

In addition to, I have been learning a spirit of sacrifice through volunteering. I had not realized before. After joining voluntary works I just started to think that I got so many thankful things around me. I have a sweet family, friends and health. When I realized this, I felt I was a happy person. Being able to help somebody in need is a really great job. I will keep doing voluntary work, sharing my talents, time and my happiness.

I guess that making the world be happy is not that difficult. Just share your heart with your neighbors. That's enough. You know? All the big trees are also started from each tiny little seed. Please remember it. Thank you.

Written by
Hyo-jeong Lee

MANNAM MAN meets Gamcheon Cultural Village

Greetings!!

I have been to Gamcheon Culture Village on last day of seollal holiday( korean New Year's day). Gamcheon Culture village is located in Busan, which is the second largest city in Korea. Since 2009, the village has been subjected to be remodelled and renovated as a part of government-supported art projects. The dense houses of this small hillside village makes a view with colorful buildings. If you are interested in photography, there are many opportunities to take photos than expected.

When I had arrived there, I, firstly, bought the colorfully-illustrated map which costed just 2,000 won. There are 7 blanks on the map that you should collect stamps each place. If you collect all seven stamps from all places marked on the map, you can get either two postcards or one printed photo you take for free at Hanuel maru which is located at the top of the village. But I couldn't. That day was National Holiday, so many people were there. :)

One place attracting my eye was House of Peace.

A sign was posted in front of the house.

[ Peace is invisible to the eye and inaudible to the ear. But still, peace is the container can hold everything in the world. This work is the visualization of the peace as a container can hold everything. Moonlight shines on everything fairly. It doesn't care whether they are rich or poor, what race and religion. Peace is the basis of equal and fair living for the whole human kind. ]

I have been deeply moved by this sign before entering this house.

These papers were posted by hundreds of people who wished real peace. 

I think that peace start from respecting different minds from your thoughts.

These days I've been working for one volunteer association called MANNAM on the weekends. Its ultimate goal is world peace through volunteering. This pure volunteer association grounding on all people from the world, irrespective of their differences, unites and works towards the goal of the world peace and a culture of respect and tolerance through true volunteerism. This is MANNAM's vision and I love it.

Volunteer work provides meaningful life to us as heaven gives us the light, rain, and air. Not expecting in return, like nature does. That's a real PURE volunteer work.

I am so happy that I could something for people in need. Honestly it makes me feel valued. I'm going to a hospital on this Saturday to treat sick children. The volunteers including me are preparing something special for the little friends.
Would you come with me? :)

www.mannamintl.org

I am an Office Worker!! I am a member of MANNAM!!

 I am an officer of a building company. I have been engaged in there for 3 years.  It was April 2012 when I started to join MANNAM. I had been tired of my repetitive life. At that time, one of my friend told me about one volunteer association called MANNAM and recommended to join the volunteer group. Honestly I had never heard the name before. Anyway he told me that it could bring me some happiness. At first, I turned it down because I thought I should spend lots of time and money if I joined there. Working in my office was hard enough for me. But he kept persuading me. He said I could feel happy while I helped people in need.
"You just need a little bit of spare time and passion.", he said.
So I decided to join MANNAM Volunteer Association.

 Before, I had been New Zealand for a while so I knew about the feelings of staying abroad. I knew well how difficult it was. So I started to help them with teaching Korean language and Korean culture to adjust this strange land. It was very easy for me to make them understand my culture,  but it was something special for them. The foreigners really thanked me for helping them. It was also great I was able to know about their countries and cultures.
 I felt great while I helped them. Amazingly, volunteering was healing my stress.

A few months later, I got a chance to manage sports teams. Through sports, we could get closer each other. It refreshed my boring life and brought happiness to me. Before doing that, I was a person who just knew oneself only and didn't care others so much. Now, however, I feel very happy that I could help someone.

 The best memory I have during activities is 'The Children Abuse Prevention Campaign' held on Children's day 2012. It was a campaign that we tried to let people think about how many children were under unfair situations and participate in the campaign through doing variety performances. We did Flash Mob to gather people and make them aware about the serious social problem with pictures and articles.
To prepare this campaign, we gathered some foreign friends who were interested in volunteering and talented at dancing. Thanks to the volunteers, about 100 people  were able to join Flash Mob. We practiced only twice before the event. But did a great job. And we made some clay toys to offer every children we met there.
 A lot of people watched our Flash Mob and hundreds of children enjoyed our program joyfully. I felt so amazing that we had made this wonderful event by ourselves and also could reduce this terrible problem at least once by doing this campaign. How worthwhile it was! I will not forget this forever.

 As an office worker and also a member of MANNAM, I have been volunteering on every weekends, helping Korean language class, joining orphanage volunteers, visiting a hospital to treat sick children and so on. It really brings me happy and pleasure. I have got much more passion about the world peace through those activities within MANNAM. If we share our thoughts about peace and love with our neighbors, I think the world peace is possible.

Thank you.

Written by
Min-uk Choi

How our reaction to North Korea should be

I lived in Vietnam for 6 years since 2004. As you know, Vietnam is a communist country. When I lived in there, I had been feeling difficult and sad to vietnamese friends who were under pressure from polices and soldiers. They did not look happy under communism. At least I felt so. I think FREEDOM is a real basic right of human being.

I read news below at early morning 7, Feb.

“If the enemy [North Korea] is actually about to use a nuclear weapon, a preemptive strike is also one of our possible reactions,” Jung Seung-jo, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a briefing of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee yesterday.

When I read this news, one story called [The Wind and the Sun] came into my head. One day two of them were bored so that they bet who took a traveler's coat off . Do you know who won and how to win?

The reason that we could say "peace", it is assumed Non-Violent. Peace is difficult but easy. I mean Political, Religious, Race peace is very difficult but our peace is easy. Let's try MANNAM's first principle "We strive to be a source of light and hope for others"

One of chances to spread light and hope is a Volunteer Work. Volunteering will give the meaningful and positive impact to your community. Besides it can have many benefits for yourself too.

Volunteering is sharing yours with others. Volunteering is giving yours to others. Do you worry about there would be no more yours someday? Do not worry. You will get more than you have shared.

Thank you.

Written by

Yeong jae yu

My Seollal(Korean New Year's Day)

There is a big holiday in Korea called Seollal which is Lunar New Year's Day. On Seollal, each family member get together, have a chat and cook some special foods. One of the most typical dish that we feast is ddeok-guk. It is a rice cake soup and very delicious. Even if you are not Korean, you may like its light and clean taste.

By the way, do you know why do we eat ddeok-guk on Seollal?

Seollal, the day we have ddeok-guk, literally means the beginning of the year and also it's the time winter turns into spring. This rice cake is symbolized for living healthy and longevity with having a good harvest because of its long shape. So eating ddeok-guk, you could have the warm energy in your body. And we believe that sharing ddeok-guk with neighbors means sharing the good fortune with them together.

I will eat this delicious dish with my relatives on this Seollal as usual. My relatives gather in grandparents' house. My aunt and uncle drive for 5~7 hours to meet us. We will have great time, talking, laughing and preparing some traditional foods. We have not only the traditional foods but also variety traditional games for Seollal. We enjoy them all together, from little kids to grandparents.

Could you imagine how peaceful and happy the day would be?

However, at this moment, I'd like to say that there could be someone who are not able to have this peaceful and happy time with their family or relatives. I am talking about "War". Some children and young men could be fighting in the war holding guns to survive even at this moment. The words, like 'family' or 'happiness' are far away from them. I think we should not forget those people. We need to take care of those situations because the world has been getting closer and people living in each country become neighbors as we express 'global village'. If so, the world peace should be needed and the war should be stopped so that the children and young men won't be dragged to the battle.

In MANNAM Volunteer Association, we share our thoughts for world peace and try to make world be the place fulling of happiness and love. The MANNAM volunteers from all over the world seem to look different in color, race, culture, gender and religion, but those are not important to us. Whatever you have, whoever you are, we don't care. If you accept the differences and admire each other, we can understand each other. Furthermore we can be friend or family living in "global village". And when we understand and respect each other, the war will be end at last. Like MANNAM slogan says, 'When Light meets Light, there is Victory', the world peace is possible if there's someone desire to make it. And the "light" could be YOU and I.

That's all what I am thinking.

You and I, we can make the world bright.

Written by

Na-yeong Yoon.

A meeting of two peace makers, Man Hee Lee & Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Ong San Soo Chee), Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate, symbolizes the struggle of  Myanmar's people for freedom.
She returned to Myanmar in 1988 to nurse her dying mother and was immediately plunged into the country's nationwide democracy uprising. Joining the newly-formed National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi gave numerous speeches calling for freedom and democracy. The military regime responded to the uprising with brute force, killing up to 5,000 demonstrators. Unable to maintain its grip on power, the regime was forced to call a general election in 1990.
As Aung San Suu Kyi began to campaign for the NLD, she and many others were detained by the regime. Despite being held under house arrest, the NLD went on to win a staggering 82% of the seats in parliament. The regime never recognized the results of the election.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been in and out of arrest ever since. She was held under house arrest from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002. She was again arrested in May 2003 after the Depayin massacre, which was an incident that close to 100 of her supporters were beaten to death by the regime's militia.

She has spent more than 15 years being under detention. She was released from her current third period of detention on November 13, 2010. There are still over 2,200 political prisoners in Myanmar now. She has carried out a movement of Myanmar's nonviolent democracy, struggling with house arrest and detention.

Honorary president of MANNAM Volunteer Association, Man Hee Lee and the president, Nam Hee Kim have visited many countries in Europe, America, Africa to meet the world leaders and to convey the aspirations of world peace and liberation. All world leaders they have met agreed with the message that break down the walls of border, race, religion and become a family for world peace and liberation.

And they are planning to meet other leaders continuously. Becuase the world peace is not only our dream but also whole human race's desire. MANNAM will continue to make every effort to realize the World Peace.

Written by

Yeong-jae Yu