Q1. Please give a brief introduction of yourself.
Hello. I am Keum Hui-yeon, who has joined the Refugee News team of MAP as a volunteer.
Q2. Please tell us why you joined MAP and what you do.
I had thought of a few things I really wanted to accomplish this year. One of them was a resolution to spend this year doing something for people experiencing homelessness. But there was not much an individual could do, and it was hard to find volunteering opportunities. Then I heard a friend living in Korea with refugee status worry about their status of stay, and it occurred to me that people experiencing homelessness and refugees, whatever the reason, are both in the process of leaving home and looking for a new place to settle, in similar circumstances. That is why I applied.
I help the Refugee News team, which makes sure refugees can learn the information they need in time. I mainly handle information gathering, editing and translation.
Q3. Please fill in the blank: “I want to be a ___ volunteer.”
A persistent volunteer. Of course, people who draw up grand plans are needed too, but first I place more value on “small contributions” and want to build the habit of volunteering like this. I want to have a life structure in which I make time for volunteering, rather than volunteering when I happen to have time.
Q4. What gives you a small but certain happiness of your own?
Music and dance. When I picture the melody of each instrument in a piece of music, I get lost in it, and when I dance, everything else blurs and only the music and I remain, tangled together; I love that feeling. In particular, the kinds of music and dance I like have in common that they let us connect with each other in the present moment and create new moments together on the spur of the moment, and that process gives me a lot of happiness.
Q5. Finally, what kind of “change” do you want to bring about through your work at MAP?
The word “change” feels so impressive and innovative that I do not know whether I know enough to deserve such a fine word. Still, what I have felt in my short time here is that information for refugees was far too scarce, and so I have already had to make several phone calls to get more accurate information. I hope that these phone calls made for accurate information will add up, giving me, who am afraid of making calls, the courage to talk comfortably on the phone in an adult manner, and leading the organizations that took my calls to consider providing information for refugees from now on.
