Warm Hands of Sharing for Foreign Workers
In Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, residents have been touched by the practice of donating cash to foreign workers who did not receive consumption coupons.
According to a report by KBS on the 26th, about 30 parishioners of a church in Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, decided to use their received consumption coupons as usual, but donate the equivalent amount to multicultural families in difficult situations.
A village in Hongseong-gun is known to be a residence for foreign workers employed in factories and livestock farms.
Residents in this non-metropolitan area were given a minimum of 180,000 won in consumption coupons; however, many foreign workers and multicultural families were excluded from these benefits. Many foreign workers and multicultural families were excluded from these benefits.
One donor explained, "They receive text messages from banks like NongHyup and Woori Bank, but when they actually tried, they found that their visa types were not eligible for the support and they were discouraged for various reasons."
The main reason for not receiving consumption coupon benefits was that naturalized citizens, permanent residents, and marriage immigrants do not meet the government's eligibility criteria.
Meaningful Practice for Community Integration
One of the participants in the donation said, "Though I don't have refugee status, there are quite a few refugees from Syria and Afghanistan in the Hongseong area. They need to spend to revitalize the local economy, so I decided to donate to help that cause."
They kindly delivered the collected donations to about 20 individuals in difficult situations, including a refugee couple raising three children.
One donor shared, "They said thank you so much and invited me to their home. For refugees from Syria and Afghanistan to invite someone, I believe it shows that they were greatly touched and have opened their hearts."
While the church preferred to decline an official interview, citing concerns that the pure intention of the donation could be compromised, those who participated expressed their joy of sharing.
Another donor commented, "We were all very angry about the hateful comments related to the recent Naju brick factory incident. As citizens, we felt sorry for those who experienced that."
They continued, "Thanks to the multicultural families, many second generations are being born, and the aging community of Hongseong is becoming more revitalized and energized. They are very precious and we are grateful for them."
Image sources: Reference photos for understanding the article / News1, youtube 'KBS News', reference photos for understanding the article / Gettyimagesbank
