Logged-on Notre Dame, closer to the heart!

December 3, 2021

“Logged-on Notre Dame, closer to the heart! ”
Notre Dame Welfare Center, Regina Pacis Province, Incheon

Hello, I am MyungHee Eo, Anna. Having spent around two-thirds of my life with Notre Dame by attending Bakmun Middle School and Bakmun High School and working at ND Welfare Center as a social worker, Notre Dame has become a big part of my life. The ND Welfare Center where I am working is an institution, with the goals of assisting the handicapped to lead a good ordinary life in local communities, enhancing their rights, strengthening their abilities and providing various services and supports. I often feel much rewarded by the belief that I am contributing to building a better world through my work.

Today I want to share the news of ‘The Story of Woods in Gyeyang Mountain’ that has as long a history as the Azalea Bazaar of the Regina Pacis Province. ‘The story of woods in Gyeyang Mountain’ is in itself a history of the Welfare Center which has continued for 22 years since 2000 except for the last year. This year as well, we were not sure about holding the event due to the spread of Coronavirus. Nevertheless, we could not give up this meaningful occasion of shared happiness altogether even though a real gathering as we had in the previous years would be difficult. After much consideration about the possible ways to go forward with the event, we organized and proceeded with the main idea of forming more connections online in this contactless era.

‘The Story of Woods in Gyeyang Mountain’ online consisted of three major sections. The first was ND Home Shopping. Like some current popular live programs, the facility users proactively took part as show hosts or performers and opened a platform for getting in touch with the local people or resources which could be helpful to them. The second was an online bazaar. Donated items were sold online which was made possible with cooperation from our sponsors. The third one was a ‘Dream Gallery’ of video clips that candidly showed the wishes of the welfare center users who dream of an ordinary life. Appreciating the clips, many expressed support for the users’ steps in their life in our society.

We found it at first a bit regrettable to hold this important event online due to the rampant coronavirus but the love and passion of all those who attended was quite encouraging. While this is a contactless time now, we became convinced of being able to stay connected and continue to share in the spirit of our theme: ‘Logged-on Notre Dame, closer to the heart!’

We hope to meet everyone in person in the Woods next year, to experience the joy and happiness of sharing and encountering each other. What will it be like to enjoy Azalea Bazaar in the spring and The Story of Woods in Gyeyang Mountain? I wish you all great happiness!