Young Adult Worker Volunteer Group [ASEZ WAO] Carried Out Volunteer Services in the First Half of 2021

Young Adult Worker Volunteer Group from the Church of God [ASEZ WAO] carried out regular volunteer services this year, too. Over 5,000 man-days were spent on carrying out rounds of volunteer services to clean up the world environment and share love with neighbors in the midst of bleak situations caused by COVID-19. In some regions, they contributed to protecting the environment and making regional development with organizations who promised to cooperate during previous activities.

No More GPGP

COVID-19 drastically increased the use of disposables, which put the environment at risk. ASEZ WAO has been carrying out the awareness-raising activities to pick up indiscreetly thrown away plastic trash and reduce the use of plastics, through plastic reduction campaign “No More GPGP.” During the regular volunteer service period of this year, ASEZ WAO members cleaned up 14 tonnes of trash, including plastics, nearby rivers, streets, parks, beaches, residential areas, and subway stations in Korea, U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. About 3,700 people, including local residents and local government heads, along with the members of ASEZ WAO, participated in the campaign.

Sister Yu Hui-jin from Seoul said, “I find it rewarding to protect the environment through my small actions and to meaningfully spend my holiday. Cleaning up the streets is obviously important, but I felt that I should begin to reduce using plastics, starting with me.” City council officials from Cheonan, who participated in the cleanup together with the members, hoped ASEZ WAO’s activities would bring about good impacts on the surrounding environments, saying, “It is beautiful to see young adults work hard for citizens of the world and for the earth especially in the middle of hard times when everyone feels dispirited due to COVID-19.”

Let’s Create Mother’s Forest

ASEZ WAO members, who have been making efforts to reduce using plastics, put their heads together to expand green areas through “Mother’s Forest” campaign which aims to plant one tree per person to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

ASEZ WAO in Auckland, New Zealand, signed an MOU, related to green area management and tree-planting, with the city in December 2020. And on June 6, sixty ASEZ WAO members fulfilled the promise by planting 1,000 native trees by Wiri Stream Reserve. On the 20th of the same month, members from Laguna Province, the Philippines, planted 60 fruit trees in the public land that belongs to the municipality of Calauan; and on the 24th, 24 members and 42 citizens from Cajamarca, Peru, planted 15 trees along San Martin Street to expand the green area. On 27th of the month, 40 members planted 50 trees in Morelos Park, Tijuana, Mexico, and in the year, they carried out the fourth round of planting trees.

Heart to Heart

Due to the prolonged COVID-19, medical staff and related personnel have become busy with vaccinating people against COVID-19. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASEZ WAO has been steadily encouraging them through “Heart to Heart” campaign, and they continued to do so in June. ASEZ WAO members in Korea, Thailand, Philippines, and South Africa sent support kits and letters to 92 COVID-19 response organizations, such as hospitals, health centers, vaccination centers, and government offices for the whole month of June.

Sister Park Ye-bin expressed gratitude to the medical staff, saying, “Actually, I had found it difficult to adjust to new schedules caused by COVID-19, but through the campaign, I could truly feel how hard they were working at the forefront to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” Song Yeong-gyu, the General Affairs Manager of Kyung Hee University Medical Center, said, “I was able to work harder than ever before as I was deeply touched by the gifts from ASEZ WAO last time. I firmly believe their support this time will again be of great help to all the medical staff.”

Major Projects of ASEZ WAO

No More GPGP

GPGP is a gigantic pile of 1.8 trillion plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean. ASEZ WAO delivers a message to the international community that humans must prevent any more formation of GPGP by collecting 80,000 tonnes of plastics that have been dumped on land.

Mother’s Forest

“Mother’s Forest” is the tree planting movement for reducing greenhouse gas emission and combating climate change. Under the slogan, “Every person’s small effort will work together to change the world,” ASEZ WAO members carry out the “Planting One Tree Per Person” project. ASEZ WAO has been implementing the project to plant trees all around the world both on and offline.

Heart to Heart

“Heart to Heart” is a campaign whereby we deliver letters of encouragement and snacks to the medical staff who work at the forefront of combating COVID-19.