Family Care Foundation: North Koreans in Desperate Freedom Dash

I-Care News
Advancing Global Philanthropy

North Koreans in Desperate Dash for Freedom
Helping Hands Korea, Seoul, Korea

Tim Peters with young refugees

"We need to give them not only financial but also psychological support,'' said Tim Peters, who is helping children and teenagers who fled to China without their parents.

Last week, the world's major news outlets reported the desperate dash to freedom of 25 North Korean defectors who sought asylum at the Spanish Embassy in Beijing. The plight of North Korean refugees is something that Helping Hands Korea has been involved with for years. They began by sending famine-relief to the North Korean civilian population each month, then concentrated on sending food to delivery points within North Korea itself. As the number of North Korean refugees and "food escapees" swelled to a quarter million in China and other surrounding countries, their focus grew to actively address the needs of runaway North Korean children. By supporting a number of "secret orphanages" for North Korean children in China, they have the double advantage of being able to enhance the quality of monitoring the aid given, as well as receiving direct feedback from recipients.

The work of Helping Hands Korea, was mentioned in a presentation to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington D.C. on Jan. 24th, 2002. A must read for anyone interested to know more about the plight of the North Korean refugees in China and surrounding countries, especially the plight of refugee children.

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