Report from Korea

A Beautiful Dinner
with Disadvantaged Children

By the Seoul News Group (Originally in Korean)

On July 19, 2005, a group of local brothers and sisters and staff members from the Seoul Center’s SM Vegetarian Buffet provided a beautiful vegetarian buffet-style dinner for two hundred physically and mentally disabled children and adults at the Daniel Welfare Center in Seoul. It was the first day of the Welfare Center’s summer vacation period so the event was received by the participants as a wonderful gift welcoming in their vacation.

The dinner came about after the Director of the Seocho-Gu Volunteer Service Center, Ms. Jeong Hee-Seon, visited the SM Vegetarian Buffet and liked the food so much that she introduced the Daniel Welfare Center to the restaurant, and the initiates managing the Buffet expressed interest in providing free meals to the Welfare Center’s students.

The Daniel Center’s dormitory accommodates mentally disabled male students aged 4-35, with many residents being below the age of ten. Some students live at home but approximately 100 stay in the dormitory either because they are orphans or their families can not afford to support them.

It was evident from the students’ faces that they greatly enjoyed having visitors, and as soon as the practitioners entered their residence they greeted them warmly with innocent smiles and gleeful gestures. Since the children were unable to put food on their own plates, the initiates warmly and lovingly served them.

It was touching to see older students take plates of food for the younger ones, and even though it did not look very stable for them to hold two plates in their hands, their pure smiles and beautiful minds won the initiates’ hearts. During the activity, as a sister was helping one physically disabled boy eat he noticed Master’s picture on the sister’s necklace, cleaned his mouth with a tissue and repeatedly kissed the photo. It was such a moving moment that the sister could not help but cry profusely.

After the dinner, the Daniel Center’s Section Chief, Ms. Lee Ah-Mi, said that the food was incredibly delicious and expressed gratitude to the practitioners for the care they showed to the students, adding, “It was the first time everyone ate vegetarian food. The meal was very special, our children liked it a lot and our staff members also had a joyful time. Thank you!”

Through the Daniel Welfare Center dinner the Seoul initiates came to realize that the disabled children’s pure, innocent souls were very close to God, and appreciated the opportunity arranged by God to serve these beautiful souls on Earth. They also wish God’s blessings upon the children and the Center’s staff, and hope to continue providing blissful, loving vegetarian parties for needy children in the future.

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