Since March 19th, Secretary-General of Global Peace Women (GPW), Dr. Soonok Kang has been sending weekly messages uplifting a healthy and happy family culture from home to community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Kang would like to share best practices from family activities like making masks to gratitude journals as well as our GPF family’s kindness stories in helping neighbors each Friday.
If you wish to share best practices for families to build a healthy and happy family environment during the Coronavirus pandemic, please email Dr. Soonok Kang: [email protected]
Dear Global Family,
We wholeheartedly appreciate everyone’s efforts to keep yourself and your families safe during this COVID-19 pandemic crisis. My wish is for you to stay healthy and safe, while still being sure to reach out and helping others in need. We all need support, so every act of service we sincerely take makes a world of a difference for someone else.
Families who have engaged in service projects together understand the value of working together to serve their community. They gain a deeper and truer sense of happiness and peace by giving beyond their family and contributing to a greater community. Service projects create closer bonds and deeper relationships while providing an opportunity for each individual in the family to grow together as a whole. Today, I want to share some empowering stories of families’ collective efforts in the response to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic by aiding their communities.
The First Story is from our GPW Philippines coordinator, Ah-na Mira. Mrs. Mira family’s initiative and her project supported other families that did not have easy access to food due to the lockdown, while opening her own house to work for the community. Mrs. Mira and her kids helped pack rice and worked with the local school and government to distribute rice to 510 families in the Cardona, Rizal community. Thanks to Inner Wheel Club district 380’s sponsorship, her family’s initiatives didn’t only give rice, but the gesture that their neighbors care for their well-being
Our second story is from a participant from our GPW Leadership Academy program, all the way from Firozabad, India. Aishwarya Chaturvedi and her family noticed that many of her neighbors struggled to make ends meet during the lockdown, and did not have proper access to food. She said that “As soon as we got to know this, we got in touch with the authorities at the district level and arranged for food for all such destitute families in our vicinity.” They reached out and worked with the local government to provide the people in need of three meals a day. Simply noticing what is happening in your community could make a world of a difference for those who are affected.
The third story is from a nine-year-old boy named Toshi Taura from Washington State. Toshi wanted to help senior citizens impacted by the crisis. He was encouraged by his family to call the senior center to ask what he could do for them. He was told that he could send letters to the elderly to brighten their lives. Toshi was inspired to send drawings and jokes in the mail to make the seniors who received them laugh.
As a mother of five, it brings me meaning in my life when I see children help others. I hope that, as parents and educators, we can support our children to grow as remarkable global citizens and leaders through the enriching experience of family service projects. There are many organizations where you, as a family can join to bring smiles to people who are struggling in this time of crisis. Doing Good Together provides great project samples families can do along with kids. I believe these resources provide great opportunities for children to learn about responsibility and learn to serve others in need.
Along with service projects, donations from families are also a very impactful way to help others during times of crisis. My three younger kids gathered their savings to support several initiatives that take care of vulnerable groups. One of the projects they helped fund was of GPF Malaysia’s #RaiseForFood Campaign to feed the under-served population in the Orang Asli community.
If your family wishes to share your love with a simple gesture, I’d like to invite you to consider donating to the #RaiseForFood initiatives while volunteers risk their health to prepare these food drives.
My hope is that you find this information helpful for you and your family. Please stay healthy, active, and spend this quarantine time meaningfully together!
I convey my prayer for your health and safety as an extended family!
Sincerely,
Best Regards,
Dr. Soonok Kang,
Secretary-General, Global Peace Women
