Eastern Social Welfare Society, E.S.W.S.

Eastern Social Welfare Society, E.S.W.S. is a partner agency to A.S.I.A. based in Souel, Korea.

Eastern Social Welfare Society was founded in 1972 by Dr. Duk Whang Kim, a lifelong Christian and an elder of a church. For twenty eight years, ESWS has helped needy children find families, provides places and education for the disabled children and strives to make children's dreams come true through sponsorship. Thus, the purpose of our agency is to make a contribution to our society by providing various welfare services to the less fortunate.

Eastern's History
-July 1972 Obtained approval of social welfare juridical person by the government.
Dr. Kim, Duk Whang was appointed as the first president.

-1973 ESWS's first adoptee, LeeAnne Revell, departed for USA

-March 1977 Established Eastern Child Welfare Society, approved by Ministry of Social Welfare

-March 1977 Opened Eastern Babies' Home.
Opened first branch office in Sung nam, Kyonggi province (presently, ten branch offices under operation)

-May 1981 Moved to the present location

-May 1985 Opened Eastern Child Welfare Center in Pyongtaek (Rehabilitation Center, Jacob's Home, Esther's Home)

-January 1986 Opened affiliated hospital and Eastern Babies' Home at the present ocation

-September 1986 Established Eastern special school (preschool and elementary course)

-November 1986 Built Anyang Social Welfare Service Complex

-1988 First Homeland Tour Group visited ESWS

-February 1989 Opened guest house for adoptive families

-September 1991 Expanded Eastern school(Middle and high school course) '98 December: made occupational training courses

-October 1992 Opened Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center. Then enlarged and started services for mentally impaired in 1999.

-April 1997 Opened Eastern Church at Eastern Child Welfare Center in Pyongtaek

-1997 Changed logo and name of agency

-June 1997 Held the Benefit Dinner Commemorating the 25th Anniversary

-July 1997 Opened a Vocational Training Center

-1999-2000 Held street campaign for promoting domestic adoption from 1999 to 2000. Held a walk to promote domestic adoption in April, 2000

-January 2000 Renovated headquarter building and guest house

-March 2001 Expanded and renovated Esther's Home

-April 2001 Began aiding children in North Korea and refugee children from North Korea.

-December 2001 Held the first gathering of Korean adoptive families in Anyang city.

Child Welfare Services

1. Counseling Service
Eastern Social Welfare Society runs ten counseling offices in various regions of the country. Each of these centers, staffed with professional counselors, provides counseling services designed to alleviate and prevent various problems faced by children who have lost the love and protection of their families and unwed mothers who are suffering from the anguish of an unplanned pregnancy.

2. Child Care Service
* Eastern Babies' Home: Located in Seoul and Anyang city. Each facility provides residence for one hundred children who have been relinquished by their parents. They are taken care of here before being placed in a foster home or transferred to another facility.
* Family Foster Care: Approximately 350 babies are cared for in 300 selected foster homes until they are adopted.
* Jacob's Home: Children under the age of three years are cared for at Jacob's Home in the Eastern Child Welfare Center in Pyongtaek city.

3. Domestic Adoption
Adoption makes it possible for all families to experience the special joy of raising children and for children to grow up happily with love and care. ESWS is especially committed to the idea that children of our society should be taken care of by our own efforts.

4. Overseas adoption
For those children who cannot find adoptive parents in their birth country, ESWS arranges their adoption through private adoption agencies in the United States and through government agencies in Australia.


Post_Adoption Services

1. Post-Adoption Service
We conduct follow-up services for many adoptees wishing to learn their heritage by helping them visit the motherland and find their birth and foster parents. We also provide full scholarships for high school graduates who hope to learn Korean language and culture in Korea. The 17-room Guest House was built to provide adoptive families who visit Korea with a comfortable place to stay during their trip.

2. Adoption Information Center
A project of the four licensed agencies in Korea Eastern Social Welfare Society is playing a significant role in the foundation and operation of the Adoption Information Center, which was launched to centralize all information required when adoptees search for their birth families. The Center is expected to meet various needs of adoptees, and birth and adoptive families by providing quality post-adoption services.


Services For Women

1. Esther's Home
"Esther's Home" is a residence for fifty unwed mothers who have nowhere to turn because of prejudice. We provide medical care, and help them give birth safely. We provide a home-like atmosphere so that they can plan their future and we help them return to society by providing them with professional counseling and vocational education. Visit website at www.esther.or.kr


Rehabilitation Services

Eastern Child Rehabilitation Center
Equipped with modern convenience and an excellent educational system, the Center provides one hundred special needs children with a home-like atmosphere where they can receive quality care. The Center operates diverse rehabilitative programs, specially tailored to the age and condition of each child.

Eastern Vocational Training Center
Mentally and physically disabled children are able to learn to work independently in the Eastern Vocational Training Center. Additionally, the Center provides students with appropriate work opportunities and guarantees each worker a minimum wage pay of approximately US $400 per month. The Center also recommends appropriate workers from the Center for job opportunities at facilities outside the Center.


Community Welfare Services

1. Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center
The Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center is entrusted by the Community Ward Office. To meet the needs of the residents of the Seodaemun area, the Center provides efficient and integrated services for the purpose of improving the quality of life of the community. The Center operates diverse programs such as in-home services, child and youth welfare services, vocational skill-instruction services and welfare services for the mentally-ill and seniors. Approximately one thousand people take advantage of the SDCSSC's programs.

2. Rehabilitation Center for the Mentally-Impaired
Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center provides various programs for the mentally-impaired, such as life training and vocational training to help them get adjusted to independent living.
* Life-adjustment Program: Acquiring social and vocational education to adjust to the residential area
* Vocational training
* Independent work room

3. Welfare Services for the Seniors
*The Elder's Home: Many homeless aged people live in a stable and home-like place provided by the Center. Senior citizens with physical disabilities are cared for at the Elder's Home during the day.
* Educational programs for the aged: We operate useful classes, such as health and hobby classes. A cafeteria for seniors is ready for those who may be unable to cook for themselves.

4. Daycare Center
ESWS operates daycare centers in the Seodaemun area for children from low income families.


Educational Services

Eastern School for Special Needs Children
1. The Eastern School provides three hundred disabled students with quality education. In order for our children to have a more well-rounded education, we offer band, cycling, swimming, and pingpong classes. In addition, a wide variety of equipment used for therapy is available, and bus transportation is provided for those children who commute. Preschool Course-Elementary School Course-Middleschool Course-High School Course -Occupational Training Course


Medical Services

Love the Children Hospital
Love the Children Hospital is affiliated with Eastern Babies' Home in Seoul. Our medical team gives babies quality care, including physical check-ups, vaccinations and medical treatments on a regular basis. Children who need specialized care are transferred to a designated general hospital and children of families under public assistance are provided with free medical services.


Sponsorship Programs

General Program
We match approximately three thousand sponsors with three hundred students in need, disabled children in facilities and Korean students in difficult situations in China.

Medical Support Program
When children or single mothers have medical problems, we provide financial support for their hospitalization.

Emergency Assistance
We provide emergency services to families faced with sudden misfortunes.

Aid for the Children of North Korea
ESWS also extends a helping hand to North Korean children. ESWS sends donations in kind to several hospitals which have difficulty functioning due to a lack of medicine and medical apparatus and to orphanages that are short of bottles for feeding.

Missionary Work

Eastern Church
ESWS also runs a church for the Eastern staff and residents of the Eastern Child Welfare Center and its neighborhood. It contributes greatly to their spiritual and religious life.

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