UNIFIL's Korean troops aid children with special needs

By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff

TYRE: The Korean contingent of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reached out to south Lebanon’s special-needs children on Friday as part of its Angel Gabriel Project. The UNIFIL battalion handed out medical equipment for about 35 children from the southern towns which were part of its area of operations. The children all suffered from physical disabilities and were called to attend the gathering in Tyre with their parents.

The villages’ mayors and battalion Commander Yeom Won Gyun were present and provided the children with wheelchairs, hearing aids, crutches and other medical equipment.

Yeom said UNIFIL’s Korean contingent would continue to help southerners on the medical, educational and development levels. “We have been working on this project for two months, and our goal is to help bring happiness to people in need,” he added, stressing that the most important thing was to get in touch with the locals. He also said he regretted that financial difficulties limited the battalion’s work.

Yeom added that the project would later focus on helping people who lost their limbs by providing them with artificial appendages. “The cost is high, but we will look for the children most in need,” he said.

Hussein Atallah was one of the children who received the battalion’s aid. Atallah suffers from slow growth and his mother explained that the wheelchair he had been given would allow her child to leave the house and enjoy his life more.

The Korean soldiers also prepared a series of dances and routines to entertain the children and offered sweets and candy to all those present.

The troops celebrated Korean Thanksgiving Day on Thursday before touring the villages and meeting with families in need.