The World Forgotten Children Foundation (WFCF) recently had the opportunity to support another repair project at the Jusarang Community Church, also known as the “Baby Box Church.”
Through a very generous donation from the Hyojin Kim Nirav Patel Foundation to the WFCF for use at the Jusarang Community Church, the WFCF allocated $4,378 USD of the funds to crucial building repairs at the church. These repairs included the application of waterproofing paint to the building’s interior and exterior walls as well as to the exterior upper-level floor which during rainstorms was causing severe leaking down to the first floor.
Construction also included the installation of a safety handle on the stairs to the baby room, enabling individuals bringing babies to the church to have this added level of safety. As it rains a lot in South Korea (note that the construction even had to be delayed for three months due to ongoing rainstorms and typhoons), waterproofing to ensure the integrity and safety of the structure is invaluable.
The “baby box” was first introduced by Pastor Lee Jong-rak in 2010 after hearing reports of babies being abandoned in open air or in public restrooms, where they risked dying of hypothermia. The box was designed to act as a “dropbox” so that the mothers or fathers of unwanted newborns and infants have an alternative to leaving them in dangerous conditions. The identity of the parents can remain anonymous and when leaving the newborn or infant, they have the option of stating the child’s name, date of birth, and any vaccinations they may have received. This year, the Jusarang Community Church will be celebrating the baby box’s 10th anniversary.
Over the past several years, WFCF has supported various projects for the church such as funding a 15-passenger van that serves as a means of transportation when the infants and children in the church’s care need to be taken out for activities or medical treatments. The WFCF also recently funded repairs to the stairway leading up to the baby box and have now added these most recent repair projects to install a safety handle and waterproof the facility.
Pastor Lee shared that the repairs to the baby box building are, “a happy miracle because the WFCF donated it. I sincerely thank the CEO and officials of WFCF.”
To-date, the Jusarang Community Church is still not supported by the government and is operated solely by the support of its patrons. If you are interested in donating to the WFCF and supporting projects such as this one, please visit the WFCF donation page.
