KOICA’S second batch of volunteers arrives here for WFK programme

The second batch of KOICA Volunteers arrived in Sri Lanka, on Tuesday (26), as a part of the KOICA World Friends Korea Programme (WFK) after it was discontinued in 2019 due to the Easter Sunday tragedy. The programme was resumed in June where four KOICA Volunteers served their assignments at the selected partner organisations.

The seven volunteers will be dispatched to the Sri Lanka Korea National Vocational Training Institute in Orugodawatta, National Youth Service Council in Maharagama, Sujatha Vidyalaya Matara, The Open University of Sri Lanka, The Buddhist & Pali University of Sri Lanka, Technical College Matara and KOICA-Matara Friendship Education Center, Matara. The targeted fields of volunteer engagement have been directed towards Korean Language, Machine Engineering, Western Music and Beauty & Saloon. The program is aimed to share Korean volunteers’ knowledge and experiences with the students of the above mentioned organizations and ultimately to make a change in the community. The volunteers will be dispatched to their respective partner organizations on 27th of October 2023 after the completion of their local adaptation training in Colombo.

This is the second batch of KOICA volunteers that have been deployed towards the partner organizations in 2023, while introducing new focused volunteer fields in alignment with the SDG goals and the Sri Lankan government priorities. Based on the 2023 Demand Survey that was conducted by KOICA, it is evident that there is a pressing need to enhance the technical cooperation through the volunteer program.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the grant Aid division of the Embassy of Republic of Korea is the Korean government agency for grant aids under the mission of “Leave no one behind with People-centered Peace and Prosperity.” KOICA Sri Lanka Office has been implementing its volunteer programs and variety of development projects and fellowship programs since 1991 and currently supporting various grant projects including COVID-19 response projects to fight against COVID-19 in Sri Lanka in conjunction with the Sri Lankan Government, Korean NGOs, and International Organizations. KOICA Sri Lanka Office is particularly keen to put more efforts to support the most vulnerable in society to overcome the current crisis.