‘Love before you try to help’

Dr. Choi Kyung-sook has a special tip for medical volunteers: Listen to patients’ stories first, hold their hands and empathize with them.

“A human being consists of a body, mind and soul. To treat someone, we need to reach out to all three aspects, not just the body,” the 63-year-old veteran volunteer told The Korea Herald.

Realistically, volunteers cannot provide much medical service in one day. But they can love their patients and make their day happy, Choi explained.

“Caring heals their souls, and helps them far more than a short medical session can.”

As a longtime volunteer and cancer survivor, Choi experienced firsthand that love saves lives. In 1999, she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Choi had to undergo a mastectomy, hysterectomy and ovariectomy. The operations were followed by six months of painful chemotherapy.

“I prayed that if I survived the treatment, I would dedicate myself to helping the less fortunate,” Choi recalled. She felt that God had given her a second chance at life, and decided to use it to love others.

After she recovered, she returned to her volunteer work for isolated elders, North Korean refugees and Hansen’s disease patients on Sorokdo Island, South Jeolla Province. She led many volunteer groups including the Korean Medical Women’s Organization, Korea Council of Healing Mission, Korea University Medical Volunteer team and others.

Her expertise with Hansen’s disease took her to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. She worked in war-stricken Iraq in 2002, Sri Lanka in 2003, and Haiti in 2010, when the small country was reeling from a devastating earthquake.

Choi officially worked in Haiti with Good People International, an international development NGO partnered with the United Nations. “It was amazing to work with people from all over the world, who were dedicated to helping others.” The organization allowed the international team to provide help effectively and efficiently, which impressed Choi.

When Good People International decided to establish GPI-Doctors in April, Choi was the first on their roster.

“As the president of GPID, my role is to awaken doctors and volunteers to the needs of the less fortunate,” Choi told The Korea Herald.

Choi’s efforts to encourage philanthropy are timely, as donations and volunteers are dropping. A study in March revealed that companies were donating a smaller percentage of their profits, despite an increase in sales. In 2012, 17 major companies recorded over 654 trillion won ($579 billion) in sales, a 10.7 percent on-year jump. But in the same period, donations plummeted from 1.55 trillion won to 860 billion won, an 18.5 percent fall.

“Lately, the spirit of sharing has weakened due to the financial crunch. I hope our organization and I can be a wake-up call, and remind people that philanthropic values such as love and service are necessary for our survival,” Cho said.

By Lee Sang-ju (sjlee370@heraldcorp.com)