Back in September 2016, 28 ASEAN heads of state, education ministers and representatives of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization gathered together and committed to tackling the problem of youth without regular education. The Project for Out-of-school Children in ASEAN is a follow-up to the declaration, and it’s the first project that UNESCO is carrying out this year alongside an enterprise.

The POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation is aiming to leverage the Flexible Learning Strategies (FLS) program developed by UNESCO, to provide alternative education for the children of the underprivileged, ethnic minorities and migrants in cooperation with the education ministries of individual countries.

The 3-year project will be supported by the POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation, using the donated 1 percent of members’ salaries. The project will kickstart in Thailand, where they have the highest percentage of out-of-school children in ASEAN (7.6 percent). POSCO plans to cover 2,000 children in 4 regions (Chiang Rai, Ranong, Songkhla and Rayong) where POSCO Thainox, POSCO-TCS and POSCO-TBPC are based, and expand the project to Indonesia and Myanmar.

Jeong-sik Kwak, head of the ER Office of POSCO, and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay signing the agreement.

“I hope that this partnership with a world-class steelmaker like POSCO will become a model of providing opportunities for quality education to underprivileged children and youths,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “I hope that these activities will spread throughout the world, and everyone will make concerted efforts to make sure that the notion of out-of-school children will become a thing of the past.”

At home, one of the core focus areas of the POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation is facilitating the self-reliance of future generations. Starting this year, the foundation increased the number of people eligible to receive support from the Chinchin Rainbow project to 70. The customized career project will support 70 children of migrant families such as multicultural families and North Korean defectors. Last December, it also entered into an MOU with the Children’s Self-Reliance Support Team of Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health & Welfare to help children transition smoothly from welfare facilities and foster homes to society.

Cover photo courtesy of UNESCO.

More than 100 people attended the dedication ceremony, including Jeong-sik Kwak, the head of POSCO’s External Relations Office, the vice-governor of Rayong, Thailand, the representative of Habitat for Humanity Thailand, the POSCO Group Employee Volunteer Corps and members of the local community.

Jeong-shik Kwak, head of the ER Department of POSCO said, “The Thailand love houses are especially meaningful because the employees of POSCO Group donated 1 percent of their salaries and participated in the construction process. I hope that these love houses will give hope to locals in need.”

POSCO representatives and locals at the dedication ceremony of the love houses in Pluak Daeng, Thailand.

The construction was completed by 50 volunteers of the POSCO Group Employee Global Volunteer Corps from Korea, and 30 employees of POSCO Thainox, POSCO-TCS and POSCO-TBPC.

New resident Tun Kedwarin was moved to tears and stated, “In my old house made of wooden boards, water kept leaking and the house was in danger of collapsing. I was always worried, but now I can sleep without fear, and I am truly happy. I am grateful to POSCO and the government who built me a house.”

POSCO Group Employee Global Volunteer Corps members and Pichamon, a new resident of the love house.

POSCO Group Employee Global Volunteer Corps was established in 2015, and consists of employees of POSCO Group and outsourcing partners who donate 1 percent of their monthly salary. It’s all a part of POSCO’s unique culture of volunteering and giving back to communities.

This year, the members spent 8 days in Thailand starting from August 5, during their personal vacation days and also visited a local school to introduce Korean traditional culture to the students.

OSCO Group volunteers and Thai global staff members worked together for the construction of the love houses.

POSCO also completed 104 houses in Vietnam last May, and donated them to low-income families. In Korea, POSCO constructed steel houses made from PosMAC and donated them to victims of fires and low-income families around the country, all as part of the effort to give back and build stronger communities around the world.

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