TKD WT CARES

MISSION

- Taekwondo for All

- World Peace through Taekwondo

VISION

- Provide Taekwondo to those most in need

- Empower the powerless in developing countries

VALUES

- Inclusiveness

- Leadership

- Respect

- Indomitable Spirit

- Perseverance

- Self-Control

2016

Jan 1

Jan 15

Jan 29 - Feb 4

March 25 - 27

April 14 - May 14

WT Cares Program was launched

Pilot WT Cares project for refugee camp in Kilis, Turkiye

Pilot WT Cares project for earthquake victims in Nepal

Pilot WT Cares project for 11 local coaches and 390 local children in 9 earthquake-hit areas in Nepal

Aug 15 Dec 10, 2020

- Dec. 9, 2021

An MOU was signed with ADF on the continuation of its donation for the WT Cares Program

WT donated ADF funds to the Lebanon Taekwondo Federation to support explosion-hit Taekwondo dojangs in Beirut

WT Cares Program for street children and war orphans in Sri Lanka, Season 2

WT Cares Program to empower drug and alcohol addicts in Bhutan

OBJECTIVES & STRATEGIES

- Promote Taekwondo worldwide, especially in developing countries as a sport for all

- Provide the disadvantaged with opportunities to learn Taekwondo and participate in Taekwondo events

- Support the disadvantaged with necessary Taekwondo equipment and/or educational programs by dispatching local Taekwondo coaches to teach them Taekwondo spirit and techniques

- Give hope and dreams to the disadvantaged, thus helping promote world peace

2021

June 11

WT received funds from ADF for 2021 WT-ADF Cares projects

2022

March 25 WT received funds from ADF for 2022 WT-ADF Cares projects

July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023

WT Cares Program for orphans in Kyrgyzstan, Season 1

2017 2019

Oct 20

Sept 1, 2017 - Aug 30, 2018 Rwanda WT Cares-SBS Hope School Project

Dec 3

WT wired funds to support officers and Taekwondo athletes with disabilities in Afghanistan

WT wired funds for THF T-shirt production destined to children at the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan and the Elbeyli refugee camp in Turkiye

WT Cares Program for reformatory inmates in Mongolia, Season 1

WT Cares Program for children and women in vulnerable conditions and victims of household violence in Timor-Leste

Jan. 25

An MOU was signed with Asia Development Foundation (ADF) on WT Cares Program to promote Taekwondo and the Korean language for the disadvantaged in developing countries in Asia

March 1, 2019 - Feb. 28, 2020

May 1, 2019 - April 30, 2020

July 2, 2019 - July 1, 2020

Oct. 21, 2019 - Oct. 20, 2020

2nd Rwanda WT Cares-SBS Hope School Program

WT Cares Program for Women Empowerment and Reformatory Inmate projects in Nepal

WT Cares Program to empower street children and war orphans in Sri Lanka

WT Cares Program to empower children and female orphans, drug addicts, and victims of household and sexual violence in Cambodia

Dec. 10, 2021

- Dec. 9, 2022

WT Cares Program for Women Empowerment and Reformatory Inmate projects in Nepal, Season 2

WT Cares Program for street children and war orphans in Sri Lanka, Season 3

WT Cares Program to empower children in rural areas living in landfills, floating villages, and exposed to alcohol and drug consumption in Cambodia, Season 2

WT Cares Program to empower drug and alcohol addicts in Bhutan, Season 2

Aug 22, 2022 - Aug. 21, 2023

2023

Feb. 15

May 1, 2023

- April 30, 2024

WT Cares Program at Um Hong Gil Human School near Pokhara, Nepal

WT donated USD30,000 to support Taekwondo community in earthquake-stricken Turkiye

WT Cares Program for orphans and school students in Pakistan, Season 1

WT Cares Program for street children in Sri Lanka, Season 4

Taekwondo Cares Comes to Rwanda School

As part of its commitment to help build better societies through sport, World Taekwondo (WT) is supporting Taekwondo classes for primary school children in Rwanda from October 2017 in the first “Taekwondo Cares” project in the country.

WT and Korea-based Olympic broadcaster Seoul Broadcasting System have a memorandum of understanding under which SBS builds “Hope Schools” and WT supplies Taekwondo instructors and financial support to purchase related equipment.

The first “Hope School” to benefit from this joint program is the Mukiza Primary School in southern Rwanda. There, some 60 boys and girls received training in the sport by a WT-recognized Rwandan Taekwondo coach.

“Taekwondo upgrades children’s health, fitness, self-dis- cipline and self-confidence, and is especially applicable in developing nations as it is one of the most cost-effective and easy sports to deploy,” said WT President Chungwon Choue. “I am delighted that this, our second charitable Taekwondo program in Rwanda, is now underway.”

Separately, WT’s Lausanne-based charity initiative, the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, which assists refugees and displaced persons worldwide, has been running a program in the Kiziban Refugee Camp in Rwanda.

The camp hosts more than 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo who were forced to flee their country due to war and instability. Since April 2017, the THF, in association with the Rwanda Taekwondo Federation, has been operating the Kiziba Taekwondo Academy, which runs three daily classes for 180 children.

WT Cares Allies with Asia Development Foundation on Nepal Projects to Assist Vulnerable Populations

The opening ceremony of World Taekwondo (WT) Cares projects for Nepal was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on Aug. 3, 2019

The Nepal Taekwondo Cares projects for reformatory inmates and female victims of home violence were jointly supported by WT and the Asia Development Foundation (ADF). Under agreement, the Nepal Taekwondo Association carried out the Nepal Cares projects for 2019.

The opening ceremony drew hundreds of people, including 88 students from two reformatory inmate centers – Prisoner Assistance Nepal and the Early Childhood Development Center – and 162 students from four women empowerment centers – Rakshya Nepal, Genesis Academy, Aasha Nepal and Maiti Nepal – all in downtown Kathmandu. The ceremony was held at the National Taekwondo Academy in Lalitpur, Nepal.

The two WT Cares projects for Nepal started in early May 2019 for a one-year period. Under agreement with WT in January 2019, the ADF financially supported the Nepal Cares projects.

Among the dignitaries attending the ceremony were WT President Chungwon Choue; ADF Vice President Cho Nam-chul; Minister of Youth and Sports Jagat Bahdur Sunar Bishwakarma; Vice President of the National Sports Council Pitambar Timilsina; President of the Nepal Olympic Committee Jeevan Ram Shrestha; and Nepal Taekwondo Association President Prakash Shumsher Rana.

Also on hand at the ceremony were Secretary General of WT Pan America Rick Shin; President of GCS International Portland, USA

Chapter, Selma Li; and Grand Master Jay-kyun Shin, better known as “the Father of Nepal Taekwondo.”

During the ceremony, Choue delivered an honorary WT dan certificate to the Nepal sports minister and the National Sports Council vice president. He also gave WT appreciation plaques and appreciation certificates to local dignitaries in recognition of their dedication to the development of Taekwondo in Nepal.

The ceremony featured Taekwondo demonstrations by the Nepal Taekwondo Association Demonstration Team and students of the 2019 Nepal Taekwondo Cares projects.

“I wish to thank the Nepal Taekwondo Association and the Asia Development Foundation for supporting these Nepal Taekwondo Cares projects. We want to keep expanding these Cares programs in Nepal,” said Choue in the ceremony.

Earlier in the day, there was a dedication ceremony for a statue at the U.N. World Heritage site of Swoyambhu in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The statue was dedicated to the founder of GCS International, the late academic Young Seek Choue, who proposed the United Nations promulgate the U.N. International Day of Peace in 1981.

The peace statue text reads: “During the massive earthquake in April 2015 in Nepal, World Taekwondo carried out an earthquake relief project in Nepal. That project acted as a pilot program for the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, which was established in April 2016. Such initiatives and movements closely follow the spirit and philosophy of Dr. Young Seek Choue’s GCS Movement.”

WT Cares Empowers Sri Lankan Street Children

The number of street children in Sri Lanka is estimated at about 15,000. Street children are defined as those who live on the streets and are adopted by children-care centers. Some have been affected by the Sri Lankan civil war, while others became vulnerable due to various forms of discrimination and exploitation.

The “Road to Champions” Sri Lankan WT Cares project, involving 60 boys in Colombo and 23 girls in Kegalle, kicked off in early July 2019 for a one-year period.

The Sri Lankan WT Cares project was financially supported by the Asia Development Foundation (ADF) and carried out by the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation.

On Jan. 25, 2019, WT signed an MOU with the ADF, under which the ADF provided WT with USD90,000 in cash to support WT Cares projects in developing Asian countries, such as Cambodia, Nepal and Sri Lanka, among others.

The Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation sent its project progress report to WT.

“Overall the project has completed its first task of introducing basic Taekwondo techniques and basic physical training and is looking forward to completing other steps on due dates,” the report reads. “The ultimate objective of the project is to help empower the street children to change their lives through Taekwondo and to help upgrade the children socially, mentally and physically.”

WT Cares Program Paves ‘Road to Champions’ in Sri Lanka

A ceremony for World Taekwondo (WT) Cares projects for Sri Lanka was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Jan. 25, 2020, with the attendance of WT President Chungwon Choue.

Under the theme “Road to Champions,” the Sri Lanka WT Cares Program started in early July 2019 for a one-year period, with the aim of empowering destitute children in Sri Lanka.

The 2019-2020 WT Cares project benefitted 60 male homeless children in Colombo and 23 street females in Kegalle. The Sri Lanka program was jointly supported by WT and the Asia Development Foundation (ADF) and was conducted by the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation.

The ceremony, which took place at the Indoor Stadium of Kelaniya University, drew hundreds of people, including all the Taekwondo medalists at the 2019 South Asian Games.

The ceremony featured a special Taekwondo demonstration by all 83 students of the Sri Lanka WT Cares projects.

WT President Choue presented a WT appreciation plaque and Taekwondo development funds to Kanchana Jayarathna, president of the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation.

Choue also honored all the Taekwondo medal winners at the 2019 South Asia Games in Nepal, and Taekwondo officials.

On Jan. 24, WT President Choue met with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at the National Assembly to present him with an honorary WT black belt. Clad in dobok, the Sri Lankan prime minister broke a board to receive an honorary Taekwondo black belt in an event which was broadcast nationwide in Sri Lanka.

Choue also met with Sri Lankan Olympic Committee President Suresh Subramaniam and Prof. D. M. Samasinghe, vice chancellor of the University of Kelaniya.

Kelaniya University plans to establish a Taekwondo major at its Faculty of Science in the near future and the Sri Lanka NOC plans to establish a national sport university, in which a Taekwondo major will be taught.

On Jan. 23, a ceremony was held at the Olympic House of the Sri Lanka NOC to officially inaugurate the GCS International Sri Lanka Chapter. At the inauguration ceremony, Kanchana Jayarathna, president of the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation, was sworn in as president of the GCS Sri Lanka Chapter.

WT Kicks off Taekwondo Cares Project in Cambodia

21, 2020 for a one-year period for 20 female children who have been victimized and sacrificed by trafficking and sexual slavery, and for 50 male homeless street children.

On March 9, 2019, WT and the ADF delivered the Taekwondo Cares funds and university students scholarships to Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron in a ceremony at the Education Ministry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The minister also served as president of the Cambodian Taekwondo Federation. The donation was handed over by ADF Executive Director Cho Nam-chul and Kang Seok-jae, senior consultant for WT Cares Program.

“I sincerely thank WT President Chungwon Choue and the ADF for initiating these good programs, which will greatly help develop Taekwondo in Cambodia” Naron said.

ADF Signs Pact with WT on Financial Support for Cares Projects

Azraq Athletes, WT Cares Students Compete at COVID-19 GCS Virtual Championships

World Taekwondo (WT) started its Taekwondo Cares project in October 2019 for about 70 Cambodian children in need of help, with the financial support of the Asia Development Foundation (ADF).

Under the theme “Beginning a New Life through Taekwondo,” the USD28,400 WT-ADF Cares project kicked off on Oct.

The ceremony drew 13 scholarship recipients and such dignitaries as Korean Ambassador to Cambodia Oh Nak-young; Kim Sethany, vice education minister of Cambodia and co-president of the GCS Cambodia Chapter; and Robert Hwang, co-president of the GCS Cambodia Chapter.

World Taekwondo (WT) signed a memorandum of understanding regarding its Taekwondo Cares Program with the Asia Development Foundation (ADF) in a ceremony at the WT headquarters on April 22, 2020.

Shortly after the signing, ADF Chairman Kim Joon-il delivered USD150,000 as a designated donation for the 2020-2021 ADFWT Cares Program to Chungwon Choue, president of WT.

The designated donation is to be used for helping empower the powerless in Taekwondo developing countries is Asia.

The ADF donation marked the second of its kind after Jan. 25, 2019, when the ADF delivered USD90,000 to WT for its 20192020 Cares Program. The designated donation was delivered by Cho Nam-chul, executive director of the ADF, to WT President Choue.

ADF also sent USD200,000 in Cares funds to WT in 2021 and USD150,000 in 2022.

Under the MOU, the two sides agreed to cooperate with each other on the WT-ADF Taekwondo Cares Program, while cooperating to foster global talent through Taekwondo and Korean language education; to support the dissemination of Korean culture; and to develop cooperative fields related to the two organizations.

Besides ADF Chairman Kim, Cho Nam-chul, executive director of the ADF, and Jong-nam Oh, director of the ADF, attended the ceremony. From WT, Seo Jeongkang, senior director of the WT Member Relations and Development Department, Kang Seok-jae, senior consultant for WT Cares Program, and other senior staff were on hand.

“Encouraged by the successful implementation of the 2019 ADFWT Cares projects, WT will do its utmost to use the ADF funds for orphans, reformatory inmates, female victims of household sexual violence and victims of natural disasters in Asian countries in the most transparent manner, thus giving them hope and dreams,” said WT President Choue in the ceremony.

Ten refugee children at the Azraq Syrian refugee camp in Jordan and dozens of WT Cares Program Taekwondo students in Nepal, Cambodia and Sri Lanka participated in the inaugural COVID-19 GCS Virtual International Taekwondo Championships.

The 1st Online Taekwondo Championships, which was held on June 4-7, 2020, Pacific time, were organized by the GCS International Portland, USA Chapter and the US World Class Taekwondo Association.

The event was supported by GCS International, MasTKD and other Taekwondo bodies.

The 4-day virtual Taekwondo event drew over 300 athletes from 20 countries. Among the athletes were 10 refugee children from the WTTHF Humanitarian Taekwondo Center at the Azraq Refugee Camp in Amman, Jordan, and about 30 Taekwondo students from Nepal, Cambodia and Sri Lanka - all Taekwondo students under the WT-ADF Taekwondo Cares Program.

The 20 participating countries were Aruba, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Island, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jordan (Humanitarian Taekwondo Center), Korea (GCS Global Taekwondo Peace Corps members), Malaysia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Russia, Sri Lanka, Turkiye and the United States.

As the host of the COVID-19 GCS Virtual International Taekwondo Championships, the GCS Portland, USA Chapter offered sponsorships to 10 less privileged athletes at each of the 44 GCS chapters, as well as the Humanitarian Taekwondo Center, run by the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation and WT, and countries under the WT-ADF Cares Program.