New WT Cares Projects Set for Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Timor-Leste

World Taekwondo (WT) and the Asia Development Foundation (ADF) kicked off their new WT-ADF Cares Program in three countries - Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Timor-Leste - on July 1, 2022, for a one-year period.

The new WT-ADF Cares projects, funded by the ADF, were designed to empower the powerless in developing countries in the Asian region through education in Taekwondo and the Korean language.

Under the theme “Bright Future with Taekwondo,” the 20222023 Mongolia WT-ADF Cares Program started with a total budget of USD30,000 for about 200 reformatory inmates in Ulaanbaatar.

Under the slogan “Dream through Taekwondo,” the 20222023 Kyrgyzstan WT-ADF Cares Program assists some 150 orphans, 75 in Bishkek and 72 in Cholpon-Ata with a total budget of USD30,000. The orphans will receive free Taekwondo education.

In cooperation with the Timor-Leste Taekwondo Federation and under the slogan “Building Self-Resilience through Taekwondo,” the 2022-2023 Timor-Leste WT-ADF Cares Program benefits about 80 children and women household-violence victims in Dili City with a total budget of USD33,000.

Since 2016, WT has carried out its Cares programs under the mission “Taekwondo for All,” and “World Peace through Taekwondo.”

WT Cares Project Kicks Off in Rural Nepal

World Taekwondo (WT) teamed up with the Asia Development Foundation (ADF) to start a new WT-ADF Cares Program for students at the Um Hong Gil Human School near Pokhara, Nepal, on Aug. 22, 2022 for a one-year period.

Under the theme “Let’s Build the Future with Taekwondo,” the 2022-2023 WT-ADF Um Hong Gil Human School Cares project is benefitting 87 middle and high school students at Birenthanti Secondary School in Birenthanti, about two hours from Pokhara by car.

The new USD25,000 WT-ADF Um Hong Gil Human School Cares project is funded by the ADF. The Nepal Taekwondo Association runs the program, dispatching local Taekwondo instructors to the secondary school.

The Cares program offers the school students one and a half hours of Taekwondo and Korean language classes after school, four times a week.

“I hope the Cares program will further expand to other schools in Nepal, and other Asian countries,” said WT President Chungwon Choue.

WT signed a cooperation agreement with the Seoul-based Um Hong Gil Human Foundation, headed by Chairman Lee Jae-hoo, at the WT Headquarters in Seoul, Korea on Aug. 29, 2017.

The Um Hong Gil Human Foundation was established in 2008 and has since built 16 human schools in remote areas of Nepal to commemorate Korean mountain climber Um Hong-gil’s achievement of climbing 16 slopes higher than 8,000 meters in the Himalayas - a world first.

Birenthanti Secondary School, which was built in 2013, was the 4th school built by the foundation.

WT cooperated with the Nepal Taekwondo Association to organize the opening ceremony of the WT-ADF Um Hong Gil Human School Cares Program at the secondary school on Sept. 23, 2022 with the attendance of Choue and Um, among others.

Since 2016, WT has carried out its Cares programs under the mission “Taekwondo for All” and “World Peace through Taekwondo.”

The vision of the WT Cares Program is to provide Taekwondo to those in need and to empower the powerless, such as orphans, reformatory inmates, alcohol and drug addicts and street children, in developing countries.

In Jan. 2019, WT and the ADF, headed by Joon-il Kim, signed a memorandum of understanding on the WT Cares Program.

Opening Ceremony Held in Bishkek for WT Kyrgyzstan Cares Program

An opening ceremony took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for the WTAsia Development Foundation (ADF) Kyrgyzstan Cares Program on March 28, 2023.

The ceremony was held at the Sport Complex Sun City in downtown Bishkek with the attendance of WT President Chungwon Choue, Sadyr Mamytov, president of the National Olympic Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Aleksei Pak, president of the Taekwondo Association of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Under the theme “Dream through Taekwondo,” WT teamed up with the Taekwondo Association of the Kyrgyz Republic to kick off the WT-ADF Cares Program on July 1, 2022 for a oneyear project.

The USD30,000 WT-ADF Kyrgyzstan Cares Program 2022-2023 was funded by the ADF and the Kyrgyz Taekwondo Association is running the program by dispatching local Taekwondo instructors to two centers: one in downtown Bishkek, orphans of SOS Children’s Villages; and the other in Teplokluchenka near Issyk-Kul Lake for mostly orphans at the Ak-Suu Boarding School.

The Kyrgyzstan Cares Program offers about 150 orphan children two hours of Taekwondo education and training three times a week, thus helping them, who are socially vulnerble, with the opportunity to foster family warmth, health, and dreams through Taekwondo.

The opening ceremony drew some 20 Cares students from the Bishkek center and performed a Taekwondo demonstration, drawing big applause from the participants. A 40-member Taekwondo demonstration team of the Kyrgyz Taekwondo Association also show off their Taekwondo skills in front of WT President Choue.

The ceremony also featured a traditional Kyrgyz drum performance and a fan dance. A video on the WT Cares Program was shown for the participants.

In his opening speech, WT President Choue said, “I am pleased to visit Kyrgyzstan for the opening ceremony of the WT-ADF Kyrgyzstan Cares Program and my visit is more meaningful as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of WT and at the same time the 30th anniversary of the Kyrgyz Taekwondo Association.”

“The WT Cares Program is one of the flagship contributions of WT to the world, through which we give hope and dreams to those in need of help, especially underprivileged children,” Choue said. “That is the reason why Taekwondo and WT are more respected among international sports federations.”

Prior to the opening ceremony, WT President Choue met with Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov to exchange opinions on the development of Taekwondo in the Kyrgyz Republic.

In the afternoon of March 29, WT President Choue and other WT and Kyrgyz Taekwondo Association leaders visited the Rukh Ordo Cultural Center in Cholpon Ata, the Issyk-kul Lake region, to meet some 35 orphan children from the WT Cares Program center in Teplokluchenka.

A total of 32 Cares students showed off their Taekwondo skills to draw big applause from the participants.

At the event, WT President Choue promised to visit the Cares orphanage when he visits Kyrgyzstan. Choue was given the title of an honorary professor of the Kyrgyz State Physical and Sport Academy by the academy’s rector, Dr. Azizbayev Saitdin Seyitbekovich, on March 27 at the office of the Kyrgyz NOC president.

Pakistan, Sri Lanka Kick Off 2023 WT Cares Programs

World Taekwondo (WT) teamed up with the Asia Development Foundation (ADF) to start a one-year WT-ADF Cares Program in two countries – Pakistan and Sri Lanka – on May 1, 2023. In cooperation with the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation, WT started the new USD17,000 Cares program to teach Taekwondo skills and spirit for about 1,000 orphans and school/ college students in the province of Punjab and the vicinity of Territory Islamabad.

Under the theme “Care for Those Who Dare,” the 2023-2024 WT-ADF Cares Program is funded by the ADF.

WT also joined hands with the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation to kick off its Season 4 WT-ADF Cares Program, titled “Road to Champion.”

The Sri Lanka Cares Program will benefit about 100 street children in five centers, each in Colombo, Badulla, Monaragala, Galle and Anuradhapura.

Sri Lanka started its WT-ADF Cares Program in 2019 for the first time for street children and orphans, and then in 2020 and 2021. The beneficiaries of the WT-ADF Cares Program are Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Timor-Leste and Pakistan.

WT plans to expand its Cares projects outside Asia with new donations and encourages its member national associations to run their own Cares programs nationwide.