42 members of the Woori Dongne Dolbomdan welfare volunteer group gathered Wednesday for a two-part event featuring a pottery session and a roundtable discussion to ease burnout and share best practices from the field
Seoul's Seongbuk-gu held a healing education session and workshop Wednesday for 42 members of the Woori Dongne Dolbomdan — a community welfare volunteer group dedicated to checking in on and providing emotional support to socially isolated households in the district. The event took place at Cafe Deoham 186, inside the Seongbuk-gu New Senior Center Haengbok Deoham.
The workshop was organized to recognize the hard work of volunteers who work to prevent social isolation and identify households in crisis, while giving them a chance to share firsthand experiences and challenges from the field and recharge emotionally.
Held under warm autumn sunshine, the event was divided into two parts: a one-hour healing pottery session and a one-hour roundtable discussion. Volunteers shaped clay and crafted pottery pieces to shed the fatigue and tension of daily work. The discussion that followed gave members a chance to share experiences and standout cases from their respective neighborhoods, speaking candidly about the rewards and difficulties they encounter on the ground and building a strong sense of mutual understanding.
One volunteer who attended the workshop said it was deeply meaningful to gather in one place with fellow members from across Seongbuk-gu who share the same sense of mission. "When everyone shared the story of hearing an isolated elderly resident say, 'I was waiting for your call,' we all felt a deep connection and drew great strength from it," the volunteer said.
Seongbuk-gu District Mayor Lee Seung-ro said he was deeply grateful for the dedication of Woori Dongne Dolbomdan members, who stand on the front lines of preventing solitary deaths and social isolation and bring warmth and attention to marginalized neighbors. "We will listen more closely to voices from the field and spare no administrative support in creating stable, reliable conditions so that our care volunteers can carry out their work with great pride," Lee said.
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