Korean troops focus on repair of facilities used by children

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 28): Korean troops focus on repair of facilities used by children
 
The Republic of Korea "Araw" Force is focused on rehabilitating facilities that cater to the needs of the children like schools, hospitals and orphanage.

Colonel Chulwon Lee, commander of the "Araw" Force, reasoned out that children are the future of the nation when asked by members of the media as to their desire to repair school buildings.

There are 82 damaged school buildings in Leyte's three towns covered by their rehabilitation operation as stipulated in the agreement between the South Korean government and Philippine government.

However, they will only repair 60 school buildings during their one-year stay in Leyte province.

When they arrived to the province for assessment, they immediately saw the destruction caused by typhoon "Yolanda" to Eastern Visayas. They felt worried on its effect to children thus, they immediately focused in reconstructing damage school buildings in the towns of Tanauan, Palo and Tolosa and the Leyte Provincial Hospital.

The troops had already finished rehabilitating five schoolbuildings of the Tanauan 1 Central School in Tanauan, Leyte visited by President Benigno S. Aquino on Tuesday.

Some facilities of the Leyte Provincial Hospital were also rehabilitated by their groups, added Lee, including the orphanage under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

When asked if they will honor the request of local governments and school officials to repair school buildings that are not included in the agreement, Lee replied that they have to stick with the agreement for security reasons.

He added that if there are officials from local government units who would ask them to stay longer after the agreement expires this December 14, they are willing to do so but this must have consent from the Philippine government.

Col. Lee also stressed that their presence in the country is not only to help victims of typhoon "Yolanda" but to repay the sacrifices of Filipino soldiers who helped their government fight against the communist government of North Korea.

Without the help of more than 7,000, the freedom that South Korean people have right now is impossible, said Lee.

They are now repairing the damaged houses of three Filipino veterans of Korean war as their way of showing deep gratitude to the former soldiers.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=620925