As Autumn arrives in Seoul, change is afoot at Open Arms. Whilst change is sometimes challenging most of us agree it’s part of the growing process and I envisage great things ahead for our Open Arms children and community! Autumn seems to be an appropriate moment for reflection, gratitude and giving thanks... 

It’s almost five years since I had the honor of meeting a small group of amazing women on a cold winter morning in Seoul. We drove together to SMW where I experienced my first session with a group of adorable toddlers that captured my heart forever! I was so impressed with the Toddler Program and knew this was something that had the potential to grow into an organisation that would truly make a difference in the lives of these wonderful little people. In the months that followed, the fifty minute drive to SMW was an opportunity to get to know a group of amazing women who told me things that I would never have known or understood - both about the children and about Korean culture - thank you Barbara, Miyong, Dee Dee, Sue, and Booyong for sharing so much with me. It was during one of those car rides that I offered to lead the setup of Open Arms as an organisation and I was thrilled that Barbara said yes. It was the beginning of OA as you know it. By now most of you know our story so I won’t go into those details except to say that I am extremely proud of what we have achieved together. It has been an amazing journey working with the most dedicated, talented and loving people without whom Open Arms would not exist. All of you, our dear volunteers, are all truly amazing!! 

Many of us come to volunteering with the idea that we want to give something back in the form of service. We do that, but what we also get from it ourselves is something immeasurable and truly life changing. The children have made this journey so worthwhile; watching them grow, progress and seeing their reaction to our volunteers is priceless. That said, the last few years have not been without challenges. We worried about funding, would we have enough volunteers? Should we get NPO status? key volunteers move etc, etc…and then of course during the Covid pandemic we wondered how we would come out of it, if at all. We worried endlessly about our inability to be physically present with the children, but with your consistent dedication, even through that uncertain time we came out strong and are now doing more than our pre-pandemic activities. 

I would like to say a sincere and gigantic thank you to our amazing working group (which has changed over the years): to my dear Barbara for her endless inspiration and being available any time night or day to bounce ideas around to make us better; to Mei for an inordinate amount of time spent creating our brand identity; to Sue for connecting us with generous donors in Seoul; to Miyong for always showing up and doing what it takes; to Dee Dee for stepping up to lead our toddler program; to Tracey who was our only willing victim as bookkeeper to date! to Katy for her amazing ability to juggle a gazillion things and still create magical sessions for the kids; to Alicia for making sure we’re following all the Korean rules and regulations as an organisation and being willing to be our Official Representative; to James for making our education program stronger and making sure our kids at MJ thrive; to Nicole who pushed our fundraising to the next level; to Joohee who helped us with NPO research and thinking this process through; to the multi talented Justin for always keeping it real and grounded; to Kathrine for her enthusiasm and keeping the program alive while everyone was away during the summer and last but by no means least, to Sally who truly is our secret weapon with her unwavering efficiency and eye for detail!! 

Thanks also to our partners and donors for their continued support both big and small. A special word of thanks to Director Park, Sarah Koh and Sunghwa Han and the Change Makers for their continued support, love and faith in what we do - we are truly grateful. 

It is my fervent hope that Open Arms will carry on growing and thriving and will support more abandoned and orphaned children in the years to come. I am optimistic that we will have more volunteers both Korean and international, our strength and sustainability lies in our diverse group of volunteers. We also hope for more young volunteers like Maya and Junhwan who will step up to join the working group/management team in due course and give us fresh perspectives.  

Finally, I am stepping back from my role at OA knowing that we are in the most capable and efficient hands of Inger. Many of you have had the pleasure of meeting Inger and I know you will all support her in driving us to our next destination! We will go through the official process of voting for a new Executive Director when I formally resign at the next AGM. Our thanks to Inger for taking us into the next phase. 

I feel blessed to have worked for the children and with you all - thank you for allowing me this honor! I will always remain an OA champion and supporter!

In gratitude and with much love,

Sanjini

Executive Director

2018-2023

❤️