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By Waqa Varea Information Officer Ministry of Public Enterprises More and more skilled Korean workers are signing up for a government sponsored overseas aid program designed for middle aged or even older volunteers, according to the state-backed Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) which runs the program. Many such volunteers, who have taken part in the government aid program say they have had the time of their lives by contributing their services abroad. South Korean- born, Youngsoo, Ko, 48, who served as a systems computer engineer in Fiji since 2006 expressed satisfaction with his job experience in the country.
On his arrival in Fiji, he was first posted to the Department of Energy to help set up the wireless network which took about 13 months to complete. Mr Ko joined the Ministry of Public Enterprises in January this year, to develop a financial database to allow financial information from State-owned entities to be sent electronically to the Ministry for monitoring and analysis purposes. This initiative will allow the Ministry’s Monitoring Unit to electronically receive and access online monthly, quarterly and annual financial material from these entities in a more timely and decisive manner. It will also assist them in making on the spot decisions on profitability trends compared to past year’s performances and making accurate projections as well. Acting Deputy Secretary, Ana Naivakasoro said this move will now free up the monitoring staff from manually posting financial information into the database but, instead focus more on researching and doing more indepth work on these entities. “We are encouraging them to take ownership of these companies and be more passionate about how they could help the entities grow and improve their performances in order to achieve ultimate financial gains. Since the Ministry is financially under-resourced, Mr Ko who will be with the Ministry for nine months has formally requested KOICA to finance the project worth around USD25,000. Ms Naivakasoro said the Ministry was very fortunate to have utilized Mr Ko’s expertise which has been provided for free for this worthy project. We were aware that Mr Ko had completed his work with the Department of Energy but, does not return to Korea until September, so we requested KOICA if he could help set up this project ,” she said. Mr Ko said his work as a volunteer and his posting to the two ministries has been a huge transformation for him. “I felt like I became a new man both mentally and physically. “I used to be a run of the mill organization but my experience outside Korea has transformed my worldview. My stay in Fiji has been very rewarding and enriching. Apart from enjoying local foods like Kaikoso, palusami and other foods cooked in rich coconut milk, I find the people very friendly and happy at all times. You feel extremely welcome everywhere you go because they are very warm and kind. At times, I find the language and cultural differences a little daunting but the people put you at ease by explaining the significance of their customs Visiting Fiji has been a wonderful experience for me. I find it very natural with clean fresh air and surrounded by sea. “In Korea, people are very serious and hardly smile at you. In Fiji, the pace is very slow compared to the high fast pace in Korea with people working up to 12 hours a day. After his life altering volunteer work in the idyllic ambiance in Fiji, Mr Ko is considering applying for further volunteer work under the program for a second time. Mr Ko worked for a large online newspaper company called Munhwa in Korea for about seven years, doing web site design and developing interface solutions for the media. He said online media companies are very popular in South Korea due to the high density IT usage by the 45 million Korean populace. He quit his company as the stress of work began to affect his health and then joined the volunteer program. Meanwhile, KOICA seems more than happy to enlist skilled and experienced workers like Mr Ko. The KOICA program is targeted at people aged 20 to 69 , who possess engineering, linguistics and other forms of specialized skills that would be valued in developing countries. It is essentially a similar version for the young which is comparable to the Peace Corps of the United States. Mr Ko was born and raised in Jeju Island situated south of Korea and is the only son amongst three other siblings. His wife is a Home economic teacher and has two teenaged daughters aged 14 and 16 years who both attend High School in Korea. -End- |
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