Korean NGO launches 12-city fundraising campaign for leprosy patients in Asia, Africa

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean nongovernmental organization will
launch a fundraising campaign here over the weekend for patients of leprosy or
Hansen's disease in Asian and African countries.

The campaign will be held at a few cathedrals in Virginia and Maryland on
Saturday and Sunday after a mass conducted by Father Kim Hwa-tae, who runs
Lazarus Village in Uiwang city, south of Seoul, according to Pong Du-wan, an
adviser to the organization supporting the village.
Pong said the events are part of a U.S. donation campaign tour that will also
bring him to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Fransisco and six other cities.
"The Korean American community in the U.S. has so far contributed greatly to the
project for establishment of the tap water system and heating system in Lazarus
Village, with a lot of Korean Americans donating $5 to $10 each," he said.
The village has about 70 leprosy patients suffering from paralysis and deformity,
Pong said, adding that his organization is also supporting Hansen's disease
patients in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia and Tibet.
"We've become the country free from leprosy because of people from the United
States, Germany and many other countries who helped Korean leprosy patients since
the Korean War in 1950," he said. "We now need to repay what we've got from other
countries."
Possible donors are invited to contact www.lazalus.or.kr or call at (703) 968-3010.