#RewindWithOIAA- Throwback With KUMFA

One In An ARMY celebrated SUGA’s birthday in 2021 by supporting Korean Unwed Mothers Families’ Association or KUMFA. KUMFA is an organization based in South Korea which was created by unwed mothers, for unwed mothers, to protect maternal rights and create positive awareness by providing educational, advocacy, and counseling support programs.

KUMFA aims to enable Korean women to have resources and support to keep their babies so that both mother and child can thrive. The organization conducts meetings to help moms exchange information and create support networks. In 2011, the organization opened HEATER, a shelter for unwed mothers to raise their children. Another HEATER was added in 2018, enabling KUMFA to help more unwed pregnant women and mothers in need of residential space and emergency assistance. HEATER has housed and fed up to 30 mothers and their children.

To support their work, 1,469 ARMY came together and raised $37,997.24. These funds will go towards living expenses, utility bills, and hospital expenses for single mother families in emergency shelters, educational expenses for unmarried mothers’ self-reliance, and also in improving the awareness of single mothers.

As we revisit all the organizations we have worked with in the past 12 months for our third anniversary, we decided to ask them a few questions. Let’s check out what KUMFA has to say:

Updates On The Programs And New Developments

No, nothing has changed.

Organization’s Fund Allocation Plan

• We will use it for living expenses, utility bills, and hospital expenses for single mother families in emergency shelters.
• We plan to use it as an educational expense for unmarried mothers’ self-reliance.
• We are going to use it to improve the awareness of single mothers and their children.

The Impact Of Pandemic On The Organization’s Operations

• We couldn’t hold a regular meeting between my mother and children, which is the most important schedule of KUMFA. There are many single mother families who are separated from the original family, so we have held regular meetings every month so that single mother families can help and interact with each other and build bonds. Not being able to see each other has made us emotionally difficult.
• Many mothers lost their jobs because their children couldn’t go to school or daycare centers. So They fell into financial difficulties, and psychologically, anger and depression increased.

The Impact Of OIAA Campaign On The Organization

It became known to many people who didn’t know KUMFA, and within such a short period of time, receiving a really big donation is a great financial help to manageability.

Do You Know BTS?

Yes, of course I knew BTS. I thought BTS was too far away, but I felt that BTS was too close with this project. Through this project, I wanted to know more about BTS, and I got to hear and listen to music every day through YouTube. And ARMY’s activities and the process of working on this project are very touching and impressive, so I want to know more and continue to be with you.

Support KUMFA For OIAA’s Third Anniversary

1. Visit the donation page created for the organization or scan the QR code on KUMFA poster. Donation Page Link: http://kumfa.or.kr/donation/
2. Donate any amount (a minimum of $1)
3. Take a screenshot and submit it on our tracking form (hide any personal information).
4. Share the campaign with your friends and family.

Follow the instructions and updates about our Throwback Campaign here.

We are completely aware that not everyone is able to contribute through a monetary donation, but your support, in any form, is significant to our campaign. For example, you can share our SNS posts to help increase the reach and visibility of the org amongst your followers. Find us on social media here: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, and Amino.