Mailbox of peace

Section 2. Happiness & Hope Mai lbox of Peace 054 055 Korea Foundation & US Peace Corps KF COVID-19 Survival Box Gratitude Letter Col lection Korea has been an important part of my life since I first arrived in Seoul in April of 1966 . My father worked with USAID ( then called USOM ) and we lived in Seoul for two years . When I applied to the Peace Corps after college , I knew that I wanted to return to Korea . Finally in the spring of 1979 I did as part of the K - 48 group . There were actu- ally several of us in the group who had lived in Korea as children - all delight- ed to return . Your gift of these ' survival boxes ' has truly touched an emotional nerve in our community of returned volunteers . There have been a lot of tears shed over this generous gift and the wonder- ful video which so eloquently captures the essence of our experience in Ko- rea and the depth of our lifelong love for Korea and our many friends . I know that you are receiving lots of thanks you letters and emails from the former volunteers who received these boxes and who were deeply touched by the generosity of this gift . I also hope that you have seen some of the newspaper articles that have been published in various papers across the US . This has been a long and difficult year for the world and for the U . S . as we faced a pandemic - a public health catastrophe of global proportions . Unfortunately , we fell short in this country and allowed politics to enter into the discussion about how to respond . We have seen how other countries managed - such as South Korea - to bet- ter contain the spread of the virus and to minimize the number of deaths . I look forward to closer collaboration in the near future between the US and other countries , including Korea , as we move forward to control this virus . If there is one thing I learned in Peace Corps , it is that working together as partners is almost always more productive and effective than working alone . Now , as we see the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel , I want to thank you and your colleagues at the Korea Foundation for your wonderful gift . “Korea has been an important part of my life” Nancy Kelly , K - 48 The box and its contents were wonderful but the deep emotional gesture be- hind the gift was even more meaningful . For so many of us , our time in Korea as Peace Corps volunteers was one of the most important and transforming periods of our lives . This gift from the Korea Foundation brought back a flood of memories that were a bright spot in this long year . Thank you so much . Nancy A. Kelly, MHS Chief Operating Officer (volunteer) Friends of Korea