Four KOICA Volunteers arrived in Sri Lanka, on Thursday (22) marking the recommencement of the KOICA World Friends Korea Programme (WFK) after it was discontinued in 2019 due to the Easter Sunday tragedy.

The four volunteers will be dispatched to the College of Technology, Maradana, the National Institute of Education, Maharagama, and the University of Kelaniya. The targeted fields of volunteer engagement have been directed towards Computer Design and Korean Language. The programme is aimed to share Korean volunteers’ knowledge and experiences with the students of the above mentioned organizations and ultimately to make a change in the community. The volunteers will be dispatched to their respective partner organizations on 31 July 2023 after the completion of their local adaptation training in Colombo.

KOICA is looking forward to dispatch more volunteers in the coming months of 2023, while introducing new focused volunteer fields in alignment with the SDG goals and the Sri Lankan government priorities. Based on the 2023 Demand Survey that was conducted by KOICA, it is evident that there is a pressing need to enhance the technical cooperation through the volunteer programme.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the grant Aid division of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, is the Korean government agency for grant aids under the mission of “Leave no one behind with People-centered Peace and Prosperity.” KOICA Sri Lanka Office has been implementing its volunteer programmes and variety of development projects and fellowship programmes since 1991 and currently supporting various grant projects, including COVID-19 response projects to fight against COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, in conjunction with the Sri Lankan Government, Korean NGOs, and International Organizations. KOICA Sri Lanka Office is particularly keen to put more efforts to support the most vulnerable in society to overcome the current crisis.