THE REASON WHY
Our world
Our responsibility
As fellow
members of the
human family,
we face a crisis.
Dr Chungwon Choue
Founder & Chairman of
Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation
Dear friends,
There are about 26.4 million refugees in camps throughout the world. This figure does not include those internally displaced inside their own nations, nor those seeking asylum. Now, we all have a responsibility to help these people in any way we can.
World Taekwondo (WT), which administers Olympic taekwondo globally, has been supporting vulnerable people through grass roots projects for many years and more recently took a step further by supporting refugees. Taekwondo was a core curriculum item in Korea, building a resilient national physique and a determined national attitude at a time when the devastated nation was birthing an “economic miracle.”
Since its creation, in April 2016 in Lausanne, Switzerland, Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) has trained over 13’000 refugees and is now an everyday reality in refugees camps across all three continents. Our best refugee athletes had the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Through our action THF is giving refugees, the chance to share experiences and learn life skills to become Global Citizens in the future. But there are so many more refugees who could benefit from our support. Now is the time to act!
01
Our mission
We help refugees worldwide, in particular children and youth, by using taekwondo and related educational activities as tools for empowerment and education on world peace, sustainability and Olympic values.
HOW WE DO IT ?
Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation provides refugees taekwondo training and supports them with necessary equipment, infrastructure and related educational programs teaching the values of Olympism and global citizenship.
As a secondary mission, THF helps World Taekwondo Federation to carry out its responsibility as an international federation. It offers World Taekwondo members and clubs the opportunity to do good by donating to or volunteering for THF programs.
THF improves
quality of life in
refugee camps.
02
Taekwondo
response
Many refugees are in poor physical and mental health, having gone through traumatizing events such as war or persecution, forcing them to flee their home country.
HOW TAEKWONDO HELPS ?
Regular taekwondo training sessions help improve the physical fitness of refugees whilst, developing their self-belief and confidence.
Taekwondo teaches all practitioners a comprehensive philosophy that includes universal values of discipline, respect, tolerance, team spirit and transcendence.
The practice of taekwondo can thus improve displaced persons’ quality of life in refugee camps or host countries and increase their prospects as global citizens.