Stars and Stripes,
'Star of Sea' Still Operating After 59 Years
INCHON, Korea, June 8 (IMP)-In the 59 years Inchon's
Star of the Sea orphanage has been in existence, some 3,120 Korean youngsters
have come to know it as home. First opened by the Sisters of Charity
of St. Paul de Chartes in 1895, three years after they came to Korea,
the orphanage has weathered several wars, and through them all has been
able to maintain high standards in comfort and cleanliness for its children.
Following the outbreak of war in 1950, there was
a large influx of orphans who had to be crowded into three buildings
heavily damaged by artillery, fire and bombs. With the aid of American
soldiers stationed near Inchon, the buildings were restored and remodeled.
Going up
Currently a new three-story concrete and brick structure
is going up at Star of the Sea, for which many supplies came through
the AFAK program. Its construction is expected to alleviate crowded
conditions for the orphanage's 373 children and 30 nuns. Sister Philomena,
who has headed the institution for 18 years, expressed gratitude for
the AFAK aid and added, "It will be much harder for us when you people
leave Korea. The American soldiers have helped up tremendously and
we receive all our rice free for our children; three 100-pound sacks
a day, from KCAC."
Since there are no Catholic schools in Inchon, the
children are sent to public schools and their tuition and expenses paid
by the orphanage. The 21st Trans. Port Command's Chaplain's
Fund handles a project which gives school supplies to the orphan students.
A few of the children were left at the doorstep to
be found by the sisters. Others were brought by destitute mothers unable
to care for them and still others given to the orphanage by people who
had found abandoned children. Most are girls, something that has been
true since the institution's founding.
With construction of the new three-story building,
Sister Philomena looks hopefully toward a brighter future for Star of
the Sea. After the building is completed this summer, she plans to
take a vacation to the U.S. for a break in her "tour of duty" in Korea-a
tour that has lasted for 20 years.
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