(January 30, 2017) - Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation(THF), the City of Paris and French Taekwondo Federation(FFTDA) signedCommon Agreement on 29th of January on the occasion of the 25th World Men’sHandball Championships in Paris, France.
The agreement was signed by Dr.Chungwon Choue, President of WTF and THF, Mrs. Anne Hidalgo, Mayor ofParis and Mr. Denis Odjo, President of FFTDA.Through this agreement, the three parties agreed to work together to further theshared goals and the mission of empowering refugees and displaced personsthrough providing opportunities and access to the sport of taekwondo in thelocal community of Paris.
In addition, the city of Paris was named as "THFAmbassador City".On the 27th of January, Dr. Choue visited the Humanitarian Aid Center in Paris.He was welcomed byMr. Jean-Francois Martins, Deputy Mayor of Paris incharge of Sportand Tourism, Mr. Lejoindre, the Mayor of 18th Division of Paris,and Mrs. El Hassak, Deputy Director of Emmaüs Solidarity."Discovery Workshop of Taekwondo" at this center was kicked off today incollaboration with the City of Paris, French Taekwondo Federation andTHF.
The center was opened on November 10, 2016 in the north of the 18tharrondissement. This center is financed by the City of Paris and the French State,and operated by 120 professionals who received a special training by thenonprofit organization Emmaüs Solidarité.Since it opened, it has welcomed more than 4,500 refugees coming from Sudan,Afghanistan, Somalia, Eritrea and other countries. It can accommodate 400people for 10 days, before they are offered a solution adapted to their situation.The center offers a dignified, humane shelter, and access to help in processingtheir asylum applications, as well as food, sports equipment and medical care,with the help of the NGO Médecins du Monde.
The THF, which was established with Choue as its president in April 2016, hasthe mission of empowering refugee children by teaching them the sport andmartial art of taekwondo. As one of the most economical and easily deployedsports on earth – one that requires virtually no equipment – it is ideal forrefugees, who often have little or nothing to do all day.The WTF and THF are already operating a taekwondo academy in a CAREfacility in the Azraq camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan. In addition, taekwondotraining program is being run in Nepal and in Turkey. Following that, anotherproject will be launched in 2017 in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
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