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We have anticipated the North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2011 will come before the Congressional Sub-Committee sometime in September, but due to the Congressional priorities such as the budget, the bill has again been delayed.  We currently have 26 co-sponsors of the bill but are hoping to have 30 when all is said and done.  Your continued support is much appreciated.

We have added two great people to our ever-growing list of volunteers with the addition of Emily and Bryan Kim.  This husband and wife have undertaken the task of linking our website to our facebook account and are also sitting in the planning committee for our upcoming Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction on November 18.

This year, Mr. Han again was honored to represent the Han Schneider International Children’s Foundation at the rally held in Washington DC for the voiceless orphans of North Korea.  While in Washington DC, Mr. Han was asked to speak at a national press conference and the prayer vigil held in Fairfield, VA.  He also had the opportunity to meet with several key Congressional members and give a voice to the voiceless North Korean orphans.

Dear Friends of the HSICF,

2010 has been a very busy and productive year for the Han-Schneider International Children’s Foundation. This year we took Washington, DC. As many of you know, Sam Han and the HSICF have tirelessly worked on the passing of the North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2010. This bill has been Sam Han’s life dream and has been planned for over seven years. The enactment of this bill will be a milestone and monumental endeavor for the children and foundation.

In support of the bill, the Korean Church Coalition rallied on July 13-14, 2010, in Washington, D.C. which was a great success. The Bill is going to be resubmitted to the Congress in 2011. Unfortunately, due to mid-term elections, health plan and the other priorities, the bill did not have a chance to be heard before the Congress. Sam was one the panel speakers for this event and he shared his life story and the importance of the bill. Several members of Congress spoke at the rally as well. Through this rally, we certainly delivered a clear message to Washington.

In a way, the delay may have worked in our favor. This year—2011-- the foundation is more prepared to effectively lobby for the bill. We are forming a caucus this year. The new bill is to be drafted by Matt Shiraki, graduate student from Harvard Kennedy School of Foreign Policy, along with two of his professors. He is writing his dissertation on the bill for his graduate degree.

It was has been another challenging year for the foundation to work with North Korea, due to the lack of commitment on their end. There have been problems with our last container load of children’s meal packs not being delivery to our designed orphanages. We are holding a load of nutritional meal packs until we resolve our issues with them by guaranteeing deliveries to our orphanages. If we still incur further problems, we may have to figure out other options.

In 2010, we were able to make several “trips” to North Korea and Tanzania. Thankfully, we were able to get necessary medical supplies to our orphanages. These supplies were hand carried by our missionaries and board members. The foundation obtained these medical supplies from Heart to Heart and Blessing International organizations.

In Tanzania, The foundation contributed $2,000 to assist in the building of an educational facility in Tanzania. The health facility is being built which is about 50% complete. Mr. and Mrs. Moon, the founders of this project, are much devoted to their mission work, giving all their life. They have not taken one day of vacation in the last 3 years. They’re in the process of installing solar energy systems to facility for electricity that would allow them to function and enjoy nightlife. We will continue to monitor their progress and offer any support that we can to help them complete their dream and help the children of Tanzania.

We held the Second Annual Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction themed “Celebrating Korean Culture” on October 22, 2010, and it was a success. We garnered over 90 silent auction items and again had attendance over 200 people. Many complimentary items were also handed out to supporters including HSICF T-shirts, French wine, Japanese Asahi beer, and Nika bottled water which were all donated by our sponsors.

For the first time, the HSICF has held a Minnesota event, themed “One Small Step.” “One Small Step,” was held in Minneapolis on November 20, 2010 and was a great success. Many attendees expressed interest in adopting the North Korean orphans once the bill passes. The event was able to raise five thousand dollars and an additional $3,800 was contributed by Trinity Episcopal Church.

Torrance First Presbyterian Church in Torrance, California agreed to continue its support of the Foundation throughout the year 2011. We also have a new partner in 2011, Sunnyside Church, in Los Angeles. Our new partnership means a great deal to our foundation.

As many of you know, in late December the AP News Media interviewed, photographed and published a comprehensive biography on Sam Han’s life, his mission, and his foundation. Over 300 international news media, radio, television, and internet published this story. Numerous phone calls and e-mails from around the world flooded Han’s cell phone and e-mail account, respectively, with promising sponsors and support, ready to assist him in his mission. As you can imagine, this article brought a lot of attention to the foundation and its work. We hope to use the momentum and spotlight that it has given us to make 2011 the most productive year to date.

Thank you for support in 2010 and we hope that we can count on you in 2011.

Sincerely,

Sang Man (Sam) Han

Sam Han

Founder & Chairman of the Board
Han-Schneider International Children’s Foundation