7.5 Tons of Waste Cleared: Shincheonji Gangdong Branch Rescues Vulnerable Senior Household

In a sub-district of Gangdong-gu, Seoul, a low-income household of three was found living in conditions of extreme neglect and health hazards. One of the elderly spouses suffers from a brain lesion disorder and severe, stage-1 dementia, leaving the other spouse entirely responsible for full-time caregiving. Due to the overwhelming physical and psychological toll, maintaining the home became impossible, resulting in accumulated decomposed food and a massive cockroach infestation. To address this crisis, the Shincheonji Volunteer Group Kangdong Branch launched an emergency residential improvement operation under its "Pinky Promise" (Saekki-sonkarak) welfare initiative.

Overcoming an Extreme Environment: 7.5 Tons of Waste

On May 15th, in coordination with the Kangdong Association for the Disabled, 18 skilled volunteers entered the residence in Sangil-dong. The scale of the cleanup was staggering:

• Massive Waste Volume: Volunteers extracted enough domestic waste to completely fill three 2.5-ton garbage trucks, totaling 7.5 tons of discarded materials and large debris.

• Intense Sanitation & Disinfection: Despite cockroaches literally falling from the ceilings, the team labored relentlessly for three hours, conducting meticulous indoor pest control, chemical eradication, and comprehensive sanitization to ensure a livable environment.

The Power of a 6-Year Strategic Partnership

An operation of this magnitude was executed swiftly thanks to the ironclad partnership between the Kangdong Branch and the Kangdong Association for the Disabled. Collaborating continuously since 2020 (now in its 6th year), the two organizations operated with systematic, professional precision. Having conducted a joint volunteer project just the previous week, the team moved seamlessly on-site without needing a separate division of labor, demonstrating expert-level efficiency in crisis management.

Restoring Human Dignity to Local Neighbors

Volunteer Ju Jeong-sun reflected on the intense day: "Our sole motivation was to ensure these elders—who could be our own parents—no longer ingest spoiled food and can live healthily in a clean, pest-free home." A representative from the Kangdong Branch affirmed their long-term commitment, stating that they will continue to strengthen their alliance with the local disabled association to systematically identify and rescue marginalized neighbors trapped in blind spots of public welfare.

Source: https://vo.la/ZfpH6aA