The Good Neighbors episode starred Jeno and Jaemin, who volunteered to help disadvantaged children in Indonesia. Despite their status as idols, they went abroad to another country to be part of the program and volunteered with children who needed help. Let’s get to know more about the program Good Neighbors and check out NCT’s Jaemin and Jeno while they worked as volunteers!
About Good Neighbors
Good Neighbors is an international organization established on 1991 by Il Ha-yi. It’s one of the largest humanitarian, non-governmental organizations in General Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC). The organization has a mission to improve the quality of life and education standards. They also help those who have been victims of natural disasters. Good Neighbors has fundraising offices in Japan, Korea, and the USA with an International Cooperation Office in Geneva that has more than 2.000 professional staff and 20.000 volunteers who come as doctors, nurses, professors, and engineers to support 16.8 million people, included 9.5 million children. Good Neighbors operates in 26 countries, with more than 120 projects in third-world countries such as 26 projects in North Korea and field offices from 70 locations in South Korea. This organization also involves Switzerland, the USA, and Japan as supporting countries with an annual budget in 2009 of around $48 million with 1.500 employees worldwide, 12.000 volunteers, and 350.000 individual donors. Meanwhile, Good Neighbors International focuses on the concept of community development and sponsorship for those children who need the most and they choose the nearby region to hold the project. The organization also has Child Development Projects to support a child’s educational or nutritional necessities in developing countries on long-term sustainability. They do not focus only on the development, but also on construction and many other projects, such as health and sanitation, advocacy and emergency relief. Through this program we got to see the daily lives of a number of children, such as Pudori, who works to collect garbage, until we found out about Slamet, who works as a farmer. In this program, NCT’s Jaemin and Jeno came from their home country, South Korea, to carry out their mission as volunteers from the Good Neighbors team. They helped some underprivileged children to attend school and bought the things they needed. NCT’s Jaemin and Jeno also carried out daily activities with these children. Jaemin and Jeno will give Pudori and Slamet the best day to celebrate Children’s Day. Indonesia does celebrate Children’s Day on July 23. However, Children’s Day in South Korea is celebrated on May 5. Let’s see the excitement of Jaemin and Jeno with kids on Good Neighbors!
Pudori’s Dream
Pudori is an 11-year-old boy who lives in Bantargebang, and his daily life requires him to collect garbage. If he succeeds in collecting one sack, he is paid Rp. 1,000. Pudori went to school near from his house, but not until school hours were over because he has to work and take care of the house. Although living in a slum life, Pudori dreams to continue school. Together with MBC and the Good Neighbors humanitarian organization, NCT’s Jaemin and Jeno visited Bekasi, Indonesia. They met with two Indonesian children named Pudori and Slamet. NCT’s Jaemin and Jeno helped Pudori in finding plastic waste in the Final Disposal Site. Starting with plastic waste in the form of everything from bottles to crackle bags, it all gets collected in a sack. Pudori dreamed of having a bicycle, until finally his dream came true. He also got other gifts, such as a study table, textbook, and mini fan. NCT’s Jaemin and Jeno bought the items, personally, in SUM Market, South Korea. “I know the way to live is not to live like a father who scavenges garbage,” Pudori said on the Naver page.
Slamet’s Dream
Slamet is a 14-year-old boy who lives in the same area as Pudori.
Slamet left school two years ago. He had work and care for his mother, who is in myopic, and he became the house’s primary source of income. However, he still wants to go to school and play like a boy in general. Slamet dreams about continuing school. Various surprise scenarios were put together by the team and the two NCT DREAM members. Slamet was shocked when he could go to school and meet Jeno and Jaemin again. During the day, Slamet usually goes to the coast to look for small fish for sale. Slamet also rarely plays with children his age because he needs to go back home to take care of his mother. “If I don’t work and don’t take care of my mother, I want to go back to school with friends,” said Slamet.
NCT Dream’s Jaemin and Jeno Impressions From The Activity
During their first interview at the SM Entertainment office, Jeno was worried about how they could communicate with those kids who lived overseas but Jaemin said that he doesn’t have to worry about the language and to just use body language because it will be the easiest way to communicate and understand each other. Between the individual interviews, Jeno said that they did the minimum of what could be a perfect day for the children, but they were happy to have a chance to meet Pudori and Slamet even though it was only for a day. Jeno also shared about how he met Slamet and said that he is actually a good and kind-hearted kid who thought of them as his friends, while Jaemin said that he felt like they already made a connection with each other and it was sad to say goodbye.
Show Fun Facts
NCT’s Jeno and Jaemin’s activities in Indonesia left NCTzen touched. They showed the importance of being grateful and remaining passionate in living life despite having various limitations. Between the voluntary session, NCT’s Jaemin and Jeno also showed funny behavior, such as trying to hide on the wall, disguising themselves as foreigners giving books, and various other ridiculous behaviors. They also sang together with students when they visited Slamet’s school and had fun as they were friends with each other.
