A Filipina-American nurse scheduled her trip from California to South Korea to visit a disabled people’s home and its volunteers after reading about them in The Korea Herald.

Tess Ramoso emailed regular Angel House visitor Kiki Fastino because she was “inspired” by Kiki and the center.

She visited the Goyang-dong home in western Seoul on Saturday. The house was founded by disabled woman Jang Soon-ok in 1993 and is home to 45 disabled people aged between 1 and 70. 

“I was coming to Korea to visit a friend and I only had a few days so I really planned my visit for when there was a volunteer service at Angel House,” Ramoso said.

“Tess read The Korea Herald article and she really wanted to see me and Angel House,” said Fastino, who organizes monthly volunteer trips to the center and was recently featured in a Sharing Page article.

“She was interested in my life and everything. She said that she thought I had really done a good job helping there. It was great to meet her.”

Ramoso, who works as a nurse in the San Francisco area, and added: “I really wanted to connect with Kiki after reading about her in The Korea Herald, though I had heard about Angel House before. What was inspiring about her life was that during her most challenging time being depressed, her visit to Angel House to help the disabled people made her more blessed as she served them. Sharing her experience has given others the opportunity to have a wonderful volunteer experience at Angel House.”

“Angel House is a beautiful place. When we arrived the people there were already running out to meet us. That is a real expression that they value everyone who comes to visit them.”

(kirstyt@heraldcorp.com)