Hospital School Dream-Building Camp, Boosting Children's Self-Esteem

A Special 1-Night, 2-Day Trip with Children with Short Stature

Successful Diverse Education including Career Experience and Music Therapy

"My dream is to become a doctor. I want to treat and give hope to friends who are sick like me."

The 'Korea University Guro Hospital Dream-Building Camp', a 1-night, 2-day event to foster the dreams and hopes of children with short stature and their families, was held on the 16th at the Korea Youth Center in Banghwa-dong, Seoul.

A total of approximately 100 people, including patients and their families, medical staff from Korea University Guro Hospital, and hospital school teachers, participated in this camp, showing great enthusiasm.

Patients and their families communicated by expressing their inner stories and emotions through music using various instruments to make sounds and harmonies through music therapy.

In addition, a career experience class was held where patients could experience various occupations such as doctors, nurses, teachers, and musicians, helping them to think about and explore their future careers, and parents were educated on how to communicate with their children to create a warm family. In addition, various educational programs such as various recreation activities, talent shows, and disease management education were prepared, which were well-received by patients and their families.

One patient who participated in the camp said, "It was hard getting treatment at the hospital, but I'm so happy to have made new friends and to be able to have fun with my mom and dad."

Most of the participants are children with short stature due to various causes of rare and intractable diseases such as rickets, achondroplasia, and growth hormone deficiency. However, what children fear most is not their slightly different appearance from others, but social prejudice and awareness of short stature disabilities.

Kim Won-cheol, a medical social worker at Korea University Guro Hospital, said, "We wanted to provide various career exploration opportunities through the camp and help patients have dreams and adapt to school and social life." "Although it is a short time, we hope that the family camp will help improve patients' family love and disease management skills."

Dr. Song Hae-ryong, head of the Rare and Intractable Disease Center at Korea University Guro Hospital, said, "Young patients who suffered from intractable diseases have overcome their illnesses and are now full-fledged college students, working confidently in leading companies, and actively working in various fields of society." "I hope that they will overcome their illnesses with dreams and hopes for the future while embracing each other's pain," he encouraged the patients and their families.

Professor Eun Baek-rin, principal of the Korea University Guro Hospital School, also said, "This camp was prepared so that friends with the same disease as me and their beloved families can have a fun and special time together." "I hope it will be a time to reaffirm the love between family members that you may not have felt because you are so close."