Tzu Chi Buddhism in Action

The future is an illusion, the past is a memory. Hold on to the goodness that is in your heart at this present mo- ment and take care to fulfill the duties that you have at hand. —Master Cheng Yen

PHOTO BY HSIAO YIU-HWA

A Glimmer of Light in Mozambique

July 2019

N400A.indd 1 2019/7/11 13:05 WORDS FROM MASTER CHENG YEN TransformingDirectory Lives, of Tzu Creating Chi Offices Blessings TranslatedWorldwide by Teresa Chang HSIAO YIU-HWA TAIWANn the past, whenever I thoughtGREAT of BRITAIN Africa, my themselves.SINGAPORE Fortunately, Tzu ChiHouston volunteers went Hualien:heart wouldHeadquarters ache. So manyTel: 44-20-88699864 people there to them,Tel: 65-65829958 wiped away their tears,Tel: 1-713-2709988 and brought Tel: 886-3-8266779 Fax: 44-20-89334262 Fax: 65-65829952 Fax: 1-713-9819008 Fax:endured 886-3-8267776 suffering for one reason or another, them warmth and sincere love.Indianapolis IbutTaipei: they Tzu could Chi not get the helpGUATEMALA they badly need- ThisSOUTH just AFRICAgoes to show howTel: important 1-317-5800979 it is to ed.Humanitarian But now, with Center many livingTel: bodhisattvas 502-22327648 going inspireCape and Town cultivate real-life bodhisattvasKansas every- Tel: 886-2-28989000 Fax: 502-23675872 Tel: 27-21-9130934 Tel: 1-913-3976517 outFax: among 886-2-28989994 the needy there, I have faith that where. When people are in need but there is no one Fax: 27-21-9137057 Long Island change will come. I believeHONG that KONGthese living to help,Durban kind-hearted people from far away can ARGENTINA Tel: 852-28937166 Tel: 1-516-8736888 bodhisattvas will bring blessings to the needy, comeTel: to 27-31-5615348 them to relieve their suffering.Fax: 1-516-7460626 At the same Tel: 54-11-48625770 Fax: 852-28937478 Fax: 27-31-5644438 justFax: like 54-11-43140252 a tree with dense foliage provides cool time, the people from afar shouldMadison do what they can INDONESIA Johannesburg shadeAUSTRALIA to whoever needs it. to inspireTel: 27-11-4503365 those they meet to giveTel: to 1-608-2687692 their own peo- Tel: 62-21-5055999 Miami BrisbaneIn March this year, Cyclone Idai devastated ple.Fax: That’s 27-11-4502256 how many more people can be helped. Fax: 62-21-5055699 Ladysmith Tel: 1-954-5381172 threeTel: 61-7-32727938countries in south-eastern Africa. Many Such is the case in Africa. Tzu Chi volunteers Fax: 61-7-32727283 JAPAN Tel: 27-36-6341333 Fax: 1-317-6459907 NGOs from the international community pitched whoFax: are 27-36-6341261 originally from TaiwanNew have Jersey been sharing inGold to help.Coast Tzu Chi volunteersTel: 81-3-32035651 did the same, with locals how to create blessings by doing good. Tel: 61-7-55717706 Fax: 81-3-32035674 SWEDEN Tel: 1-973-8578666 swingingFax: 61-7-55717703 into action and traveling to the disaster Thanks to their efforts, we haveFax: seen 1-973-8579555 an outpour- areasMelbourne to bring care and aidJORDAN to survivors. They ing Tel/Fax:of local 46-31-227883 volunteers there,New Yorkincluding in distributedTel: 61-3-98971668 food and dailyTel/Fax: necessities 962-6-5817305 to help Mozambique.THAILAND Local volunteersTel: there 1-718-8880866 have been a Fax: 61-3-98974288 Fax: 1-718-4602068 survivorsPerth get through this difficultLESOTHO time in their greatTel: help 66-2-3281161-3 as we have carriedLos out Angeles our work Northwest for Fax: 66-2-3281160 lives;Tel/Fax: they 61-8-92278228 also distributedTel: building 266-28312566 materials victims of Cyclone Idai. Tel: 1-818-7277689 andSydney tools so that those who Fax:had 266-22313897 lost their homes TheseTURKEY volunteers live in Maputo,Fax: 1-818-7279272 the capital of Tel: 61-2-98747666 Los Angeles West inFax: the 61-2-98747611 disaster could more MALAYSIAquickly rebuild and Mozambique.Tel: 90-212-4225802 It’s more than 1,000 kilometers [620 get back on their feet. Ipoh miles]Fax: from 90-212-4225803 Beira, one of the areasTel: 1-310-4735188 hardest hit by BRAZIL Fax: 1-310-4779518 Soon after Tzu Chi startedTel: its 60-5-2551013relief work in the CycloneUNITED Idai. STATES In order to inspire more people in Tel: 55-11-55394091 Fax: 60-5-2421013 Oakland disasterFax: 55-11-55391683 areas, a group of Kedahyoung people from the Sandisaster Dimas area to give for theTel: good1-510-8790971 of others, Taiwan flew there to help. Tel:Tzu 60-4-7311013 Chi volunteers nearlyTel: 1-909-447779920 volunteers have decidedOrlando to move to BRUNEI Fax: 60-4-7321013 Fax: 1-909-4477948 from other countries flew in to help as well. Beira.Atlanta Some said they wouldTel/Fax: take 1-407-2921146 a sewing Tel/Fax: 673-3336779 Kuala Lumpur Phoenix Together with local volunteers,Tel: they 60-3-62563800 planned and machineTel: 1-770-4581000 and teach locals how to sew; others said CANADA Fax: 60-3-62563801 Austin Tel: 1-480-8386556 provided emergency aid to cyclone victims. After they would cook for survivors;Fax: 1-480-7777665 one said she theEdmonton first phase of relief workMelaka ended, Tzu Chi fol- wouldTel: 1-512-4910358share with victims how small amounts of Tel: 1-780-4639788 Tel: 60-6-2810818 Fax: 1-512-9261373 Pittsburgh Dr. Ye Tian-hao (葉添浩) sees a little patient lowedFax: 1-780-4621799 up with medical assistance.Fax: 60-6-2812796 A team of med- money,Boston when pooled together, Tel:can 1-412-5318343make a big dif- at a free clinic that Tzu Chi held in May 2019 icalMontreal professionals from TzuPenang Chi hospitals in ference,Tel: 1-617-7620569 thus encouraging peopleFax: 1-412-5318341 to give what TaiwanTel: 1-514-8442074 and members of the TzuTel: 60-4-2281013Chi International theyFax:1-617-4314484 could; yet another saidSan she Diego would bring for victims of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. Fax: 1-514-2889152 Fax: 60-4-2261013 Cerritos Medical Association traveled over 10,000 kilome- spades and hoes and teach peopleTel: 1-858-5460578 how to grow Toronto MEXICO Tel: 1-562-9266609 Fax: 1-858-5460573 tersTel: [6,215 1-416-8868886 miles] and transferred planes several vegetables.Fax: 1-562-9261603 Everyone vowed toSan do Francisco their part and 1-905-9471182 Tel: 1-760-7688998 times to arrive in the disaster areas in Mozambique try Chicagotheir best to inspire more Tel:people 1-415-6820566 in Beira to Fax: 1-416-9002048 Fax: 1-760-7686631 Tel: 1-630-9636601 andVancouver provide free clinics for survivors. reach out and serve others. Fax: 1-415-6820567 MYANMAR Fax: 1-630-9609360 San Jose Tel:The 1-604-2667699 doctors saw with their own eyes how hard HowCleveland do we make a difference in the lives of Fax: 1-604-2667659 Tel: 95-1-541494/541496 Tel: 1-408-4576969 life was for many local people. Some were seri- peopleTel/Fax: who 1-440-6469292 suffer? All that we Fax:need 1-408-9438420 to do is to put Columbus ouslyDOMINICAN ill, and yet REP. they had neverNETHERLANDS seen a doctor. our compassion into action andSeattle join forces with Tel: 1-809-5300972 Tel: 31-629-577511 Tel: 1-614-4579215 Some had to travel by car for two hours to see a others.Fax: 1-614-4579217This allows our tricklesTel: of 1-425-8227678 love to grow doctor,EL SALVADOR but cars were a luxuryNEW very ZEALAND few local peo- intoDallas a mighty force. When everyFax: one 1-425-8226169 of us can act ple could afford. For those who didn’t have a car, out Tel:of love,1-972-6808869 we will be like a St.bubbling, Louis surging Tel/Fax: 1-503-7293905 Tel: 64-9-2716976 Tel/Fax: 1-314-9941999 think how long they would haveFax: 64-9-2724639 to walk to cover springFax: 1-972-6807732bringing nourishment to places suffering FRANCE Detroit Washington DC the distance a car could travel in two hours! That from drought. Let each of us harbor a heart of sin- Tel: 33-1-45860312 PARAGUAY Tel/Fax: 1-586-7953491 Tel: 1-703-7078606 distanceFax: 33-1-45862540 was a challenge evenTel: to 595-21-333818 healthy people, cereFresno piety and do our best to createFax: 1-703-7078607 blessings for Fax: 595-21-310588 Tel/Fax: 1-559-2984894 notGERMANY to mention the ill and weak. Born into such an the world. Only then will the VIETNAMpower of love pre- environment, the locals could not do much to help vailHawaii and reach every living being. Tel: 49-40-388439 PHILIPPINES Tel: 1-808-7378885 Tel: 84-8-38535001 Cell: 0049-152-2951-9571 Tel/Fax: 63-2-7320001 Fax: 1-808-7378889 Fax: 84-8-38535055

July 2019 1

1.indd 1 2019/7/11 11:20 N400B.indd 1 2019/7/11 13:13 Tzu Chi Bimonthly July 2019

The Tzu Chi Bimonthly welcomes contrib 1 4 36 42 utions of personal experiences or reports of Tzu Chi activities. We also welcome letters to the editor containing personal comments or opinions on matters of interest in the Tzu Chi world. We reserve the right to edit the letters for purposes of space, time or clarity. Letters should include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. Address: No. 2, Lide Road, Beitou District, Taipei City 11259, Taiwan. Telephone: 886-2-2898-9000 ext 2001 Fax: 886-2-2898-9994 E-mail: [email protected]

Tzu Chi Bimonthly Publisher 20 24 57 60 Shih Cheng Yen Managing Editor Wu Hsiao-ting 1 TRANSFORMING LIVES, CREAT- 20 FIVE GENERATIONS WITH TZU 36 SURVIVAL CHALLENGES FOR 54 FIGHT SMART 57 GIVING HER ALL Staff ING BLESSINGS CHI ORPHANS IN SIERRA LEONE When parents fight, it can be trau- She not only gives money away. She Teresa Chang Let each of us harbor a heart of sin- From grandma down to grandchil- Many children in this poor country matic for their kids. There are ways contributes her time and energy too. Lin Sen-shou cere piety and do our best to create dren, their whole family have kept have lost their parents to natural to minimize the damage. Liu King-pong Douglas Shaw blessings for the world. close ties with Tzu Chi. The author, a disasters and a major Ebola virus 60 TZU CHI EVENTS AROUND THE Steven Turner member of the family, believes this is epidemic. It is uncertain if these 56 THE ILLUSTRATED JING SI WORLD 4 HALF A CENTURY OF TZU CHI a result of the good karma they have youngsters will survive to APHORISMS Tzu Chi briefs from all over. WORK IN TAITUNG accumulated over several lives. adulthood. Desire means thinking about getting Typhoon Nora hit Taitung in 1973, something. When people worry The Tzu Chi Bimonthly is owned and published by the Tzu Chi Culture and Communication which led to the most challenging 24 A GLIMMER OF LIGHT 42 TIBETAN HERDSMEN IN THE about getting something, they really Foundation, No. 2, Lide Road, Beitou District, relief operation Tzu Chi had under- After Cyclone Idai struck the SNOW suffer a lot. Taipei City 11259, Taiwan. taken since its founding. After that, African country of Mozambique, After an especially severe winter Wang Tuan-cheng, CEO Copyright © 2019 Tzu Chi Culture and the number of volunteers in Taitung Tzu Chi volunteers from several brought a record amount of snow- To read our magazine online, Communication Foundation. gradually increased, and more and countries traveled there to care for fall to Yushu Prefecture, China, Tzu please visit our website: All rights reserved. Printed in Taiwan. more local needy people were able the survivors. Chi brought aid to herdsmen. For a free copy of the Tzu Chi Bimonthly, web.tzuchiculture.org.tw please contact your nearest Tzu Chi branch to receive care from Tzu Chi. or scan this QR code: office (see inside back cover). 中華郵政台北誌字第910號執照登記為雜誌交寄

2 Tzu Chi July 2019 3

2.3.indd 2 2019/7/11 11:22 2.3.indd 3 2019/7/11 11:22 Half a Century of Tzu Chi Work in Taitung

By the writing team for The Story of Tzu Chi, Tzu Chi Periodicals Department Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting Photos courtesy of Tzu Chi Hualien headquarters

In the early years of Tzu Chi’s history, Master Cheng Yen herself led volunteers on home visits to the needy in Taitung, eastern Taiwan. In 1973, heavy rains brought by Typhoon Nora devastated eastern Taiwan, and Taitung was the hardest-hit area. Despite the limited resources and manpower back then, Tzu Chi volunteers went all out to help victims. After that, the number of volunteers in Taitung gradually increased, and Tzu Chi was able to take care of and bring love and warmth to more needy people in the area.

eople in Taiwan in the 1960s and 1970s were generally poor. At the end of every year, government and non- Pgovernment sectors would mobilize to organize In 1973, Master Cheng Yen A map of Taitung from the 1980s, drawn and provide winter aid for the destitute, calling and the commissioners began their work one by senior volunteer Zheng Yi-hui (鄭怡慧), on people to donate generously to help the needy. month earlier than usual, but they weren’t work- shows the routes volunteers took when The Buddhist Tzu Chi Merit Association (now ing for the annual winter distributions. They were they visited the needy in the area back known as the Tzu Chi Foundation), founded in instead working for disaster relief for victims of then. At that time, it took an entire month 1966, started holding winter distributions for the Typhoon Nora. to visit all the families receiving care needy in 1969. A few months before the end of On October 8, 1973, Taiwan’s Central Weather from Tzu Chi. each year, Tzu Chi commissioners would be busi- Bureau issued a land warning for Typhoon ly engaged in compiling recipient rosters and pur- Nora. The following day, the storm tore across chasing and packing aid supplies. the sea southwest of Taiwan before eventually

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4.19.indd 4 2019/7/11 11:32 4.19.indd 5 2019/7/11 11:32 TYPHOON NORA INFLICTED HEAVY LOSSES

In October 1973, Typhoon Nora brought torrential rains to eastern Taiwan, resulting in severe devastation in the area from Yuli, Hualien County, south to Dawu, Taitung County. Back then, many bridges in Hualien and Taitung were shared by trains and cars. With bridges damaged in the disaster, travel became virtually impossible, hindering the delivery of aid. The photos below and left show buildings next to Zhiben River and Binlang Bridge badly damaged in the disaster.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FIFTH ENGINEERING OFFICE, SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION BUREAU, COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURE

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4.19.indd 6 2019/7/11 11:32 4.19.indd 7 2019/7/11 11:32 AID TO VICTIMS OF TYPHOON NORA

On November 4, 1973, over 50 people took a southbound train to Yuli to conduct a distribution and provide free medical services for victims of Typhoon Nora. On board were Master Cheng Yen, Tzu Chi commissioners, and volunteer doctors and nurses from a regular Tzu Chi free clinic in Hualien. Aid was distributed during the event to nearly a hundred families based on how badly damaged their houses were and the sizes of the households (left photo). Over a month later, another distribution was held, on December 25 and 26, for survivors in Taitung. The events and a detailed account of money raised were reported in the Tzu Chi Monthly magazine (right photo).

Several principles of Tzu Chi relief work were established during the relief operations: directness, priority, and respect. A standard operating procedure took shape too: assessing damage in the disaster area, compiling recipient rosters, raising relief funds, and putting aid directly into the hands of victims.

8 Tzu Chi July 2019 9

4.19.indd 8 2019/7/11 11:32 4.19.indd 9 2019/7/11 11:32 making landfall in China on October 10. Though Tzu Chi commissioners in Hualien—about two When the commissioners in Taipei learned that much. The funds had to be used in a way that Taiwan was not in the direct path of the storm, dozen in total—for a meeting. She told them the they had been called on to support the fundraising would truly benefit the aid recipients and not cause Nora brought torrential rains to the island for affected area was so large and so many people effort, they told the Master, “The disaster was not the donors’ kindness to be wasted. three days in a row, devastating an area from had been impacted that it was beyond the means covered in the news. People in the west do not That’s how the Master developed the “priori- Yuli, Hualien County, down to Dawu, Taitung of Tzu Chi to meet the need. “I hope you will all know about it. It will be hard to get them to ty” principle: the dedication of aid to those most County, on Taiwan’s eastern seaboard. Sixty- form a relief team and work hard to solicit dona- donate.” To muster support, the Master composed in need—that is, those who would have the most eight people were killed or missing as a result, tions for our aid mission,” she said. a description of the devastation caused by the difficulty getting back on their feet. This “priori- and 85 people were injured. A total of 1,251 Jiang Mu-huo (江木火), the husband of com- typhoon and Tzu Chi’s relief plan, had more than ty” principle became another guideline estab- houses were completely destroyed, with another missioner Qiu Lan-jiao (邱蘭嬌), took the minutes 4,000 copies made, and then had them mailed to all lished for Tzu Chi’s future disaster relief work. 433 partially collapsed. In Taitung County alone, for the meeting. A bank manager, Jiang had Tzu Chi donating members around Taiwan. To determine which people needed help the more than 26,000 people were affected. Taitung become a consultant for Tzu Chi at the beginning Tzu Chi’s relief plan included a donation drive most, Master Cheng Yen instructed commission- had never been so badly battered by a natural of the year. When he heard the Master say that she for second-hand clothing. People responded warm- ers to visit affected households one by one to disaster before. had roughly estimated the need for 600,000 NT ly to the drive and donated whatever clothes they understand the composition of each family, their dollars (US$15,800), he put down his pen and said could contribute. Every garment represented the situation, and their living conditions. The prelimi- THE MORE FORTUNATE SHOULD HELP in a worried voice to Master De Rong (德融), a donor’s care for the victims. However, because nary screening would be reviewed before recipi- THE LESS FORTUNATE monastic disciple of Master Cheng Yen who was Taiwanese society was generally poor at the time, ent lists were finalized. Master Cheng Yen was very concerned upon sitting next to him, “Where are we going to get so many donated garments were not in the best condi- On December 5, when the road to Taitung learning about the devastation caused by the much money?” tion. Some had patches, some were missing buttons was finally passable, the Master led a team of typhoon. However, transportation to Taitung had His concern was reasonable. The winter aid dis- or had broken zippers, and some had not even been commissioners south to start days of home vis- been seriously disrupted in the disaster. To travel tributions were coming up and Tzu Chi had just washed clean. The Master examined each item of its. After a train ride of over five hours, they to Taitung from the Tzu Chi headquarters in over 200,000 NT dollars (US$5,270) available. clothing one by one and instructed commissioners arrived in Taitung. northern Hualien, one needed to cross over more Furthermore, the Master hoped to complete the dis- to mend those with holes in them, wash those that Wang Tian-ding (王添丁), an elementary than ten large rivers. Many bridges were shared tributions for typhoon victims by the end of the were dirty, and weed out those that were too old school principal, and his wife, Huang Yu-nu (黃玉 by trains and cars. With bridges damaged in the year—meaning they had a window of less than two and tattered to give to the needy. Then everything 女), were residents of Taitung who had joined Tzu disaster, getting to Taitung became virtually months. “How can we possibly pull this off?” Jiang was sorted by gender and age, ironed, and folded Chi as volunteers more than a year earlier. Before impossible. As a result, the Master and Tzu Chi asked. He wasn’t alone in his worry; every commis- up neatly before they could be given to victims. the Master arrived, the two of them had conduct- volunteers couldn’t quickly travel to disaster sioner that was present at the meeting shared his With love and help from everyone, Tzu Chi ed a preliminary investigation and selected more areas there to assess the damage. concern. Master Cheng Yen, however, was undaunt- garnered enough resources in due course for its than 6,000 typhoon victims out of nearly 10,000 as At a Tzu Chi commissioners’ gathering ten days ed. Instead of the difficulties ahead, all she could relief effort. On November 4, over 50 people took potential aid recipients. This saved the Master and after the disaster, the Master, deeply worried, said think of was the victims’ pressing needs. a southbound train to Yuli to conduct a distribu- the commissioners from Hualien a lot of work. that with communications disrupted, a detailed The Master decided not to dip into Tzu Chi’s tion and provide free medical services for typhoon They could now conduct further screening based report of the devastation was unavailable. All they current funds in order to avoid impacting the victims. On board were Master Cheng Yen, com- on Wang’s list. knew was that the situation was very bad. upcoming winter distributions. She also made missioners, and volunteer doctors and nurses Fortunately, Hualien had emerged largely another important decision: None of the money from a Tzu Chi free clinic which was held twice a DISTRIBUTION IN TAITUNG unscathed. People who were more fortunate should donated to the cause of helping victims of week in Hualien. With the recipient rosters duly finalized, sympathize with those who were not. They needed Typhoon Nora would be used for any other pur- Cash was distributed during the event to near- brand-new comforters and neatly sorted second- to get themselves ready and set their relief work in pose. That is, every penny raised for survivors of ly a hundred families based on how badly dam- hand clothes were transported on 15 cargo rail- motion as soon as the roads were restored. Typhoon Nora would be used to help them. This aged their houses were and the sizes of the house- way cars later in December from Hualien to Two weeks after the storm, traffic to Yuli, a decision—that no funds donated for a stated pur- holds. A total of 71,340 NT dollars (US$1,877) Taitung. When they arrived, the items were load- hard-hit area in southern Hualien, was restored. pose would be used for another purpose—became were given out. In addition, a hundred comforters ed onto trucks and delivered to the disaster areas. On October 24, the Master and several Tzu Chi a guideline for Tzu Chi’s future large-scale emer- and a thousand articles of clothing were With the goods in place and ready to be distribut- commissioners rushed to the town to assess the gency relief work. distributed. ed, Master Cheng Yen and the commissioners set disaster. Accompanied by local volunteers, the After the Yuli distribution, Tzu Chi moved on to off down south again for a two-day distribution, team visited victims and learned that many of DISTRIBUTION IN YULI help Taitung County, which had suffered even more which was scheduled for December 25 and 26. them were survivors of a flood that had devastated “Despite our lack of funds, I simply can’t damage. Over 20,000 people there were affected by This was the largest relief operation in the western Taiwan in 1959. After that, they had moved stand by and see the victims suffer.” Because of the disaster, spread over a large area. The Master seven years since Tzu Chi had been founded. to eastern Taiwan to get a fresh start. They never Master Cheng Yen’s resolute and compassionate pondered how best to help to make a real differ- Recipients were spread across towns and villages expected that they would be hit again by another words, all Tzu Chi commissioners in eastern ence. After all, a lot of work had gone into the fund- in Taitung, including Chishang, Luye, Beinan, flood 14 years later. Some people were so devastat- Taiwan mobilized and did their best to solicit raising; if the donated money was improperly used, Taimali, Donghe, and Guanshan. Aid was distrib- ed that they even fell ill. The Master comforted donations for the mission. However, it wasn’t the relief work would lose its meaning and Tzu Chi uted to 554 families, which included 2,631 people, affected households one by one, and she enlisted easy to raise 600,000 NT dollars in such a short would be letting the donors down. She reasoned according to household size and the extent of the help of village and neighborhood heads to time. Given the urgency of the situation, the that if the available funds were distributed to each damage to each home. People could also receive compile aid recipient rosters for Tzu Chi. Master decided to expand the fundraising effort and every affected household, each family could free medical services at the venue. Out of consid- After that trip, the Master summoned all the to include western Taiwan. receive only a little aid and it wouldn’t help them eration for recipients who lived in more remote

10 Tzu Chi July 2019 11

4.19.indd 10 2019/7/11 11:32 4.19.indd 11 2019/7/11 11:32 areas, a tour bus was sent out to ferry them to and leagues at their respective schools. When they from the venue. Other attending families received found students at their schools who needed help, reimbursements for their transportation fees. they also brought them to the attention of Tzu All told, Tzu Chi aided 671 households in Yuli, Chi. In March 1972, the couple became Tzu Chi Hualien, and Taitung in the aftermath of Typhoon commissioners and began helping the organiza- Nora. Total relief expenditures were in excess of tion care for the needy in Taitung. 600,000 NT dollars (US$15,800). Several principles of Tzu Chi disaster relief work were developed in A BLIND, OLD MAN IN A CEMETERY the process: directness (the organization and pro- Tzu Chi’s care for the needy first reached vision of aid without going through some other Taitung over a year after the organization was organization), priority, and respect. A standard established. operating procedure took shape too: assessing At the time, a 65-year-old man named Wu was damage in the disaster area, compiling recipient living in a hut in a cemetery in Taitung. He had rosters, raising relief funds, and putting aid direct- lived there for years. When he felt up to it, he ly in the hands of victims. tended a vegetable patch near where he lived. Taitung is spread across a large, mountainous With what he could harvest, and with offerings of area with many rivers. Without the help and guid- food left behind by people who visited graves in ance of the local people, it would have been hard the cemetery, he was just barely able to scrape by. for the Master and commissioners from Hualien But as he grew older, he became weaker. He fully to go deep into the different areas, visit affected lost the ability to support himself when his vision families, and eventually pull off this mission. deteriorated so much that he became almost com- Because of that, the Master was very grateful for pletely blind. the help of Principal Wang Tian-ding and his wife, Master Cheng Yen learned about Wu’s situa- Huang Yu-nu. tion through a newspaper article in January 1968. Huang had come to know the Master 12 years She immediately sent 300 NT dollars (US$8) to the earlier, in 1961. She had met her at a Buddhist news outlet and asked them to forward the money society in Taitung. Huang, an elementary school- to Wu. Then, on March 23, she took a train to teacher at that time, often went to the society to Taitung to pay a visit to the old man. After more listen to lectures on Buddhist teachings. At the than five hours on the road, she found him in a time, a nun with the Dharma name of Xiu Dao cemetery near the sea. The old man was nothing (修道) was expounding the Buddha’s teachings but a bag of bones. at the society. When she gave lectures, a young The Master took his hand, gave him 200 NT woman named Jing Si (靜思) would assist at her dollars (US$5), and said to him, “Don’t worry. side. Sometimes Jing Si went up on stage to tell We’ll take care of you from now on. We’ll also take stories from Buddhist sutras too. Huang eventu- you to have your eyes treated. We’ll pay for the ally took refugee with Master Xiu Dao and medical costs.” became her lay disciple. However, Master Xiu After she returned to Hualien, the Master asked Dao and Jing Si only stayed at the society for around for a good doctor who could treat Wu’s over a year. After they left, Huang never heard eye condition. Then, ten days after her first visit, anything about them again. she returned to Taitung to take the old man to the About a decade later, an old acquaintance of doctor. They traveled half the length of Taiwan Huang’s, Li Shi (李時), came from Hualien to before arriving in Shalu, central Taiwan. Principal Wang Tian-ding (center) guides aid recipi- Da’nan Village, Beinan Township, Taitung. The Taitung for a business trip. Li had joined Tzu Chi The doctor examined the old man. “Doctor, ents to receive their financial aid at a Tzu Chi win- conflagration reduced 148 households to ashes. as a volunteer. At her invitation, Huang became a will he be able to see again?” Master Cheng Yen ter distribution held in Taitung in 1981. The Master and commissioners made trip after Tzu Chi donating member. A few months later, asked. “Can he still be operated on?” She posed trip to the disaster area before finally finishing Huang also began soliciting donations for the the questions full of hope, but the doctor replied, Wu thus became Tzu Chi’s first long-term aid their relief work for that disaster. charity organization. She later paid a visit to Tzu “His condition is too far along to be treated. recipient in Taitung, back when the organization Chi in Hualien and found to her amazement that Besides, he is old and weak. Surgery would not was still very financially constrained. Three POVERTY AND ILLNESS the founder of the organization, Master Cheng do him any good.” months later, Master Cheng Yen heard that two Due to distance and a lack of manpower, Tzu Yen, was Jing Si! Disappointed, the Master escorted Wu back to poor patients in Taitung Hospital couldn’t afford Chi wasn’t able to carry out much charity work Huang’s husband, Wang, was very supportive Taitung. Before leaving, she gave him 600 NT dol- their medical bills. She traveled south again and in Taitung in the beginning. It wasn’t until Wang of Huang’s volunteer work for Tzu Chi, and he lars (US$16) and told him that Tzu Chi would gave them financial aid. and Huang joined the organization that Tzu even joined her in enlisting donating members for support him from then on by giving him a month- The following year, in September 1969, Chi’s charity work finally took a big step for- the organization. They both started with their col- ly subsidy of 300 NT dollars. Typhoon Elsie hit Taiwan and caused a big fire in ward in the region.

12 Tzu Chi July 2019 13

4.19.indd 12 2019/7/11 11:32 4.19.indd 13 2019/7/11 11:32 again. The resulting medical bills came to over 2,000 NT dollars [US$53]. Could Tzu Chi pay the bills for him? Also, could our organization help provide for him and his family for a while? He has seven children. The oldest, 15, has dropped out of school because the family is too poor. There are many more people in need of help here. I’m not good at letter writing, so I can’t give detailed accounts of them all. I hope you can come personally to Taitung for a visit and bring them warmth and aid.

Yours respectfully, Huang Yu-nu

Taitung was located in a relatively remote, difficult-to-access region, and it was developed later than many other areas in Taiwan. Many young people there had had no choice but to leave for the much more prosperous region of western Taiwan to make a living, leaving behind many old and weak folks to hold down the fort. When she was younger, Master Cheng Yen had visited many poor, outlying villages in eastern Taiwan in search of an ideal place to carry out her spiritual cultiva- tion. During her journey, she had seen many impoverished, sick people with no one to rely on. She had always felt for those defenseless people, and what Huang had described in her letter did not surprise her. Ten days after the Master received Huang’s letter, she led several commissioners from Hualien to Taitung to conduct some home visits herself. After the visits, it was decided that Tzu Chi would donate 3,000 NT dollars (US$80) to Zhao Yun-peng to help him pay his medical bills. In addition, the Zhao family was included on the list Master Cheng Yen and a team of Tzu Chi commis- and has no one to depend on. He has a son, but the son of Tzu Chi’s long-term aid recipients and would sioners visit a needy household in Luye, Taitung, in left home three or four years ago and hasn’t been heard help. His wife used to be a manual laborer, but she can’t begin to receive 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of rice the 1970s. from since. Lin is disabled (he only has one hand), and he go out to work anymore because she has to take care of every month from the organization. Wu A-yun, has liver and kidney problems. He was badly swollen him. They have five children; the oldest is 17, the who couldn’t move from the waist down, and his Since they were new volunteers, the couple when I saw him. Someone had sent him to a doctor before, youngest six. They now live in a place for the poor pro- family also became long-term aid recipients. A wasn’t sure how to go about their work, including but the doctor refused to treat him—probably because he vided by the Rotary Club. monthly contribution of 300 NT dollars and 28 assessing people’s needs and how much aid to had no money to pay the medical bill. Lin lives in a Yet another person I visited was Zhao Yun-peng kilograms of rice would be given to the family. give. About a year after she joined, on March 23, cramped, poorly arranged space off a corner of someone’s [趙雲鵬, 56]. He has liver disease and was once oper- In order to find more people in need of help, 1973, Huang wrote a letter to Master Cheng Yen. house. He conducts all his daily activities in that extreme- ated on at Taitung Hospital and Veterans Hospital. the Master traveled to Taitung again half a month ly confined space. I feel so bad for him. His medical costs were paid by Qing Jue Temple. Zhao later, on April 17. Dear Master: Another person I visited was Wu A-yun [吳阿雲, has had a relapse, but he wouldn’t go to the hospital Zhou Ren-lai (周仁來), a 72-year-old aborigi- I had some free time this afternoon and was able to 43]. He has been laid up in bed with rheumatism for because his family can’t afford it. The abbot of Qing ne, lived in a dark, squat, rundown house. As visit three needy people. One was Lin, 67, who lives alone four months and can’t even relieve himself without Jue Temple, defying his wish, sent him to the hospital soon as the Master and the others stepped into

14 Tzu Chi July 2019 15

4.19.indd 14 2019/7/11 11:32 4.19.indd 15 2019/7/11 11:32 1 3

DELIVERING WARMTH AT YEAR’S END

At first, Tzu Chi wasn’t able to conduct much charity work in Taitung due to limited resources and 2 4 manpower. Only with the increase in the number of local volunteers in later years was the organization able to help more people. Aside from regular visits to the needy, volunteers also began to organize yearly winter distributions.

At a winter distribution that took place in Taitung in 1979, supplies were distributed (photo 1), free medical services (photo 2) and haircuts (photo 3) were offered, and transportation was provided for the needy (photo 4).

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4.19.indd 16 2019/7/11 11:32 4.19.indd 17 2019/7/11 11:33 JUAN I-JONG The first four Tzu Chi commissioners in Taitung: Guo Heng-min (first from right), his wife, Wang Song-e (second from left), Wang Tian-ding (second from right), and his wife, Huang Yu-nu (middle). Fang Chun-mei (范春梅, first from left) became a commissioner in 1987.

his home, they were assailed by a terrible stench. venue. Dr. Zhang Cheng-wen immediately stood Zhou’s legs had developed necrosis and had fes- up and said to him, “I’ll go with you.” This was tered, with maggots crawling over the sores and the first-ever Tzu Chi medical home visit. flies hovering above. Overwhelmed by the sight The free clinic that day served 160 patients. and stench, several commissioners ran outside At the same time, Master Cheng Yen and some and vomited. The Master, on the other hand, commissioners went deep into local villages to acted as if she hadn’t smelled the repellant odor. visit the needy. Quite a few people became Tzu She calmly approached Zhou’s bed and expressed Chi long-term aid recipients as a result of those her care for him. visits. In that month, a record-breaking 15 fami- Like Zhou, there were many poor, sick people lies were added to the organization’s long-term in Taitung who were unable to afford visits to the aid recipient list; eight of those families were in hospital and could only waste away at home. Taitung. Master Cheng Yen decided to provide free clinics From April to September 1973, the Master and for them as soon as possible. commissioners, undaunted by the distance between Hualien and Taitung, traveled repeatedly CHARITY COMBINED WITH MEDICINE between the two places to visit the poor. The num- On May 6, 1973, a team of people joined Wang ber of families in Taitung included in Tzu Chi’s Tian-ding and Huang Yu-nu in Taitung to hold a long-term aid recipient list thus took a big jump. At free clinic at Hai Shan Temple for local needy peo- the same time, three free clinics served nearly 600 ple. The team included Drs. Zhang You-chuan (張 people. The events also inspired many local medi- 有傳) and Zhang Cheng-weng (張澄溫), who were cal professionals and non-medical volunteers to father and son, Dr. Huang Bo-shi (黃博施), and join Tzu Chi in helping the underserved. nurses Lin Bi-qi (林碧芑) and Deng Shu-qing (鄧 One week after the third free clinic ended, 淑卿). The medical professionals were from the Typhoon Nora devastated Taitung, which led to regular Tzu Chi free clinic in Hualien. the most challenging relief operation that Tzu Chi Su Wan-gui (蘇萬貴) was a Taitung resident. had undertaken since its founding. The people The nerves in his eyelids were dead, so he had to who had become Tzu Chi volunteers because of prop open his eyelids in order to see anything. He the three free clinics turned out to be a big help as uttered a long string of words when he went into the organization went about organizing and pro- the clinic, but his speech was so slurred no one viding aid for typhoon victims. The number of could understand him. A neighbor of his was Tzu Chi commissioners in Taitung gradually eventually fetched to interpret for him. Only then increased after that, including Wu Wei (吳尾), did those at the clinic realize that Su was asking a Wang Song-e (王松峨), and Guo Heng-min (郭恆 doctor from the clinic to go to his home and check 敏). As a result, more and more local needy people on his father, who was too sick to come to the were able to receive care from Tzu Chi.

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4.19.indd 18 2019/7/11 11:33 4.19.indd 19 2019/7/12 15:53 YAN LIN-ZHAO Five Generations With Tzu Chi

Narrated by Wang Shou-rong Written by Huang Hsiu-hua Translated by Elizabeth Hsinyin Lee

From my grandma Wang Mian to my grandchildren, five generations of my family have kept close ties with Tzu Chi. We are very fortunate. This is a result of the good karma we’ve accumulated over several lives.

hen I was little, my mother, Huang My father was an elementary Yu-nu, used to talk a lot about her first school principal, so he arranged acquaintance with Master Cheng Yen. for the relief distribution for WThey met at a Buddhist society in Taitung, south- typhoon victims to take place at eastern Taiwan, in 1961. Back then, the Master the local Jie Shou Hall. Tzu Chi was called “Jing Si” and hadn’t yet shaved her reimbursed attendees for their head. My mother was surprised to learn, when train fares, but some people lived they met again 10 years later, that the Jing Si who in townships with no train ser- was wearing two long plaits when they first met vice, such as Taimali and Jinlun. had become the founder of Tzu Chi. Everything in The Master hired a tour bus to life is due to karmic affinities, and karmic affini- ferry these people to and from ties can indeed be inconceivable. the venue. Such consideration for In 1973, Typhoon Nora wreaked havoc in an the survivors deeply moved my area from Yuli, Hualien, down to Dawu, Taitung. father. He remarked, “The Master Cheng Yen instructed Tzu Chi volunteers Master’s action embodies the to pull out all the stops to help with the disaster spirit of ‘Great mercy to strangers relief efforts. My father, Wang Tian-ding, was and great compassion for all.’” volunteering for Tzu Chi by this time. He was Another incident also left its the one who helped prepare the rosters of aid mark on my father. In 1973, Tzu recipients. He understood that the charity orga- Chi held its first free clinic in nization was funded mostly by small donations Taitung at Hai Shan Temple. When my father saw up some heart medicine at the Taitung train sta- Picking up the baton in the Yunlin-Chiayi and that fund-raising wasn’t easy, so he suggest- Su Wan-gui, who was from a poor family, arrive at tion and take it to Su’s house. She had asked a region ed that only about 200 households should the clinic without his father, he inquired about his train conductor to deliver the medicine for her. The Master, greatly revered by my mother, receive aid. father’s absence. Su’s speech was so slurred no The Master herself happened to suffer from always stayed at our place when she came to However, when the Master looked at the recip- one could understand him, so he used gestures to angina. There was medicine for her condition at Taitung to visit the needy. My mother used to ient rosters prepared by my father, she recom- try to communicate his message. Eventually, with the Jing Si Abode in Hualien, the convent she keep a guest room especially for the Master, and mended less rigorous aid-giving standards in the help of a neighbor, he was able to communi- established and where she lived. She thought Su’s she always cleaned it carefully before her visits. order to allow more households to benefit. My cate that his father was dying. The Master was father could benefit from her medicine, so she We were not allowed into the room. father reworked the rosters and presented a very concerned when she heard this. She immedi- asked people to deliver it for her. The way the I was studying in Taipei at the time. On the renewed relief plan, but the Master again recom- ately visited Su’s father at home along with a doc- Master kept the needy in mind moved my father. occasions when I visited home and saw the mended a wider margin than what my father had tor from the free clinic. Su’s father was diagnosed “The Master is really compassionate,” he said. Master, I addressed her as “Grandmaster.” proposed. This went back and forth three times. In with lung and heart problems. “She teaches us to treat everyone equally. We At the age of 26, I got a job at Chunghwa the end, the number of households in Taitung to Soon after the free clinic, my father received a make every effort to relieve people, even those Telecom, maintaining equipment at base stations receive aid from Tzu Chi increased to over 500. phone call from the Master. She asked him to pick who aren’t related to us, from pain.” of wireless networks. Later I put down roots in

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20.23.indd 20 2019/7/11 11:35 20.23.indd 21 2019/7/11 11:35 COURTESY OF WANG SHOU-RONG JUAN I-JONG Wang Shou-rong (back row, left) Although this method con- with his wife (back row, right), sumed a lot of time and energy, mother, and father (who passed it was in accordance with the away at age 95 in 2017). Master’s teaching: One has to see things from the perspective Elderly people received of those who suffer instead of warm woolen coats, and the handling things based on one’s school uniforms for children subjective ways of thinking. were made from the best khaki That is the most precious lesson fabric—in fact, Tai Tzu Lung’s I’ve ever learned. famous brand watermark could During the 1980s, my mother be seen inside the collar. These came to live with us for a short details showed how much while. I took her to visit a woman thought the Master had put in to in her 70s who lived by herself in prepare these supplies for our the village of Jinhu, Kouhu aid recipients. She even thought Township, Yunlin County. The of people’s needs for new woman’s son had been con- clothes at the Lunar New Year. scripted into the Japanese army Such attentiveness! during the Japanese rule of Back then, I had to deliver supplies and Taiwan (1895-1945) and had been killed on the bat- When Wang Shou-rong monthly allowances to our aid recipients every tlefield. After that, the woman built tall fences (王壽榮) and his wife, month. Due to our annual winter distributions, around her house, refused to interact with her Yan Yu-zhen, visited the winter was a particularly busy delivery season. At neighbors, and never let her guard down. needy during the early that time my wife and I could not afford a car, so Because I visited her every month, I had won years, Wang would take we managed the deliveries on our motorbikes. I her trust. On that particular day my mother got the photographs while had a 100cc Yamaha and my wife had an 80cc out of the car first. When she saw the woman Yan extended care to Suzuki. Each of us could only carry six packages standing at her door, she called out to her, but the the families. After- per trip, enough supplies for only two house- woman ignored my mother’s greeting and retreat- wards, they compiled holds. It took us several days of such mini-deliv- ed deeper inside the house. It wasn’t until I files based on the info eries to distribute all the supplies. showed up at the woman’s door and called out to they had collected. Because of our long-term exposure to the sun her that she recognized my voice and opened the and the sea winds while on the road on our motor- door. This interaction affirmed for my mother the Xingang, Chiayi County, southern Taiwan—the our headquarters in Hualien for help, they sent bikes, our faces were nearly always dry, chapped, benefits of my long-term charity efforts. hometown of my wife, Yan Yu-zhen (嚴玉真). me the documents and information for the house- and peeled. One year after the winter distributions From my grandma Wang Mian (王麵) to my That was in 1979. From reading earlier issues hold to follow up. Gradually I assumed responsi- I went back to my parents’ home for the Lunar grandchildren, five generations of my family have of the Tzu Chi Monthly, I learned that the founda- bility for Tzu Chi’s charity work in the Yunlin- New Year. My parents thought I was ill because of kept close ties with Tzu Chi. My eldest daughter, tion had started sponsoring underprivileged Chiayi region. my dark, dry, gravely wrinkled face! Wang Ling-yi (王齡誼), and her husband, Zhang households in Yunlin, the county right next to The first time I conducted year-end visits to Huai-ren (張懷仁), both work at Hualien Tzu Chi Chiayi, as early as in 1973. The first household in the households receiving long-term aid from Tzu My mother’s affirmation Hospital, one at the research department and the Chiayi was helped in 1977. Chi, the Master instructed me to take along a tape During those early years, my wife and I had day other as a cardiologist. And two of my grandchil- Back then, these households were visited by measure to measure each member of every house- jobs and so we could only deliver supplies during dren study at Tzu Chi elementary school and kin- cross-region Tzu Chi commissioners from either hold and record the measurements. At first I did the weekends. One year, I was concerned that we dergarten; they often volunteer at Tzu Chi book- Taichung or Tainan. My first household visit after I not understand the purpose of this action. It wouldn’t be able to deliver all the winter relief sup- stores on weekends. moved to Chiayi was guided by the Master. On wasn’t until I received the supplies for the upcom- plies and allowances before the Lunar New Year’s I’m 66 this year, and I’ve devoted myself to that occasion, the Master came down from Hualien ing winter distributions that I understood why Eve, so I wrote in advance to our aid recipients and Tzu Chi work for 40 years. Over the years I’ve with Master De Rong, Master De En (德恩), and she wanted me to do this. asked them to collect their supplies at my father-in- witnessed with my own eyes how thoughtful the Tzu Chi Sister Jing Xian (靜憪). I rode a motorbike Every household was to receive three packag- law’s place. But then I witnessed a scene that made Master has always been in providing help and and navigated the routes from the front while the es: Two contained food and utensils, and one con- me regret my decision: Two elderly women who care for the needy. She has always been like a lov- Master and the others followed me in a taxi. We tained winter clothes and student uniforms. The had taken a cab together from Budai Township, ing mother and a compassionate bodhisattva. I’m rode to remote areas in Yunlin and Chiayi to visit clothes in their package were folded neatly, and Chiayi County, threw up the minute they arrived at grateful that my parents led me to Tzu Chi and needy families. each item of clothing was labeled with the name my father-in-law’s place. They had become very that I could take part in such meaningful social After our visit together, the Master said to me, of the intended recipient. When the families carsick on the trip. work. It’s due to the good karma I’ve accumulat- “From now on, you’ll be in charge of this area.” received the clothes, everything fitted, those for It hurt me to see how those ladies had suffered, ed over several lifetimes that I could have such a After that, when a needy family was referred to the adults and the young kids alike. so I resumed my personal delivery to each family. blessed life.

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20.23.indd 22 2019/7/11 11:35 20.23.indd 23 2019/7/11 11:35 A Glimmer of Light Tzu Chi Free Clinics in Mozambique

By Zhang Li-yun Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting Photos by Hsiao Yiu-hwa

Tzu Chi doctors conducted home visits to households in the countryside of Mozambique and witnessed how Cyclone Idai had made the already hard lives of local people even more difficult. The families were so poor they were not even able to eat regularly. Even though the help they could provide was limited, the Tzu Chi medical team did what they could to bring a glimmer of light to the lives of the underserved.

Children in Lamego look curiously at photographer Hsiao Yiu-hwa (蕭耀華) as he checks out a tent in the disaster area.

24 Tzu Chi

24.35.indd 24 2019/7/11 11:41 24.35.indd 25 2019/7/11 11:41 n mid-March 2019, Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique. The heavy rains brought by the storm led to devastating flashfloods and mud- Islides. Houses built with sun-dried mud bricks simply dissolved and people and property were swept away. The storm took the lives of over 600 people, injured 1,600 others, and caused heavy losses of property. In May, I traveled with a Tzu Chi medical team from Taiwan to Mozambique to provide free clinics to survivors of the disaster. My duty was to record the events I witnessed there. As our air- plane descended to land in Beira, the capital and largest city of Sofala Province, central Mozambique, I looked out the window to try to find evidence of the cyclone. The local Tzu Chi volunteers had described areas ravaged by the storm as if they had been rolled over by bulldoz- ers. However, what greeted me instead when I looked out was a beautiful expanse of clear blue sky. Only when I looked down did I notice the extremely muddy water in local rivers. The coco- nut trees on the riverbanks were all bent in the same direction, and the ground was a picture of disarray with tree trunks scattered haphazardly around. It was not hard to imagine how strong the winds had been when the cyclone hit. Many international news reports focused on the devastation in Beira, but the Nhamatanda District, also in Sofala Province, was dealt a severe blow too. The village of Lamego in Nhamatanda suffered from the highest floodwaters among all affected regions in Mozambique. The village was located near the bend of a river. Mudslides trig- gered by Cyclone Idai rushed down from upstream, blocking floodwater and wreaking havoc in the area. Beira has better communications systems than outlying areas, so its residents were alerted to the cyclone and could prepare for it in advance. Nhamatanda, on the other hand, is poor and backward; few people there own cell phones or have access to the Internet. In addition, the floods came so quickly that local residents were caught completely off guard. Those who were luckier managed to escape to higher roads or climb up into trees for safety; the less fortunate ones were piti- fully washed away along with their houses. Submerged in floodwater in the aftermath of the cyclone, Lamego was cut off from and lost all

Floods brought by Cyclone Idai destroyed farmland and mud-brick houses. It will take time to rebuild. Public health was also a concern after the disaster.

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24.35.indd 26 2019/7/11 11:41 24.35.indd 27 2019/7/11 11:41 Distribution of building tools hastened after being hit by such severe floods.” Residents reconstruction usually chop wood or use locally collected materi- Manuel was a Mozambican who lost family als to build their homes, but without the aid of members to Cyclone Idai. His house was dam- tools, no rebuilding would have been possible. aged in the disaster too. He was a college gradu- Locals normally build their homes with sun- ate and served as an interpreter for the Tzu Chi dried mud bricks. After Cyclone Idai, they rebuilt medical team. “I told myself I must volunteer for their houses with this kind of brick too. Those who Tzu Chi,” he said. “When I help others, others are could afford it used fired bricks to rebuild, but helping my own family.” those bricks were still not hard enough; should The day before the first Tzu Chi free clinic, another flood hit, those houses would very likely Manuel took some members of the medical team collapse again. Even tribal chiefs, with their elevat- for a visit to Tica. When the group arrived at the vil- ed status, lived in houses that did not stand much lage, they saw João, along with other local residents, chance against strong winds and severe flooding. rebuilding his home with tools distributed by Tzu Another group of volunteers, including plastic Chi not long ago. João told the volunteers that the surgeon Ye Tian-hao (葉添浩), from Kaohsiung, tools had greatly helped to speed up their building Taiwan, conducted house calls in Lamego village. process. An area of 30 square meters (323 square During their visit, they saw just a couple of hous- feet) could be built up in just two weeks. es with cement walls. All the others were new “If Tzu Chi hadn’t given us the tools,” João structures built after the disaster. Mud bricks, tree declared, “we wouldn’t have known what to do branches, hay, and plastic tarps were the typical building materials they saw. Tzu Chi volunteers unload building tools to be dis- Villagers brought their children out of their tributed to cyclone survivors to help them rebuild homes for the doctors to examine when they saw their homes. them coming. A five-month-old baby girl, appar-

Cyclone survivors return home with building tools sities, farming utensils, building materials and and rice distributed by Tzu Chi. tools, seeds, and school supplies were held for survivors in the villages of Tica, Lamego, and communications to the outside world. Almost Nhamatanda. Guara-Guara in Buzi District was every road in the area was too damaged to be also included in this round of distributions. used; the only one that was still serviceable was The assistance from the distributions flowed National Road No. 6, which runs from Beira to the seamlessly into the medical assistance in May. boundary of Zimbabwe—though even that road Free clinic services for survivors started on May was damaged in many places. As a result, even 19, just a day before the relief distributions were though aid supplies from the international com- concluded. munity were able to reach Beira, there was no way The customs area at the Beira International of distributing the supplies to areas in need. Airport was small and ill-equipped. Tzu Chi Nhamatanda was still without aid, even up to two medical volunteers from Taiwan, America, and weeks after the storm. Australia waited for over two hours there but Tzu Chi volunteers in Maputo, the capital of were still unable to receive their landing visas. Mozambique, quickly sprang into action to help Coupled with that inconvenience was a scanner survivors after Cyclone Idai. About a week after that refused to work. Finally, customs officers in the disaster, a team of volunteers that had traveled the airport decided to let the volunteers go, over 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Maputo allowing them to return some other day to com- arrived south of Nhamatanda. They assessed dam- plete the procedure. age and distributed emergency aid in Grudja and The medical team, including the superinten- Dondo in Sofala Province, and Dombe in Manica dents of four Tzu Chi hospitals in Taiwan, conduct- Province. In early April, volunteers moved on to ed three large-scale free clinics for cyclone survivors help residents of Nhamatanda. From early April from May 19 to 21 in Tica, Lamego, and the Catholic through May 20, distributions of food, daily neces- University of Mozambique in Beira.

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24.35.indd 28 2019/7/11 11:41 24.35.indd 29 2019/7/11 11:41 ently suffering from malnutrition, had developed a emerges even in the most poverty-stricken places. cough and runny nose. Another one-year-old The volunteers caught sight of some corn seed- sported a head smeared with toothpaste. He was lings near a hut; the freshly emerged leaves kin- diagnosed with a possible case of folliculitis, a skin dled hope in the volunteers’ hearts. They decided condition in which hair follicles become inflamed. that even though they couldn’t do much for these Pediatrician Lin Yu-ying (林玉英), from Changhua, people, they would strive to bring a glimmer of Taiwan, advised the mother of the child through an light to the lives of the local underserved. interpreter to wash her child more regularly. But limited water resources, exacerbated by the An abundance of malaria cases recent cyclone, had made regular washing more The three free clinics Tzu Chi held in the disaster difficult for the villagers. It was doubtful if the areas offered treatments in internal medicine, sur- mother could follow the doctor’s instructions. gery, neurosurgery, urology, rheumatology, gastro- A cluster of local children followed close on enterology, dentistry, OB-GYN, pediatrics, and tra- the heels of the visiting volunteers. Those who ditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The clinics were were older carried younger ones on their backs, like smaller versions of a hospital. Every clinic while the younger ones held the hands of those swarmed with people seeking medical help. even younger. Some wore tattered pants slipping There was extensive media coverage in Taiwan down their hips; others had adult clothes. As the on the four Tzu Chi hospital superintendents per- volunteers proceeded, the procession grew longer sonally leading the free clinic mission in Africa and longer. At one point, a six-year-old girl this time. The four superintendents, however, hopped toward Dr. Lin. An adult explained that were under a lot of pressure. Mozambique is, after the girl had had chapped soles for three years. all, a country that severely lacks medical resourc- Blood could be seen seeping from her heels. That es. The prevalence of AIDS and a surge of cholera was bad enough, but Dr. Lin noticed another and malaria cases after Cyclone Idai further com- problem. The girl’s worn-out shirt revealed a pro- pounded the challenges they faced. Aware of all truding belly button. The physician involuntarily this, the superintendents felt a weighty sense of stretched out her finger and pressed on the belly responsibility leading this free clinic mission. At button. Her preliminary diagnosis was umbilical the same time, they also knew that their work was The dental departments at the Tzu Chi free clinics hernia. Shaking her head, she asked with a sigh: very meaningful and necessary. were extremely busy. Many patients were seeing a “Does her family know about this?” Many people who showed up at the clinics dentist for the first time in their lives. Lin had participated in Tzu Chi free clinics in complained of chronic aches and pains, work- Jordan and Nepal before, but this was the first related injuries, or geriatric conditions. There was With local medical students interpreting for him, time she had volunteered her services in Africa. also a significant number of malaria cases. An Superintendent Chao You-chen (趙有誠) of Taipei Seeing how many local people here were plagued extremely weak female patient came to Tzu Chi Hospital sees a patient. by poverty and illness, she couldn’t help but think Superintendent Chao You-chen (趙有誠) of Taipei of the abundant medical resources enjoyed by Tzu Chi Hospital. A rapid diagnostic test (RDT) people in Taiwan. People in Mozambique and showed that she had malaria and needed to take Taiwan both live in the same global village, and antimalarial drugs right away. The young inter- yet their worlds are so different. Thinking of that preter who was assisting the superintendent said made her feet grow heavy. nonchalantly, “They are all familiar with this kind In a tent area, the volunteers saw an old man of medicine. They just can’t afford it.” who was a polio victim and who had been getting Chao prescribed antipyretics and antimalarial around on all fours almost all his life. An elderly medicine for the woman and told her she would woman had an eye condition; all that she could regain her health after taking the medicine for a see was very weak light and black shadows. Her few days. The treatment provided at the free clin- eyes looked clouded, and her family told the doc- ics was like timely rain for an extremely thirsty tors that she had had lazy eye since she was small. field. However, coming face to face for the first Dr. Ye Tian-hao gave her a bottle of artificial tear time with such gravely underserved people, Chao drops and told her to apply them in the morning couldn’t help but lament the arid medical land- and at night. The medical professionals couldn’t scape of this African country. help but deplore how little help they could pro- On the morning of the first free clinic, seven vide for these needy people. malaria patients came for treatment. A woman Illness aside, almost every family was so poor collapsed onto a chair upon arriving at the they couldn’t eat regular meals. However, hope venue—she was as feeble as could be. A medical

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24.35.indd 30 2019/7/11 11:42 24.35.indd 31 2019/7/11 11:42 student who was interpreting for Superintendent Traditional Chinese medicine and dentistry Lai Ning-sheng (賴寧生) of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital At the free clinic sites, one could often witness suggested that the patient be given an RDT for the consequences of scarce medical resources and malaria; she tested positive. Dr. Lai said, “One can inadequate healthcare knowledge. For example, a be a doctor for an entire lifetime in Taiwan with- young mother showed up one day with a baby in out ever once coming across a single malaria her arms—the little one had had a fever for three patient. This is quite an experience for me.” days. After examining the baby, a pediatrician Superintendent Chao said that what they expe- immediately gave the little one some antipyretic rienced in the free clinics in Mozambique was medicine, and he suggested to the mother that she very different from what they had experienced in take her child immediately to Maputo Central Southeast Asia before. In addition, they encoun- Hospital for further treatment. tered many medical conditions that they had The mother apparently did not understand the never encountered in Taiwan and that they were severity of the situation. A volunteer did her best unable to treat on-site. This was a country that to explain the situation to her and said that she would require long-term care. would accompany her to the hospital. The woman eventually understood that her child was proba- The shabby, crude building behind these children bly very ill. With her eyes red with tears, she fol- contained two classrooms. After Cyclone Idai, Tzu lowed the volunteer to the hospital. Chi volunteers visited this school to distribute It wasn’t all gloomy news at the venues, how- school supplies and assess the needs for further ever. Cheerful news emerged again and again too. assistance. For example, a nine-year-old boy visiting the clinic Denise Tsai, from Taiwan, settled in Mozambique after marrying Dino Foi, a Mozambican. She said she once wanted to leave the country, in 2012, but that Master Cheng Yen’s encouragement changed her mind. As a result, she decided to stay and serve the people there.

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24.35.indd 32 2019/7/12 15:57 24.35.indd 33 2019/7/11 11:42 practice in treating patients. Therefore, the way nally from Taiwan, reflected on the challenges they held the tools wasn’t quite correct, and that she and other local volunteers had encountered slowed down their speed in extracting a tooth. when they worked to help survivors after the In the waiting area for dental services, a local disaster: “Beira [one of the hardest-hit areas] was young man, Richard, was showing people how to still relying on gas-powered generators for their properly brush their teeth with a dental model electricity supply at the end of March. We and a toothbrush. He looked so good at it people couldn’t even find a place to stay. I had serious thought he was a dental student. (In fact, he was a doubts about how far we could go in providing student of finance.) Richard said that there were aid to survivors.” many ways to help your own country become bet- Tsai and her husband practically made the ter, and sharing your knowledge with others was disaster areas their home after the cyclone. Foi one of them. He felt he was doing something very was responsible for communication and coordi- meaningful by sharing his oral hygiene knowl- nation with government agencies and for finding edge with his fellow compatriots. resources; Tsai, on the other hand, led volunteers Dentist Liao Jing-xing (廖敬興), from the to assess damage and care for survivors. The U.S.A. chapter of the Tzu Chi International couple knew how badly the survivors needed Medical Association, asked the dental team at the help, and that pushed them to work as hard as free clinics to be sure to help local people under- they could. stand the importance of oral health. “Rather than With the magnitude of the devastation caused give them candy, it’d be better to teach them how by Cyclone Idai, it was impossible to rely on just a to brush their teeth,” he said. handful of people to deliver aid. Fortunately, the Dentist Li Yi-bang (李彝邦 ), of Hualien Tzu couple was helped by a large group of native vol- Chi Hospital, was responsible for cleaning unteers. Tzu Chi volunteers wearing their uni- patients’ teeth at the events. He had taken part in forms became such a common sight in the disaster many Tzu Chi free clinics before. He pointed out areas that when they traveled along National that people in different countries present with dif- Road No. 6 to deliver aid, traffic directors would ferent dental problems. In the Philippines, for let the Tzu Chi vehicles pass first. example, tooth decay was prevalent because peo- Foi choked up when he said that two months ple there drank a lot of sugary beverages. In earlier, when he arrived at Beira, the city was a Mozambique, people were poorer and so they picture of ruins. But now, two months later, didn’t have many opportunities to eat sweets— because of Tzu Chi’s love and help, he could see which was a good thing for their teeth. “It will hope in the city. “This is a miracle,” he said. therefore be easier for them to enjoy good dental Foi is a Mozambican. He came from an impov- Tzu Chi volunteers went to Mozambique after this trip he brought a chiropractic gun and a mas- health as long as they develop good dental hab- erished family, and it wasn’t until he was eight Cyclone Idai to help with disaster relief efforts and sage gun to help him. He said there weren’t many its,” said Dr. Li. “That’s why we’re doing our best that he put on his first pair of shoes, drank his first hold free clinics. Tzu Chi’s emergency aid to medical conditions a TCM doctor can treat in a free to increase their awareness of oral hygiene.” mouthful of tap water, and used electricity for the cyclone survivors in the nation came to an end in clinic; such doctors mostly help relieve body aches. first time. When he went to Lamego, Tica, and late May. The foundation is now planning mid- and However, if TCM doctors give patients tui na mas- Next step—education other Idai-hit villages after the disaster, he seemed long-term assistance projects. sages with their bare hands to soothe their body After the three free clinics in the disaster areas, to be able to see a younger version of himself in aches, they soon get tired. That’s why he needed the the medical team moved on to Mahotas, Maputo. the local children. “Though I can’t say I have been couldn’t raise his left arm. After Dr. Ho Tsung- tools. “Even though I had to fork over some money They held a Buddha Day ceremony and a free really successful in life,” Foi said, “having been Jung (何宗融), vice superintendent of Hualien Tzu for these tools, the money was well spent because clinic for families receiving long-term aid from able to receive an education has made a real dif- Chi Hospital, administered acupuncture on his they could be used to help many people.” Tzu Chi at the Tzu Chi Home in Mahotas. This ference in my life. I believe that if we provide the elbow, shoulder, and arm, the boy was able to raise A lot of people had their teeth pulled at the free clinic, along with the three earlier ones, people with educational assistance, they will have his arm with ease. Dr. Ho said, “In fact, he just had three events. Patients came in an endless stream to served a total of 4,951 patient visits. The medical a better chance to make it in life.” a joint dislocation. Because he couldn’t see the doc- Dr. Hsia Yi-jan (夏毅然), of Taipei Tzu Chi professionals were all very happy to have done Though Tzu Chi had finished its emergency tor, he had no clue what was going on.” Hospital. Five local dentists from Maputo Central what they could for the underserved. Denise Tsai aid to survivors of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique Off to another side, Dr. Cheng I-che (鄭宜哲), Hospital volunteered at the events too. Some of (蔡岱霖) and her husband, Dino Foi, two core Tzu with the completion of the free clinics, their work from Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, was treating a them were department heads or professors, but Chi volunteers in Mozambique, were more than there wasn’t at an end. It was only just beginning. patient’s back pain with a chiropractic gun. Cheng they all used this opportunity to learn from Hsiao grateful that the medical team could come to Foi said he would work to provide the people had first participated in an international Tzu Chi how to better pull a tooth. Mozambique to help cyclone survivors and other with more educational resources to help them free clinic held in Sri Lanka in 2018. At the time, he Hsia said that though it had been five years needy citizens. transform their lives. “Mozambique is ready, I’m had pondered what else he could do for patients since some of these local dentists graduated from Because of Cyclone Idai, many residents’ hard ready,” he said. “I’ll continue to stay here and con- besides giving them acupuncture. That’s why for medical school, they didn’t seem to have much lives had become even more difficult. Tsai, origi- tribute what I can.”

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24.35.indd 34 2019/7/11 11:42 24.35.indd 35 2019/7/11 11:42 Survival Challenges for Orphans in Sierra Leone

By Yee Siang Yong, Tzu Chi United Nations Team, Tzu Chi USA headquarters Translated by George Chen Photos courtesy of Tzu Chi USA headquarters

The Republic of Sierra Leone, located in West Africa, has been inundated in the past five years by suc- cessive disasters, including an Ebola virus epidemic and severe flooding and landslides. Basic survival is a major issue for most residents of this poor country, but children who have lost their parents in these disasters are at the greatest risk. With scarcities in food, education, and medical care, it is uncertain if these youngsters will survive to adulthood.

zu Chi first provided aid to Sierra Leone in we hoped our presence there would reassure the March 2015, when the country was endur- needy that they had not been forgotten. ing a staggering blow from a fatal Ebola In the past, Tzu Chi had distributed rice, blan- Tvirus epidemic. Though more than four years kets made from recycled plastic bottles, reusable have passed since then, the foundation has tableware, and other supplies to the underserved remained just as committed to aiding the needy in the country. During the April trip, we donated in the nation. After the Ebola epidemic subsided, 4,520 bottles of multigrain powder mix to 12 orga- another catastrophe hit the country in August nizations in Western Area, including medical On April 16, 2019, Tzu Chi and its partners in Sierra Due to poverty, many pregnant women, new- 2017 in the form of crushing floods and mud- facilities, orphanages, and schools. About 1,123 Leone delivered multigrain powder mix to Variety born babies, and patients could not receive slides that took more lives and left behind more people benefited. Children’s Home in Freetown. Most of the 40 chil- enough nutrition. This hindered the recovery of hapless orphans. Tzu Chi was among the first dren in this facility suffer from malnutrition. patients and the proper growth of babies. The humanitarian organizations to respond to the The importance of education multigrain powder mix we brought along this needs of victims. The flight from Malaysia, my home country, to life. However, my assumption was quickly dis- time would greatly help to alleviate the malnour- Over the last five years, Tzu Chi has collabo- Sierra Leone required three transits and 25 hours pelled, as we travelled from Lungi Airport to the ishment issue. rated closely with three organizations—Caritas of travelling time. Other team members flew in hotel where we were staying. Barely half an hour The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak and the devas- Freetown, the Healey International Relief from California and New York. from the airport, I witnessed the nation’s poverty tating 2017 floods and mudslides took many lives Foundation, and the Lanyi Foundation—to pro- We landed at Lungi International Airport, locat- and backwardness. in Sierra Leone. Many children became orphans vide aid in the country. Upholding the Tzu Chi ed on the coast north of Freetown, and then had to Freetown was a collage of shabby, crude build- and had to move into orphanages. Sadly, these ideal of “first to arrive and last to leave,” Tzu Chi take a 30-minute boat ride to reach the national ings, underage people hawking goods in the institutions suffer from insufficient capital and and its partners in Sierra Leone have worked dog- capital. At the seaside where we boarded our boat, streets, babies crawling on the dirty ground, and manpower. Relying on donations to fund their gedly to help Ebola survivors across the country we saw many people, especially children, playing shabbily dressed kids eating food with their bare operations, they struggle to get by. and to tend to the needs of orphanages, medical on the shore. We also saw women doing their laun- hands. I was stunned. If the capital of the nation Though their lives in the orphanages are far clinics, and welfare institutions. dry. The coast was covered in trash. There seemed could be so shabby, what would it be like in outly- from ideal, the children we encountered looked In April this year, a Tzu Chi volunteer team from to be a lack of awareness of hygiene as well as an ing and remote areas? cheerful. A simple life had helped their hearts the United States travelled again to Freetown, the environmental pollution issue. When we visited clinics and hospitals, we came remain simple and safeguarded their innocence. capital of Sierra Leone, to continue the foundation’s When most people think of Africa, they envi- face to face with more deprivation and backward- From them, I also discovered the importance care to the poor and suffering. I was part of that sion a continent inseparable from poverty, filth, ness. Almost every medical institution faced the of education. Children living in orphanages with team. Bringing love from donors across the world, and underdevelopment. However, that isn’t the same problems: a shortage of medical personnel, relatively more resources were generally able to case all over the continent. South Africa, for exam- not enough equipment, a lack of knowledge of attend school. As a result, they had no difficulty The multigrain powder distributed by Tzu Chi is made from ple, boasts a relatively comprehensive infrastruc- public hygiene, and insufficient health education. conversing with us in English (the official lan- soybeans, pearl barley, oats, buckwheat, glutinous rice, brown ture as well as comfortable standards of living. Several clinics did not even have doctors; it was guage of Sierra Leone). I believe their futures will rice, red wheat, corn, millet, adzuki beans, mung beans, rice beans, green peas, and black soybeans. Rich in nutrition, the I had assumed that Sierra Leone would be like left to nurses to simultaneously manage the clinics, be better. Children living in orphanages with power can be stirred into water to drink as a beverage. South Africa, with modern cities teeming with care for patients, and even deliver babies. fewer resources, however, offered a sharp con-

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36.41.indd 36 2019/7/11 11:44 36.41.indd 37 2019/7/11 11:44 In April 2019, Tzu Chi volunteers visited several flooding. Between 2017 and 2018, Tzu Chi donat- Twelve institutions, including medical clinics and The priest shared that two years ago, he had medical facilities in Freetown. These institutions all ed nearly 7,000 sacks of rice to the organization, orphanages, received multigrain powder mix from only one sack of rice left to feed 400 children. Not suffer from a shortage of doctors and nurses, hos- totalling 75,450 kilograms (166,338 pounds). Tzu Chi in April 2019. Social workers and children knowing what to do, he got down on his knees pital beds, and medical equipment. During our visit this time, we witnessed the posi- thanked Tzu Chi volunteers for the foundation’s and prayed to God for help. Immediately after- tive impact that this aid had on the recipients. long-term support. wards, the telephone rang. It was Fr. Peter Konteh, trast. Even those who were almost six years old When we walked into the shelter, we saw sacks director of Caritas Freetown, calling to tell him could only communicate with us through ges- of unopened rice donated by Tzu Chi last year. gives them an opportunity to receive an educa- that Tzu Chi was going to donate rice to the shel- tures because they had never been able to receive This showed that they had used the food sparing- tion. When the community opposite the shelter ter. Fr. Crisafulli said that he was immensely an English education. ly. Children and youth at Don Bosco had even was destroyed by fire, the shelter shared its rice grateful for the help of Tzu Chi. He believed that converted some rice sacks into bags, which were with affected households and helped them God had sent Tzu Chi to help Don Bosco. Impact of charity very well crafted. rebuild their houses. During the trip, we reviewed the impact made This year, we donated 950 700-gram bottles of Fr. Jorge Crisafulli, director of Don Bosco Their biggest hope by Tzu Chi’s aid over the past five years, especial- multigrain powder to Don Bosco. Debra Boudreaux Fambul, told us that because Tzu Chi had solved The Don Bosco Village is situated in a quiet ly our distribution of rice. We discovered that the (曾慈慧), executive vice president of Tzu Chi USA, Don Bosco’s food shortage problem, he now had area far from the disarray and chaos of the city rice we had provided not only compensated for told people there that the powder mix could be the resources to plan and set up more new shelters center. The village looked well-equipped, but per- the recipient institutions’ lack of food, but also stirred into water to make drinks, or even frozen to for battered children. In addition, he also helped haps because residents there lacked an awareness increased people’s quality of life and safety. make popsicles. The youngest resident at the shel- people affected by the 2017 mudslides get back on of the importance of hygiene and sanitation, the Don Bosco Fambul is a non-profit organization ter was one year and three months old. Boudreaux their feet by building new homes for them. The Don environment was not very clean. Children living in Freetown that provides short-term shelter for taught the mother of the baby how to prepare the Bosco Village, built for survivors of the disaster, in the village did not attend school, and the food abused children, youth, and women. It became powder mix for her little one. covers an area of about 33 acres. Fr. Crisafulli also supply was unstable. one of the social welfare organizations receiving Don Bosco not only provides food and accom- helped children orphaned by the disaster find foster Fr. Crisafulli accompanied us on a tour of the long-term assistance from Tzu Chi after the 2017 modation to the young people it takes in—it also families to restore a sense of stability to their lives. village. Children ran cheerfully toward us and

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36.41.indd 38 2019/7/12 16:01 36.41.indd 39 2019/7/11 11:44 greeted us. Several youngsters, ranging in age Children who are loved from seven to nine, came to hug me and chat During this trip, we also visited Mahanaim with me. They told me that they averaged only Orphanage in Grafton, an institution for children one meal a day. If the caretaker did not cook, with disabilities. The children we saw there were they would go hungry the whole day. They said all very thin. The facilities were old and rudimen- their parents had all died in the mudslides. Their tary, and there was a lack of staff to properly take biggest hope was that they would be able to care of the residents. return to school. Melrose Kamara, the manager of the orphan- Though bereft of an education now, these chil- age, told us that she had 29 children to take care dren continued to embrace dreams for the future. of and many of them were malnourished. She Gathered around us, they excitedly shared their was very grateful to Tzu Chi for delivering rice aspirations to be the president, a lawyer, doctor, and multigrain powder to them. She said she teacher, etc. I said to them, “When you grow up, was unable to go out to seek external help, and you will definitely be what you want to be. But so she was most thankful that Tzu Chi could first you must learn to be a kind person. Help oth- come to them. “As I grow older,” she declared, ers like we are helping you.” They nodded and “my biggest hope is that there will be someone smiled, “We will!” to take over in looking after these children, and Behind their childish voices, we could feel that they will receive an education.” She was their determination to be kind to others and do getting on in years, she said, and it wasn’t easy good in life. May they always keep this promise in for her to get around. She hoped that Tzu Chi their hearts. and other charity organizations could continue to provide help to the orphans. Residents of Variety Children’s Home sample multi- St. Mary’s-Fatima Interim Care Center is an grain powder donated by Tzu Chi. orphanage operated by Fr. Konteh of Caritas

Fr. Jorge Crisafulli, director of Don Bosco Fambul, be kind to others. tells children that volunteers from Tzu Chi, a chari- He has started a “One Good Word a Week” ty foundation that has been supplying food to program at the center. Among the good words them, have come to visit them. Don Bosco mainly are modesty, gratitude, love, and sharing. The provides shelter for children and youth, including children are encouraged to practice these words. street children and youngsters who have been The priest has also raised funds to build a physically or sexually abused. library, which is open to the children in the orphanage and to community residents as well. Freetown. Because of Tzu Chi’s long-term supply By opening the library to the community, he of rice to the center, the orphanage has been able hopes to spread love beyond the center and light to save up enough money to purchase a vehicle to up the community with the power of knowl- ferry the children to and from school. The center edge. His efforts in making a difference in oth- can now also afford vegetables and protein-rich ers’ lives garnered him the “Philanthropist of foods for the children. The youngsters there the Year” award for 2019. appeared very healthy during our visit. After we visited the institutions that Tzu Chi Because the children in this orphanage have has been supporting, our team came up with a had the opportunity to receive an education, they plan to further support Sierra Leone, focusing on can speak, read, and write English, do arithmetic, hygiene and health improvement, education for and are able to correctly identify animals and col- children, and food supply. We plan to return to ors. Fr. Konteh has developed close bonds with the country at the end of this year to distribute the young people, and he works very hard to pro- more rice, clothes, and shoes, and to promote vide for them. He also constantly reminds them to hygiene and health education.

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36.41.indd 40 2019/7/11 11:44 36.41.indd 41 2019/7/11 11:45 Tibetan Herdsmen in the Snow

By Bian Jing, Ye Ping, Mo Meizhong, and Chen Yiwen

Compiled and translated by Wu Hsiao-ting Photos by Bian Jing

Tzu Chi reached out to herdsmen reeling from a slew of snowstorms in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China.

nowfall is characteristic of winters in Yushu This wasn’t the first time Tzu Chi volunteers Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai had set foot in Yushu for a relief mission. Back in Province, northwestern China. A typical 1996, volunteers from Taiwan twice visited the An aid recipient carries supplies Ssnow season there lasts three to four months. This area and distributed highland barley and cash to home after receiving them at a Tzu past winter, however, bouts of snowfall persisted snowstorm-affected villagers. Nearly 16,000 resi- Chi distribution for snowstorm- for half a year. More than ten snowfalls were dents in four townships benefited from those affected herdsmen in Qingshuihe recorded after November 2018, leading to the distributions. Township, Yushu Prefecture. death of tens of thousands of livestock. The local Now, 23 years later, there are local volunteers government promptly swung into action and in Qinghai. The three-man team arrived in delivered food and fodder to herdsmen impacted Chengduo County, Yushu, and were greeted with by the extreme weather events. Even so, the affect- a temperature of -10°C (14°F). Eighty-six percent ed area was so large that many people were still in of the county was covered in snow. The volun- need of help. After learning about the situation, teers started their assessment trip in Qingshuihe Tzu Chi volunteers in Qinghai mobilized to help Township, one of the areas the foundation had with the relief efforts. On March 9, 2019, when the rendered aid to 23 years earlier. snow had eased up and it was safer to travel to Local government officials told the volunteers the disaster areas, three volunteers—Qi Haiming that the snowfall this time had been the worst (祁海明), Tang Guoliang (唐國梁), and Wang since a weather station had been established in Yong’an (王永安)—formed a small delegation the area in 1956. Records for both the amount and set out for Yushu Prefecture to assess the and frequency of snowfalls had been broken this disaster there. year. With such heavy snowfall, livestock was

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42.53.indd 42 2019/7/11 11:46 42.53.indd 43 2019/7/11 11:46 Excessive snowfalls this past winter left livestock with nothing to graze and adversely impacted lives in Qingshuihe Township, Chengduo County. Residents mostly make a living by herding livestock. The county is located at an average elevation of 4,500 meters (14,763 feet), and agriculture is impossible there.

42.53.indd 44 2019/7/11 11:46 42.53.indd 45 2019/7/11 11:46 for themselves last. They even draped their com- Gejia told the visitors that he lives on tradi- forters or coats on their yaks or brought them tional Tibetan food staples: tsampa (flour milled indoors to help them keep warm. from roasted barley), butter tea, cheese, yogurt, Dried cattle droppings are an important and butter. All those food items, except for tsam- source of fuel for local herdsmen. However, a lot pa, are obtained from yak milk. The weather had of droppings this year were covered in snow turned so cold he would be grateful if his cattle and were too wet to be used. When the volun- could stay alive; he didn’t expect them to pro- teers visited Gejia, of Zhaha village, they saw a duce much milk. small bag of cattle droppings in his house. It was Before the snow disaster, Gejia raised 70 yaks running low, and Gejia was using it very spar- for a cooperative. He received no pay for his ingly. His house was inadequately heated, but labor, but any calves delivered within the herd he didn’t have any money to buy fuel. As a belonged to him. Likewise, if the cattle produced result, a thick layer of ice and frost had formed more butter than was owed to the cooperative, on the walls. the extra also went to Gejia. Sadly, nine of those 70 yaks died during the exceptionally snowy A yak that froze to death lies in the yard of herds- winter this time, even though he had spent all man Suocai, of Zhama Village, Qingshuihe his savings—48,000 renminbi (US$7,000)—on Township. Suocai used to own 110 yaks, but less buying feed for them. When his wife fell ill, he than 20 of them remained alive after an exception- even had to borrow money to pay for her medi- ally snowy winter. cal bills. “Those yaks belong to the cooperative. I

A volunteer and a government official work togeth- The volunteers arrived at the home of Suocai, er to check the recipient lists and the identifica- 55, who lived in the village of Zhama. His family tions of the attendees at the distribution site. used to own 110 yaks, over 70 of which had died as a result of the excessive snowfall this winter. left with nothing to graze, and herdsmen had Many people had advised Suocai to sell some had to spend almost all their savings buying fod- of his cattle before the snowstorms to cut his pos- der or feed for their animals, even though their sible losses. The government even sent for a cattle own food supplies at home could last them for merchant for this purpose, but Suocai refused to only about two to four weeks. Even so, a lot of sell his cattle. To him, his yaks were not just a livestock had died, resulting in heavy losses for source of income but his good companions as the herdsmen. The situation was dire: Judging well. “They might freeze to death if I keep them,” from the thickness of the snow and the large area the herdsman explained, “but at least they’ll die covered, it wasn’t likely to melt until May—per- of natural causes. If I sell them, they will be haps even June or July. slaughtered and die a miserable death. I’d rather lose money than do that to my cattle.” Good companions Many local herdsmen are like Suocai and do As the volunteers traveled across the region, not easily sell or slaughter their animals. They they saw carcasses of dead animals everywhere on have depended on their livestock all their lives to the vast stretches of snow-blanketed landscape. get by, and there exists a bond between animal The animals had either frozen or starved to death. and herdsman. Many herdsmen couldn’t stand to Many had become food for wolves or vultures. see their cattle die off one after another during the Local herdsmen had done what they could to pile snow disaster this time, and so they spent all their together the remains of the animals. money on fodder for their animals, putting food

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42.53.indd 46 2019/7/11 11:46 42.53.indd 47 2019/7/12 16:03 have the obligation to take good care of them,” to Chengduo County. The dis- said the herdsman. “I bought fodder, feed, high- tribution would be held there land barley, and eggs to feed them—otherwise on March 25 and 26. The team they might have all died off. This type of food had to travel 682 kilometers isn’t their normal fare; this is the first time they (424 miles). The cold weather have had this.” made their long journey even There aren’t enough pastures in local villages more challenging. Volunteer for all the local herds. To save money, herdsmen Tang Guoliang explained: “We take their flocks around mid-May every year to had to set out so early because higher areas over ten kilometers (6.2 miles) away the roads freeze after sunset, for feeding. They return in early November. During making them dangerous to the snow disaster this time, Gejia let his weaker travel on.” yaks spend their nights in the tent he uses on his After 11 hours on the road, summer nomadic trips. Almost every herdsman in the volunteers arrived at the Qingshuihe Township did the same. warehouse of the Qingshuihe The three Tzu Chi volunteers visited five vil- town government, which was lages in Qingshuihe in a week’s time. Their hearts serving as the distribution went out to those animals that had starved or fro- venue. Many villagers, who zen to death and whose carcasses now littered the were also aid recipients, were snow-covered land. They were deeply concerned already there helping move sup- about the local people who didn’t have fuel to plies for the distribution. They keep themselves warm and whose food supplies were sweating heavily despite were running low. In the shortest time possible the freezing temperature of -7°C they obtained from the local government a roster (19°F). The volunteers were very of herdsmen spread across seven villages. A dis- thankful for their help. The area tribution was quickly planned to take place later sits at an elevation of over 4,000 that same month. meters (13,120 feet) and the physically challenging work of Aid coming in time moving heavy stuff was beyond After the assessment trip ended on March 14, the volunteers, who lived at a volunteers rushed to make purchases for the dis- much lower elevation and who tribution. They wanted the much-needed supplies got winded just walking at such to be delivered to the affected areas within a week. a high attitude. There wasn’t much time to work with, so the vol- Roasted barley flour, flour, unteers were under a lot of pressure. One of the cooking oil, sugar, salt, and aid items was roasted barley flour. It wasn’t easy brick tea—box after box and bag just to get 83 tons of roasted barley flour ready. after bag of daily necessities This kind of flour has a shelf life of just a month, were unloaded from trucks and and it is usually made fresh to order. As a result, placed in neat order in the ware- sellers rarely have large quantities in stock. Since house. Pengcuo, the warehouse no single supplier could fill the foundation’s large keeper, took his job of signing for the delivery of To help his yaks survive the severe winter, Gejia Even though he was going through a rough order, volunteers ended up having to buy from the goods and overseeing their storage very seri- spent 48,000 renminbi (7,000 US dollars). patch, he didn’t forget to ask people to record the four factories. Many other matters like that had to ously. He helped move the supplies and kept a aid he received from Tzu Chi in a small notebook be attended to in the purchase process—from sharp eye on the goings-on around him. He made shown up in their traditional costumes. A herds- for him—he was illiterate. He did that every time finding suppliers, to negotiating the prices and sure that the unloaded goods were neatly man who had lost half of his yaks to the snow he received help from others so that he wouldn’t delivery deadlines, to signing contracts. On top of arranged and piled. “Every item for this distribu- disaster said, “We’re really in need of these sup- forget who had helped him and what aid he had that, volunteers also had to work with the govern- tion is hard to come by,” he said. “I must tend to plies now.” received from them. “When you are in need and ment on various distribution issues. Thankfully, them with the utmost care.” Suocai, whom volunteers had visited on their someone helps you,” said Suocai, “you must all was duly taken care of ahead of the The lowest temperature on March 25, the first disaster assessment trip, helped out at the site two never forget it.” distribution. day of the distribution, was -25°C (-13°F). Despite days in a row. Barely two weeks had passed since Early on the morning of March 23, when it that low temperature, volunteers arrived at the the volunteers had visited him at his home, but he Going back 23 years wasn’t even light yet, a team of 15 volunteers venue to find that many herdsmen were already had lost a dozen more yaks. Of his herd of 110, less Tibetans have a tradition of presenting others from Qinghai and Sichuan provinces set out waiting there for the event to begin. The Tibetans than 20 were left now. Such losses impacted him with khata scarves to convey respect and bless- from Huangyuan County, northeastern Qinghai, set great store by the distribution, and many had not just financially but emotionally as well. ings. During the two-day distribution, volunteers

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42.53.indd 48 2019/7/11 11:47 42.53.indd 49 2019/7/11 11:47 Snow started falling outside when aid was being distributed in a warehouse. Volunteers sped up their distribution so that attendees could return home as soon as possible.

42.53.indd 50 2019/7/11 11:47 42.53.indd 51 2019/7/11 11:47 Volunteers told Ala that he could say a few Volunteers lead aid recipients in singing and sign- words to Master Cheng Yen and that they would ing the lyrics of the Tzu Chi song, “One Family.” videotape it and show the footage to her later. Ala A volunteer helps an elderly villager check if she person on the cover was the founder of Tzu Chi. expressed his gratitude to the founder of Tzu Chi government officials thanked the volunteers for has received all her relief items. Six food items are He told Bajia it was because of her that they by saying: “Master, I’ll never forget your kindness. giving the villagers enough food to last them till enough to keep the recipients fed for three months. could come to the area to help them. Bajia imme- In 1996, when we were hit by a snow disaster, you June or even July. They said that the villagers diately held the book high and lightly touched it saved a man called Ala. He is now 70. Now we have were so grateful that they were asking for nine received more than 1,800 khatas from local villag- to his forehead to show his gratitude and been hit by another snow disaster and your people Tzu Chi flags to keep as mementos—they want- ers. A government official told the volunteers, respect. He then took out his distribution notifi- are here again to help us through the tough times. ed their posterity to forever remember the help “That’s because many people have heard that you cation and perused a consolation letter from You’ve helped us so much. Thank you! I’ll never of the foundation. are from the same group that helped them 23 Master Cheng Yen. forget your kindness.” He repeated the last two sen- Volunteer Tang Guoliang, in turn, thanked the years ago; they are thanking you not just for the Some people not only remembered the distri- tences several times, choking with tears. local government for their assistance. He said help this time but also for the help you gave them bution 23 years ago, but had kept their distribu- Nicai, 54, was another villager who had that without their help, the foundation couldn’t 23 years ago.” tion notifications from that year. Ala, 70, was one received aid from Tzu Chi 23 years ago. He too have pulled this mission off. From assessing Despite the passing of over two decades, of them. He had stowed his notification in a kept his distribution notification in good shape. damage in disaster areas, to visiting affected 74-year-old Bajia still vaguely remembered that wooden box over the years, and when he moved He said that the snowfall this time was like noth- herdsmen, to moving and distributing relief sup- time, 23 years ago, when a group of Taiwanese he made sure he kept the notification with him. ing he had experienced before. “The snow season plies, none of these tasks could have been accom- people came to help after severe snowstorms. “It’s a treasured item of mine,” he said. “The used to last for just three months, but this time it plished if the government hadn’t had the villag- They provided money and highland barley to resources available to us back then were very lim- has kept up for half a year,” said Nicai. “It has ers’ welfare at heart and gone all out to help help them through a difficult time. He never ited; very few people came to help us. I’ll never really made things difficult for us. I really like the them receive assistance. expected that he would meet people from the forget the kindness Tzu Chi showed us.” He goods you gave us today; they are all very practi- Volunteers were more than happy to renew the same group again, 23 years later. He said with recalled that the barley the foundation gave them cal. When times are hard, you come here and help connections the foundation had formed with local strong emotion, “The food you gave us this time that year was to have lasted them for two months, us. I’ll never forget that.” herdsmen 23 years ago. Sensing the villagers’ joy can last us for three months.” but he cherished it so much that he ate it sparingly In two days, the foundation distributed aid to through their smiles, the volunteers hoped that A volunteer gave Bajia a book about Master so that it would last him for as long as possible. It 2,433 households, or 8,245 people, spread across the warmth and love they brought to the villagers Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi, and he told him the ended up lasting him for a year. seven villages in Qingshuihe Township. Local could help them through the rough times.

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42.53.indd 52 2019/7/11 11:47 42.53.indd 53 2019/7/11 11:47 destructive. After all, it’s not easy for a cou- and accept what I want to express. This ple to build a home. You can wreck a mar- beats a shouting match. riage by unwisely taking it too lightly. To Fight Smart avoid that, my husband and I reached a con- Apologize to your children: sensus to “fight smart.” Many psychologists have advised parents By Li Qiu-yue, Tzu Chi Teachers Association to apologize to their children after a fight: Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting Couples who know how to fight smart “I’m sorry. Daddy/Mommy spoke too loud Graphic by Zhong Ting-jia build happier families. What, then, is “fight- just now and scared you to tears.” This ing smart”? allows your kids to realize that you know your unusual behavior and raised voices Use constructive language: have made them uncomfortable or even y parents fought constantly when I happened a long time ago, I still remember Though it is hard to control what comes frightened them. Better yet, refrain from get- was small. In my memory, my them vividly. You can imagine how traumatic out of your mouth in a fight, constructive lan- ting into a high-conflict situation in front of mom always came out of those it is for kids when parents fight. guage goes a long way toward cooling things your kids or pay attention to the language fightsM a loser. Angry from being hit by my dad, down. For example, instead of saying, “You’re you use in such a situation. If you really can’t she would grab her suitcase, pack some I knew that fights or arguments are inevi- always like this,” you could say, “perhaps we avoid a squabble, show concern for your clothes, and leave to stay with her sister for a table in a relationship, but I didn’t want to can try...” Using constructive language steers children’s emotional state when things have few days. We kids were so afraid that she’d take the same path as my parents. When I you away from destructive arguing, which calmed down. Empathize with their fears never come back that we’d latch onto her legs got married, I tried to reach an understand- leads to resentment and does nothing to help and worries and explain to them what has and waist, wrestle the suitcase from her hands, ing with my husband: Our fighting or argu- your relationship. happened between you and your spouse to and beg her not to leave. Though those things ing should always be constructive, not help ease their anxiety. Remove yourself from a volatile situation: When you find that you two are breaking Parental relationships have a huge impact into an argument, step out of your home, go on their kids. When a couple gets along well, to a park or an open space, and take a walk they set a good example for their children for 30 minutes. Allow your emotions to sub- and demonstrate positive interpersonal inter- side. When your emotions get the better of actions. That’s why you should try to talk you, you are a lot more likely to say things things over to resolve your differences that hurt. However, if you take a short instead of arguing. At least try to avoid fight- break, your mind has a better chance to ing in front of your children. This prevents clear and you will be better able to see them from being traumatized and finding it things in perspective. Don’t become so over- difficult to maintain healthy relationships whelmed by your emotions that you say when they’re older. things that you will regret later. As for children caught between their par- Use a pen instead of your mouth: ents, I suggest that they communicate their It has become something of a habit for helplessness and fear in such a situation to me to put onto paper what is bothering me their parents to help them realize what they about my husband. When I write down are going through, to let them know that what I want to say to him, I take the time to they too are a part of the family and that reflect on myself and sort my thoughts. As their feelings should be respected. When a result, my wording becomes more children can communicate openly with their thoughtful, to the point, and less accusato- parents, and when parents are able to “fight ry. It’s easier for the recipient of my mes- smart,” families are strengthened and life is sage to understand what is making me mad better for everyone.

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54.55.indd 54 2019/7/11 11:55 54.55.indd 55 2019/7/11 11:55 The Illustrated CAI LI-YU JING SI APHORISMS Giving The Buddha says: Her All Fools worry about fame and fortune. They want to get power, position, By Liu Dui prestige, money… Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting Fools worry about these things.

Most people see money as security and try to save as much as they can, but she doesn’t give a second thought about giving hers away for a worthy cause. And it’s not just money she gives A devoted disciple of Master Cheng Yen’s, Gao Ai away; she contributes her time and energy too. lives a life of giving.

t the sound of her alarm clock, Gao Ai It wasn’t even 7:00 a.m. yet when she arrived 高愛 “Desire” means thinking ( ), 86, slowly sat up on her bed at the Banqiao complex, but dozens of volunteers about getting something. In before adroitly gathering her grey hair were already there tidying up the place. Gao was their daily lives, common people Ainto a bun. Then she picked up a walking stick assigned to clean the cabinets, chairs, desks, and always want to get this or that. propped against her bed, limped to the living windows in a conference room. She put aside her Because they are always worried room, and turned on the television. A Buddhist walking stick and, leaning on a desk, started wip- about getting something, they morning service conducted at the Jing Si Abode, ing it clean. She couldn’t see clearly, so she ran her really suffer a lot. the convent founded by Master Cheng Yen, was hand across the area she had cleaned to make sure being broadcast. Gao chanted sutras in unison there was no more dust on it before moving on to with the nuns at the Abode. When the service the next desk or cabinet. was over, she watched a Dharma talk given by “I can’t stand for long now,” Gao said, “and I Master Cheng Yen. Then, after a simple break- always have to lean on something for support.” fast, she left home to go out for her favorite She had always had issues with her back and activity—volunteering for Tzu Chi. legs, but she paid no heed to them until six or “Today is Tuesday,” the old woman said with seven years ago. By the time she finally sought spirit. “I’m helping clean up the Tzu Chi Banqiao medical help, however, her condition was too far Complex [in Taipei].” She used to bike to the com- along for surgery. Her only option was a proce- plex, but her spine has badly degenerated, so she dure for stabilizing compression fractures in the can only go there by bus or in other volunteers’ spine by injecting bone cement into cracked or cars. Her spine isn’t her only problem, either. She broken spinal bones. Her doctor advised her to became blind in her right eye when a brain tumor take a lot of rest after the procedure, but she compressed her optic nerves, and there isn’t much couldn’t stand being idle. After some rest, she vision left in her other eye. Despite these physical resumed her volunteering, wearing a back brace challenges, she insists on going out to volunteer. and leaning on a walker. “I just can’t bring myself to sit around at Gao has long been a dedicated volunteer. She home when I think of the heavy burden on recalled her earlier days as a Tzu Chi volunteer as Master Cheng Yen’s shoulders,” said the octoge- she wiped down desks and chairs: “I tried my There is somebody at work who I can’t stand, but unfortunately he always does everything better than narian. “I’m still young. I want to help out as hardest to make money to help the Master build me. I am really tempted to trick him and let him take a big fall. much as I can.” She almost never misses a chance Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. I cleaned the Huazhong Master Cheng Yen said, “Some people cannot stand it when others are successful and get lots of to volunteer, whether it be cleaning the complex, Bridge, sold fruit, and tidied people’s houses.” praise. These people think that if they show up the faults of those other people, then they themselves cooking for Tzu Chi events, or packing Tzu Chi At the time, she had to rise “early” every day to will look better. This is a delusion. Slandering others only hurts yourself.” publications—not to mention recycling, which clean the bridge. When her alarm clock sounded Translated by E E Ho and W.L. Rathje; drawings by Tsai Chih-chung; coloring by May E. Gu she does every day. around midnight—with her bed still barely warm

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56.indd 56 2019/7/11 11:56 57.59.indd 57 2019/7/12 16:06 LIN QIAO-YUN CHEN SHI-GAN When the Tzu Chi Taipei office opened in 1991, Gao was hired as a cook. Every morning around three, she would go to the market to buy grocer- ies. Her purchases often weighed dozens of kilograms. Not wanting to spend money on transportation, she would hang all those ingredients on her bicycle and pedal hard toward the office. Later, due to safety considerations, the kitchen at the office ceased to be used for the daily meal preparations. A catering company took over providing meals for volunteers and employees at the office. When this happened, Gao switched to cleaning the office. She kept the place spic and span. Gao makes coin banks in which people can save Seeing how spotless she kept the place, someone money to donate to the needy. once said to her, “Tzu Chi is like your home!” She answered proudly, “Tzu Chi is my home!” from her sleep—she would quickly get up, wash Since Gao had been hired as a paid employee, some rice and put it in the cooker to cook, and then her salary was wired every month into her bank hop on her bicycle to get to work by one o’clock. account, but she never used that money. She later By the time she returned home from work, it gave her passbook to an employee at the office would be past five. She would then fix breakfast, and asked her to withdraw all the money from her wake her children up, and get them ready for account. She then donated it to Tzu Chi. school. After they had left, she went to a fruit and When the Tzu Chi Banqiao Complex was inau- vegetable wholesale market to buy fruit to sell. In gurated in 2005, Gao quit as an employee and the afternoons, she cleaned houses for people. became a full-time volunteer. Since then, her slight- Back then, people often illegally collected ly stooped figure has been a common sight at the gravel from under the bridge where she worked. complex, carrying a water bucket and rag, and When the winds rose, the bridge would be cov- cleaning the environment. ered with sand. It was a difficult job to clean all Gao said that all her clothes, except for her vol- that sand away. She would sweep it into a dust- unteer uniforms, are recycled. She pinches every pan before emptying the pan into a wheelbarrow. penny and lives as frugally as she can so she can After a few hours of sweeping, her shoulders donate as much money as possible to help Master were so sore that she could barely raise her arms. Cheng Yen do good things for the world. She Though the work was backbreaking, it was a gov- never tells others how much she has donated— Gao (second from right) serves as a cleaning vol- and, without even taking off her helmet, slipped on ernment job and the pay—6,000 NT dollars she might have even lost count herself. All that unteer at the Tzu Chi Banqiao Complex. a pair of gloves and immediately set to work. (US$200) a month—was steady. She stayed dog- she remembers is the satisfying sense of joy every Perched on a low stool, she organized the garbage gedly in that job for a decade. donation brings. in an empty lot in front of a building near her by type. Once she started, she didn’t even once raise She donated all her hard-earned money to “Even though I no longer make money,” she home. There is a lot of garbage to sort there every her head; it was as if she felt that if she wasn’t quick, Tzu Chi. In fact, her footprints are all over the smiled, “I still have money to donate—my month- day. She loves recycling and finds a lot of solace others would finish all the work, leaving her with foundation’s charity work. One time, after she ly old-age pensions from the government.” She in the work. nothing to do. Cardboard boxes, newspapers, mag- had just donated 150,000 NT dollars (US$5,000) explained that her oldest son gives her an allow- When she arrived back at her community, she azines, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles—a sig- and was feeling very happy, she listened to a ance of 5,000 NT dollars (US$170) every month, didn’t go directly to the recycling point but nificant amount of recyclables is brought in each talk given by Master Cheng Yen and learned and that money is enough to cover her expenses, returned instead to her home first to fetch her day, with plastic bottles making up the majority. about the dilapidated houses of some impover- so she is free to donate her pensions. bike. “Walking is slow and painful for me,” she Produced by more than 200 households, the recy- ished people in China. She wanted to help those “Sister Gao Ai, time for snacks!” a volunteer said. “A volunteer gave me a bicycle, so I use it to clables are enough to fill a small truck. poor people, but she had just donated all her called out to Gao. The volunteers were done cycle to places near home.” Putting on a helmet, Some volunteers once suggested to Gao that money; her pockets were now empty. She felt so cleaning up the complex and were having some she climbed on her bike and added, “When I hear she rest at home occasionally instead of volunteer- awful, she couldn’t sleep that night. After toss- snacks to wrap up the day. Gao handed her rag to a car horn, I immediately stop and let that car pass ing every day. They didn’t want her to overwork ing and turning for some time, she stripped her a volunteer to put away, and then she picked up before I move on.” She then got her bicycle going herself. But Gao has a mind of her own. “Time bed of sheets and blankets and slept on the bare, her walking stick and went downstairs to the din- and after traversing a few alleys arrived at the passes faster when I’m out volunteering,” she said. hard wooden surface. She decided that she may ing hall. She doesn’t take the elevator because she recycling point. “Even my backaches seem easier to bear.” not have money to donate, but she could at least wants to save electricity. Several large bags of garbage waiting to be sort- When she thinks of how, despite her age, she is suffer with those poor people to show that her After having snacks, Gao returned to her com- ed were already in the lot, and a handful of volun- still able to help decrease Master Cheng Yen’s bur- heart was with them. munity to volunteer at a recycling point located teers had started working. Gao parked her bike den, a smile creeps across her face.

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57.59.indd 58 2019/7/11 11:59 57.59.indd 59 2019/7/12 16:06 Reuse, Repair, and Recycle.” In the “environmen- years ago, through the foundation’s housing tal protection zone” located on one side of the rebuilding program for Indonesian tsunami vic- venue, volunteers set up eye-catching display tims. He discovered that the foundation is not

Tzu Chi Events Around the World GOABOON YEE boards to remind people to clean their recyclables only active in providing disaster relief and allevi- before disposing of them. There were also display ating poverty, but also promoting environmental boards teaching people how to sort recyclables education and protection. That’s why he invited into various categories using the “Ten-Finger Tzu Chi to promote the green cause together with Mnemonic,” a formula for remembering the dif- Habitat for Humanity Singapore. ferent types of recyclables. Volunteers had also There is still room for improvement in the designed interesting interactive games based on area of environmental protection in Singapore. the 5R concept, with the aim of enhancing peo- Yong expressed his hope to continue cooperating ple’s environmental awareness. with Tzu Chi in order to keep Singapore clean Eleven-year-old Nihitha firmly said, “The most through action. important practice in 5R is ‘Refuse.’ I refuse to use plastic bags and straws, as they damage the envi- Australia ronment and kill many fish after entering the sea.” In April and May 2019, Tzu Chi volunteers She believes that if we, the consumers, refuse to from Melbourne distributed aid to victims of a use plastic items from the start, the manufacturers bushfire, about 40 households. will reduce their production, and we can spend In early March, a blaze sparked by lightning less time recycling. strikes hit Bunyip State Park in eastern Victoria. Nihitha’s parents had brought her and her sis- Dozens of families living nearby were quickly ter from Tampines to participate in this event, in evacuated to safety. Over 200 firefighters worked the hope of instilling environmental awareness in in relay teams for days to combat the fire before them. They also took part in an upcycling activity, eventually bringing it under control. The confla- in which they made a variety of items from used gration burned some 24,500 hectares, including drink cartons. homes and property. After assessing damage in The main sponsor of the event, Habitat for the disaster area and visiting affected families, Humanity Singapore, is an organization whose volunteers determined that 41 households were goal is to create livable environments for every- eligible for the foundation’s aid. Two distributions one and to improve people’s living environ- were held, on April 14 and May 5, after six weeks ments. Yong Teck Meng (楊達明), the organiza- of planning and organizing.

tion’s national director, said ZHAN HUI-RONG it is fortunate that most people in Singapore have a home, so there is no need to help construct houses here. Singapore Tzu Chi volunteers in Singapore took part in the However, he added that the Tzu Chi volunteers in Singapore took part in LitteRally 2019 event on May 26 to help clean up environment surrounding the LitteRally 2019 event on May 26. The activity trash from the streets. Volunteers shared with peo- people’s houses is very was organized by Habitat for Humanity Singapore ple how to properly sort recyclables, and they pro- important, too. In fact, the in conjunction with the Public Hygiene Council’s moted the 5Rs of environmental sustainability— late founder of his organiza- “Keep Clean, Singapore!” movement. “Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, and Recycle.” tion, Millard Fuller, once said Within a short span of just three hours, 647 par- that if one’s environment is ticipants fanned out to pick up litter in the neigh- was full of praise for the young people. He also dirty, then one is still dwell- borhoods of Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Marymount, encouraged the public to move towards zero ing in a poverty mindset. and Serangoon. They brought back 300 kilograms waste by using their own shopping bags and con- Yong became connected (660 pounds) of trash. “I hope that one day, we do tainers, and by sorting recyclables the right way with Tzu Chi more than 10 not have to rely on the 58,000 cleaners to clean up without contaminating the blue recycling bins in our streets, and that all of us can keep Singapore the neighborhoods. Volunteers wrap scarves around clean with our own hands,” said Masagos Zulkifli, Volunteers from Tzu Chi Singapore, one of the aid recipients’ necks at a distri- the Minister for the Environment and Water partnering organizations present at the event, bution held for victims of a Resources in Singapore. instructed people how to sort recyclables at the bushfire that struck Bunyip The Minister was pleased and impressed that culmination point and promoted the 5Rs of envi- State Park in eastern Victoria, students actively participated in the event. He ronmental sustainability, namely “Refuse, Reduce, Australia, in March 2019.

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60.64.indd 60 2019/7/11 12:01 60.64.indd 61 2019/7/11 12:01 WANG JIN The free clinic that Tzu Chi tonsils. Three patients suffered from more serious the tarps and other materials collected locally, Jordan held on May 9 for Syrian conditions, including a man who needed kidney such as tree branches, hay, or reeds. The govern- refugees in Mafraq served 218 surgery and a six-year-old boy afflicted with leu- ment had also provided 440 50-kg (110-pound) patient visits. kemia. Chen Chiou Hwa (陳秋華), the head of Tzu bags of rice and 225 50-kg bags of cornmeal to the Chi Jordan, would plan how to aid the patients residents when they first moved into the shelter in The events opened with who needed further treatment. March. However, when Tzu Chi volunteers visit- several children performing a ed the shelter on April 13, they found food sup- song called “Face of Malawi plies were running low. To help relieve the food Happiness” accompanied by Tzu Chi volunteers from South Africa and shortage problem, the volunteers decided to hand gestures and movements. Malawi held two distributions of cornmeal for immediately purchase 1,000 kilograms of corn- The young ones’ lovely perfor- victims of Cyclone Idai in Malawi on April 13 and meal to distribute to the residents. mance brought smiles to the May 3, 2019. Nsanje is one of the most destitute areas in faces of those in attendance. The distributions were held at the Npomba Malawi. When volunteers went to purchase the Volunteers then shared with shelter, for residents of Nsanje, in south- food, they found that they could get only 475 kilo- attendees how Tzu Chi started ern Malawi. Lying in the Lower Shire River Valley, grams of cornmeal after visiting all local stores. in Taiwan with 30 housewives Nsanje suffered from severe flooding as a result of The team had brought 120 kilograms of cornmeal each saving 50 NT cents (then the storm. Many people lost their homes. 1.2 U.S. cents) from their gro- The shelter accommodated 1,103 people, about A distribution held by Tzu Chi for storm victims cery money in a bamboo coin 600 families. The government had distributed from Nsanje, southern Malawi, on May 3 helped 600 bank every day to help the poor. plastic tarps to the families, but then each family families. Each household received 25 kilograms of A condolence letter from Master Cheng Yen was Jordan had to cobble together their own living space with cornmeal.

also read to convey her blessings to the victims. The Jordanian province of Mafraq borders CHU HENG-MIN During the events, volunteers wrapped a scarf, Syria to the north, so many Syrians have fled there one of the relief items, around each aid recipient’s to escape the civil war in their country. On May 9, neck. Cash, blankets, and medical kits were also Tzu Chi volunteers in Jordan held a free clinic for given out to the victims. A recipient burst into tears Syrian refugees in Mafraq. Two hundred and when she saw the cash contained in an envelope. eighteen people benefited from the event. She said she really needed the aid now, and she The clinic was held at the Quran & Hadith thanked Tzu Chi for meeting her urgent needs. Science Center in Mafraq. The center was found- The catastrophe derailed people’s lives, but ed by the Jordan Relief Organization to offer those affected had no choice but to face it bravely. courses in the Quran, science, math, and English One recipient, David McMahon, stated that they to Syrian refugee children ranging from six to 14 had lost their homes, their possessions, and even years of age. their smiles, but organizations like Tzu Chi helped Three Syrian doctors specializing in cardiology, them find the spirit of humanity. Helen Caines, surgery, and otolaryngology staffed the clinic. The another recipient, said that the foundation’s help day of the event happened to be close to was uplifting: “It just brings you back to how peo- International Mother’s Day, so Tzu Chi volunteers ple can care for you when you don’t know them… sang the song “Mother, I Love You” to the mothers It brings you back to what’s really important in in the waiting crowd and encouraged children to life—and that’s people.” Jane McLaughlin made a give their mothers a hug. Volunteers also brought souvenir and presented it to Tzu Chi volunteers as toys to help the children pass the time while they a token of appreciation for the foundation’s sup- and their mothers waited to see the doctors. port. “For people that I have never met before to When the free clinic began, people swarmed have given me their time and their love and care…,” toward the consulting rooms with their children. she said, “I can’t express how important that has Volunteers asked them to take a seat outside to been [to me].” She donated the money she had wait their turn, but many were so anxious to see received at the event back to Tzu Chi to help people the doctors that they preferred to stand and wait who needed the help more than she did. by the doors. They couldn’t normally afford to Event attendees took home 40 coin banks. visit a hospital, so the free clinic brought hope of They said they would donate the money to Tzu treatment to them or their children. Chi when the banks were full. Volunteers in turn The volunteers had estimated a turnout of 120 promised them that if they needed any help in the people, but 218 people showed up in the end—an future, they would come back to them and give additional 98 patients. Most of the children suf- timely aid. fered from hernias or had problems with their

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60.64.indd 62 2019/7/11 12:01 60.64.indd 63 2019/7/11 12:01 PIPI SUSANTI In Bengkulu, Indonesia, flood survivors help volunteers move relief sup- Directory of Tzu Chi Offices plies. After torrential rains caused severe flooding in the province of Worldwide Bengkulu, volunteers from Padang quickly mobilized to help survivors. HSIAO YIU-HWA Indonesia TAIWAN GREAT BRITAIN SINGAPORE Houston Flash floods and landslides trig- Hualien: Headquarters Tel: 44-20-88699864 Tel: 65-65829958 Tel: 1-713-2709988 Tel: 886-3-8266779 Fax: 44-20-89334262 Fax: 65-65829952 Fax: 1-713-9819008 gered by torrential rains hit the prov- Fax: 886-3-8267776 Indianapolis ince of Bengkulu in late April. At least Taipei: Tzu Chi GUATEMALA SOUTH AFRICA Tel: 1-317-5800979 29 people were killed, 13 people went Humanitarian Center Tel: 502-22327648 Cape Town Kansas Tel: 886-2-28989000 Fax: 502-23675872 Tel: 27-21-9130934 Tel: 1-913-3976517 missing, and 12,000 residents were Fax: 886-2-28989994 Fax: 27-21-9137057 Long Island forced into temporary shelters. HONG KONG Durban ARGENTINA Tel: 852-28937166 Tel: 1-516-8736888 On May 2, five Tzu Chi volunteers Tel: 27-31-5615348 Fax: 1-516-7460626 Tel: 54-11-48625770 Fax: 852-28937478 Fax: 27-31-5644438 from Padang traveled 540 kilometers Fax: 54-11-43140252 Madison INDONESIA Johannesburg (335 miles) to the disaster area to AUSTRALIA Tel: 27-11-4503365 Tel: 1-608-2687692 Tel: 62-21-5055999 Miami evaluate damage and determine how Brisbane Fax: 27-11-4502256 Fax: 62-21-5055699 Ladysmith Tel: 1-954-5381172 the foundation could help. The team, Tel: 61-7-32727938 Fax: 61-7-32727283 JAPAN Tel: 27-36-6341333 Fax: 1-317-6459907 accompanied by local military offi- Fax: 27-36-6341261 New Jersey cers, visited the village of Genting, Gold Coast Tel: 81-3-32035651 Tel: 61-7-55717706 Fax: 81-3-32035674 SWEDEN Tel: 1-973-8578666 Bang Haji, Central Bengkulu Regency, Fax: 61-7-55717703 Fax: 1-973-8579555 on May 3. One hundred and seven Melbourne JORDAN Tel/Fax: 46-31-227883 New York from Blantyre, a large city in southern Malawi, so families lived there. Village head Nasrun told the Tel: 61-3-98971668 Tel/Fax: 962-6-5817305 THAILAND Tel: 1-718-8880866 Fax: 61-3-98974288 Fax: 1-718-4602068 they held an emergency distribution of 595 kilo- visitors that two days of heavy rains had resulted in Perth LESOTHO Tel: 66-2-3281161-3 Los Angeles Northwest Fax: 66-2-3281160 grams of cornmeal. That was on April 13. flash floods that reached rooftop level, forcing all Tel/Fax: 61-8-92278228 Tel: 266-28312566 Tel: 1-818-7277689 To further help the shelter residents, volun- the residents of the village to evacuate to higher Sydney Fax: 266-22313897 TURKEY Fax: 1-818-7279272 Tel: 61-2-98747666 Los Angeles West teers conducted another distribution there on May ground for safety. Fortunately, everyone emerged Fax: 61-2-98747611 MALAYSIA Tel: 90-212-4225802 3. Fifteen tons of cornmeal were purchased in safe and sound. Ipoh Fax: 90-212-4225803 Tel: 1-310-4735188 BRAZIL Fax: 1-310-4779518 Blantyre and transported to the venue. The corn- Nasrun indicated to the volunteers that people Tel: 60-5-2551013 UNITED STATES Tel: 55-11-55394091 Fax: 60-5-2421013 Oakland meal was fortified with nutrients such as iron, in the village badly needed mattresses. They were Fax: 55-11-55391683 Kedah San Dimas Tel: 1-510-8790971 zinc, and folic acid. That was especially good for all sleeping on tarps or other thin materials, and Tel: 60-4-7311013 Tel: 1-909-4477799 Orlando BRUNEI Fax: 60-4-7321013 Fax: 1-909-4477948 the flood victims, because with the food shortag- many children and older people were having dif- Atlanta Tel/Fax: 1-407-2921146 Tel/Fax: 673-3336779 Kuala Lumpur Phoenix es, they just weren’t getting enough nutrition. ficulty sleeping well. He also mentioned the need Tel: 60-3-62563800 Tel: 1-770-4581000 CANADA Fax: 60-3-62563801 Austin Tel: 1-480-8386556 About 600 families were on the recipient roster. for cooking utensils. Fax: 1-480-7777665 However, after the list was finalized, the shelter The volunteers reported their findings to Liu Edmonton Melaka Tel: 1-512-4910358 Tel: 1-780-4639788 Tel: 60-6-2810818 Fax: 1-512-9261373 Pittsburgh Dr. tookYe Tian-hao in more (葉添浩 families.) sees Volunteers a little patient told the tribal Jiong-hui (劉炯輝), the head of Tzu Chi Padang, Fax: 1-780-4621799 Fax: 60-6-2812796 Boston Tel: 1-412-5318343 at achiefs free clinic who thathad Tzuprovided Chi held Tzu in ChiMay with2019 the list of and a decision was reached that the team would Montreal Penang Tel: 1-617-7620569 Fax: 1-412-5318341 victims that due to the limited supply of food, only purchase the needed supplies locally, in the city Tel: 1-514-8442074 Tel: 60-4-2281013 Fax:1-617-4314484 San Diego for victims of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. Fax: 1-514-2889152 Fax: 60-4-2261013 Cerritos 600 families could receive aid. Volunteers suggested of Bengkulu, the capital and largest city of Tel: 1-858-5460578 Toronto MEXICO Tel: 1-562-9266609 Fax: 1-858-5460573 that aid recipients share the cornmeal they received Bengkulu Province. They purchased 80 foam mat- Tel: 1-416-8868886 Fax: 1-562-9261603 San Francisco 1-905-9471182 Tel: 1-760-7688998 with other needy villagers. Thankfully, the villagers tresses, ten gas stoves, ten woks and cooking spat- Chicago Tel: 1-415-6820566 Fax: 1-416-9002048 Fax: 1-760-7686631 Tel: 1-630-9636601 were used to helping each other, so the volunteers’ ulas, as well as other items. Meanwhile, volunteers Vancouver Fax: 1-415-6820567 MYANMAR Fax: 1-630-9609360 San Jose suggestion went down well. in Padang prepared 200 blankets, 100 sarongs, and Tel: 1-604-2667699 Cleveland Fax: 1-604-2667659 Tel: 95-1-541494/541496 Tel: 1-408-4576969 Many villagers volunteered to unload the 60 sets of undergarments for women, and had the Tel/Fax: 1-440-6469292 Fax: 1-408-9438420 Columbus cornmeal when it arrived at the venue. There were goods airlifted to the disaster area. DOMINICAN REP. NETHERLANDS Seattle Tel: 1-809-5300972 Tel: 31-629-577511 Tel: 1-614-4579215 over 600 bags to unload, each weighing 25 kilo- The relief goods were distributed to the flood Fax: 1-614-4579217 Tel: 1-425-8227678 grams. Everyone was covered in sweat when the victims on May 5. Local government officials and EL SALVADOR NEW ZEALAND Dallas Fax: 1-425-8226169 unloading was finished. Volunteer Chu Heng-min villagers thanked the volunteers for the aid. They Tel: 1-972-6808869 St. Louis Tel/Fax: 1-503-7293905 Tel: 64-9-2716976 Tel/Fax: 1-314-9941999 (朱恆民) said to the villagers, “You should be were impressed to learn that the volunteers had to Fax: 64-9-2724639 Fax: 1-972-6807732 FRANCE Detroit Washington DC proud of yourselves because you have helped travel 32 hours round-trip to get to the disaster Tel: 33-1-45860312 PARAGUAY Tel/Fax: 1-586-7953491 Tel: 1-703-7078606 yourselves and your own fellow villagers.” The area. Despite the long distance, they were quick to Fax: 33-1-45862540 Tel: 595-21-333818 Fresno Fax: 1-703-7078607 Fax: 595-21-310588 Tel/Fax: 1-559-2984894 sparkle in the villagers’ eyes showed that they jump into action to help. Everyone was touched GERMANY VIETNAM were happy to have given of themselves. by such kindness. Hawaii Tel: 49-40-388439 PHILIPPINES Tel: 1-808-7378885 Tel: 84-8-38535001 Cell: 0049-152-2951-9571 Tel/Fax: 63-2-7320001 Fax: 1-808-7378889 Fax: 84-8-38535055

64 Tzu Chi

60.64.indd 64 2019/7/11 12:01 N400B.indd 1 2019/7/11 13:13 Tzu Chi Buddhism in Action

The future is an illusion, the past is a memory. Hold on to the goodness that is in your heart at this present mo- ment and take care to fulfill the duties that you have at hand. —Master Cheng Yen

PHOTO BY HSIAO YIU-HWA

A Glimmer of Light in Mozambique

July 2019

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