| Events in the Tzu Chi World | ||||||
 Relief
supplies to TanzaniaA Japanese Buddhist organization, Myojikai, held a conference on the Global Network of Religions for Children in Tokyo on July 25. Representatives of religious groups from more than twenty countries came to share their experiences on working for children and teenagers. The Tzu Chi Japan branch office raised clothes, medicine, stationary and toys for five Tanzanian children who also came to Japan for the conference. It is estimated that millions of children around the world are homeless, and in the capital of Tanzania alone there are more than four thousand homeless children. Jean Pruitt, a Catholic Maryknoll nun from the United States set up a shelter called Dogodogo to provide medical, educational and social services for abused and abandoned children. Sister Pruitt came to know about Tzu Chi during an earlier conference in May this year, and she was touched by Master Cheng Yen's motivation to establish the Tzu Chi Foundation to assist the poor. Sister Pruitt wrote an article in the April issue of the Japanese Tzu
Chi World, which received positive responses. When readers learned that
some children from the Dogodogo shelter would come to the conference, they
started donating various goods such as medicine, clothes, etc. With the
help of local Tzu Chi members, these goods were presented to the five
Tanzanian children at Tokyo's Narita Airport on July 30 to take back to
Tanzania. Aqaba is a port city, but the fishing industry and the local hotel industry are having hard times. Finding a job in the city is difficult and most people, including 12,000 Palestinian refugees, are quite poor.
The person in charge of the refugee camp told us that Tzu Chi was the
first international organization to distribute relief supplies to them.
They were quite surprised when Tzu Chi members said to them, "Thank
you very much for giving us the chance to serve you." The director of
the Red Cross in Aqaba also remarked that the smiling Tzu Chi people were
like messengers sent by Allah to help the poor. In order to match the homes to the open personality of these South African people, each home was painted a different color: yellow, blue, red, etc. Each home can take in five people, and every six homes share one bathroom. In the community center, sewing and baking classes will be taught to provide employment skills for local residents. "These people will only live here temporarily," said one
government official. "Once the government houses are completed they
will move in, and those who are still living at the riverbanks will also
move in here." When the Tzu Chi collegiate members returned from the trip, they
remarked The Tzu Chi La Romana Elementary School in the Dominican Republic was
completed in February this year. At that time, Tzu Chi members presented
school bags to the students. Before the school opened again in September,
Tzu Chi volunteers again went and presented uniforms, notebooks, pencils,
and other school supplies as well as toys. The students were all delighted
because they had never received so many gifts before. Chopping, cutting, washing, frying... The hard work and hot steam didn't hinder the work or their determination. They just kept on doing it, hoping to send out the first batch of boxed lunches before eleven. Some members prepared the boxes, some packed rice into the boxes, some placed dishes of food on the tables. The kitchen was like an orderly assembly line. Each boxed lunch sold for US$2.60. More than 700 lunches were sold. Tzu Chi members in New Zealand have been volunteering at South Oakland Children's Hospital for some time. Recently they discovered that babies who were born into poor families during the winter season from June to August had no blankets to keep them warm. Therefore, the New Zealand branch decided to assist these babies by donating blankets. Tzu Chi members first went to several factories, hoping to get lower prices. They also borrowed a huge truck to save the cost of transporting the blankets. Volunteers then sewed the Tzu Chi logo at the lower right corner of each blanket and placed them neatly into boxes. On August 4, several Tzu Chi members presented the blankets to the
hospital. Pam Tregonning, the executive director of the hospital, then
gave the New Zealand has very good welfare services, but many people still need
assistance. The Tzu Chi New Zealand branch, which was established on April
1 this year, had already donated an emergency cart for children and two
infant beds to the same hospital. Tzu Chi members have volunteered in the
hospital since May. They go there every Friday to help sort out donated
clothing. They remarked that they were delighted to pay back to the
society of New Zealand, and that they would continue to care for the poor
to realize the spirit of Great Love in this country. The original office was actually in the private home of a Tzu Chi member. However, as more and more people joined Tzu Chi, the space became inadequate to accomodate the increasing number of members. Therefore, it was necessary to search for new office space. Local Tzu Chi members put their money together and finally purchased a new office, although it was an old building. Volunteers took time to repair and refurnish their new home. A kind-hearted person from Malaysia helped to repair all the furniture. A group of members from the Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth Association pitched in with the work and learned something new. The new office was opened at the end of June. Volunteers take turns looking after the office from Monday to Saturday. The volunteers also hold activities on weekends, such as seminars, sign-language instructions, meetings, etc. On July 9, they also held a used clothing collection drive, and when it was over volunteers cooked delicacies to let everyone taste the joy of moving into their new home. The address of the new office is: 100 Carrington Road |
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Tzu
Chi volunteers in Amman drove three and a half hours to Aqaba. There they
found refugees all lined up to receive relief supplies. Each family
received five kilograms of rice, sugar and beans and three kilograms of
cooking oil. When Tzu Chi members noticed some old people waiting in line,
they allowed them to come forward to receive their supplies first.
that
they never knew there were still so many people living such miserable
lives in this world, and they wanted to join any further relief work in
the future.
volunteers a tour of the hospital, which was undergoing expansion work.
