Dolly Mokoka, an old South African woman who is enjoying her retirement, is doing all she can in the twilight of her life to help blind people.

Dolly Mokoka, from Soweto, a township near Johannesburg, South Africa, attended the world conference on Tzu Chi spirit in Taiwan in May this year. She said it was a miracle to be able to come to the spiritual home of all Tzu Chi people. God gave her a pair of warm hands to take care of the needy, and that completely changed both her life and the lives of the blind people she helps. She felt thankful for the assistance given her by Tzu Chi members living in South Africa, who made it a lot easier for her to serve the blind. She kept saying she hoped God would bless those Tzu Chi members for what they had done, and she hoped Tzu Chi would keep helping her to assist the blind in her hometown.

A desire to help the blind

Dolly, now seventy-seven years old, used to work in an insurance company. After she retired in 1983, she took care of the blind in Soweto.

Whenever Dolly saw a blind person on the street, she always had a strong desire to help them. Being already retired, she didn't have any money or facilities. All she could do was to solicit goods on the street--clothes, shoes, or small amounts of money were like gold to her.

She used the money she raised to buy food, which she gave to blind people living on the streets. Sometimes she went to stores to solicit money or collect free food that was almost out of date. All this, together with her love, went straight to the hands and the hearts of the blind.

With her strength and the support of her family, as she got to know more blind people and even more came to her for help, she gradually extended her support. Her personal strength was limited, so she felt she had to attract more people to join her in doing this work.

Joining Tzu Chi

In 1998, she went to the store run by the son of Chang Ming-hui, the head of the Tzu Chi branch office in South Africa, to solicit donations. Understanding her problem, the young man introduced her to his father.

Through Chang and other members, Dolly became acquainted with Tzu Chi. Tzu Chi volunteers in South Africa decided to join her in helping the blind.

Dolly and the volunteers now distribute relief items from her home on the third Saturday morning of every month. The blind come from all over. Dolly, her two daughters and her granddaughters work tirelessly with the Tzu Chi members.

Dolly once fell and was injured the night before a distribution day, but she refused to rest. She even told Tzu Chi members not to tell the blind people what had happened, so they wouldn't worry about her.

However, her care and concern for the blind is not limited to the regular distribution. Since the blind can't move about freely, it is often very difficult for them to pick up their supplies from her home. Therefore, Dolly always prays to God for fair weather on distribution day, so that it will not be too wet for the blind to get around or too unbearably hot.

Her compassion is indeed commendable. Perhaps God has answered Dolly's prayers, because it drizzled on a distribution day only once.

Thanks to Heaven's great compassion, the blind don't need to endure so much hardship. With God's help, Dolly and Tzu Chi are able to successfully help them.

Fulfilling God's demands

To provide the blind a safe place to stay, Dolly had the idea of building shelters for them.

No sooner had the idea entered her mind, than she received guidance from God in a dream. "God told me that there was a very good site in town, and I really did find it."

The location was decided, but there were still questions about planning and money. Dolly and other Tzu Chi members went to the city social welfare department for help. The department sent representatives to investigate the construction site and gather information on the blind. Tzu Chi members also presented the officials with models of houses that the foundation built for flood refugees in Alexandra. The representatives retreated to make their final decision.

Dolly's wish to build a home for the blind has not yet been realized, but she and other Tzu Chi members still provide monthly distributions for the time being. As a result of their help, the sound of laughter can now be heard from the shanties of the blind.

She also helps other disabled people. She uses donations to buy machines to teach them sewing and other skills. She also teaches them how to get along with others in order to improve their lives.

Jabu Ngwenya, a blind person that Dolly once helped, said, "I'm glad I met Dolly, because she taught me how to work and get along with other people. I learned things I couldn't have learned anywhere else."

We can see the blind and disabled learning living skills from her, but what our eyes can't see is their gratitude and their sense of being loved.

Dolly often says that we can't ignore the roles we play in society. Society is like a human body: if one part of the body is sick or not functioning, the whole body is affected. And that's the driving force behind her continuing care for the blind.

Although she is an old woman, enjoying her final years, she is doing all she can to help the blind. She once said that she would get rusty if she just stayed home and did nothing. She uses her precious remaining time to serve the blind. She says, "These are all God's commands."