Tzu Chi USA started a book-giving program in 2000 to help children from underprivileged families nurture their reading habits. By 2004, Tzu Chi had already distributed 350,000 books to students in California, and this year volunteers from Northern California expanded the program: 12,200 students at 22 public elementary schools received books.

How were these 22 schools chosen? It all started from their lunch programs. In the United States, poor students can enjoy free lunches at schools. These poor students are mostly new immigrants or from minority groups. Their parents belong to the blue-collar class, and their incomes can barely bring enough food to their tables; books are out of the question.

Volunteers first chose 30 schools in poor districts based on information from the California Department of Education. Ninety percent of the students in these schools depended on free lunches. The volunteers visited the principals and teachers to evaluate the needs of the schools, and they decided on 22 schools that most urgently needed help: three in San Jose, four in Oakland, four in San Francisco, six in Modesto, and five in Sacramento. The volunteers gave a book list to the teachers to choose from, including the popular Harry Potter.

In April, over 12,000 books were delivered to the Tzu Chi Northern California branch office, and volunteers got to work. They placed a sticker with Tzu Chi's contact number and address on the cover of each book, and they created a space for students to write their names so that each student could feel that this was his or her very own book.

Volunteer Chen Chi-ling was costumed as Clifford, the Big Red Dog. All the children squealed with joy when they saw Clifford before them. Chen waved at everybody, and all the children came hugging and grabbing her. She especially noticed the innocent, bright faces of the children, who came in all different skin colors, and their eyes sparkling like stars in the sky.

In Modesto, many Mexican families are farmers. Therefore in addition to giving books to children, the volunteers also presented them with uniforms and underwear.

Seven years of hard work win recognition

Mayor Jerry Brown of Oakland, California, dubbed June 4 "Oakland Tzu Chi Day" to express his gratitude for the foundation's assistance to the city. The city government cited the foundation during the year-end celebration for the city's Head Start Program. For the past seven years, Tzu Chi has distributed school bags and supplies to graduates of the 19 schools covered in the Head Start Program.

Since 1998, local Tzu Chi volunteers have helped pre-school children and other children with special needs, donated books to children from low-income families, given emergency assistance to needy families, volunteered at nursing homes, provided hot meals and daily necessities to street people, provided health consultations and regular vaccinations against flu, visited inmates, collected recyclable materials, and regularly cleaned up streets.

Floods take everything

Floods from May 18 to 20 caused serious mudslides, killed five people, destroyed 120 homes and damaged 250 homes in Mae Ramat, Thailand.

Volunteers went to inspect the situation on May 25 and 26. They saw piles of timber everywhere that had been washed down by the mudslides. Trees and branches were stuck into houses through windows or doors; some homes were buried under piles of trees, and some had been swept away by mudslides. Most residents took refuge with relatives in nearby villages or in three local temples that survived intact. Many were busy rebuilding their homes.

Within four days after their inspection visit, the Tzu Chi volunteers bought the most urgently needed supplies. Forty-four volunteers arrived at Mae Ramat at seven in the morning of June 2 to start distribution. Before they arrived, some charity groups had already distributed rice and instant noodles in that area, but without any cooking utensils, the residents still couldn't cook any food. The volunteers prepared cooking pots in various sizes, spatulas, spoons, plates, bowls, quilts, and straw mats for 500 people. The volunteers also handed out 3,000 baht (US$72) to people whose homes had been completely destroyed and 1,500 baht to people whose homes had been damaged.

The volunteers also went to Mae Daeng, which was two hours by car and Tha Song Yang which was 160 kilometers away from Mae Ramat to hand out more relief items to survivors there.

The rivers and mountains cry

Before Typhoon Mindulle attacked Taiwan, it had caused grave damage in the northern Philippines on June 30. Rainstorms and tidal waves destroyed countless homes. In the two most seriously damaged villages, Bagao and Aparri, 30 people died and 12 people were missing.

On July 8, 25 volunteers left Manila and arrived at the villages over 10 hours and 586 kilometers later. Seven volunteers distributed relief goods at Bagao, and 18 volunteers took a boat to distribute supplies to 2,000 families in Aparri. Each family received 10 kilograms of rice, one new quilt, and one bag of clean used clothing.

The volunteers saw that many roads had been torn to pieces, many lowland areas had been turned into lakes, mountains had been stripped of green trees and grass, and big trees were scattered over roads.

In other news about the Philippines, Tzu Chi held its 40th free clinic in Malabon, outside Manila, on July 11. To serve and help over 2,500 people, 88 medical professionals and 271 volunteers were mobilized to bring their medical skills and love.

Before the free clinic took place, volunteers hit the streets to hand out leaflets about the event. When doctors discovered patients in need of financial assistance, they referred them to Tzu Chi for continuous assistance after the free clinic was over.

During the free clinic, a woman suddenly started crying. Her husband had given her 1,900 pesos that morning as their living allowance for the following month. She had put the money in one of her pockets before coming to the free clinic, but then she discovered that the money had disappeared.

Li Wei-sung, deputy CEO of the Tzu Chi Philippine branch, called out to all the patients to help this woman. Each person gave her at least a peso, and altogether she received over 2,000 pesos. She then donated the extra money of around 200 pesos to Tzu Chi. Instead of just receiving help from other people, this woman also donated money to help others.

Free clinics and eyeglasses

On May 28, several tour buses arrived at the Tzu Chi Village in Jakarta, Indonesia, bringing patients and their families to a free clinic to be held the next day. Volunteers led them to the elementary-secondary school inside the village, where they would spend the night. At seven the next morning, before the free clinic started, over a hundred patients were already waiting. During the two days, May 29 and 30, that the free clinic was held, more than 300 medical personnel and volunteers assisted 349 people.

Sister Hilda appeared with 40 patients who had cleft lips, cataracts, and other illnesses. Ever since 2001, this Catholic nun has been going to villages to find people requiring medical attention and bringing them to Tzu Chi free clinics. Sister Hilda remarked that she was delighted to work with Tzu Chi because there were so many people who needed help that she couldn't give them. She also encouraged young people from her church to volunteer at the free clinics.

At an earlier free clinic on May 23, Tzu Chi also examined and gave free eyeglasses to students in Nurul Iman in Bogor; about 400 people received eyeglasses. In addition, 603 people received dental treatment and 1,280 people received medical treatment.

There are over 3,700 students at the Nurul Iman school who range from elementary to university levels. They study the Koran in the morning and English and Arabic in the afternoon. They will also learn the Chinese and Korean languages next semester, because the school hopes the students will learn more about other races through language studies.

Meeting the needs of Chinatown residents

Tzu Chi volunteers in San Francisco have been providing daily goods and free clinics to blacks in the city for a long time; but volunteers recently discovered that most Chinese living in Chinatown are faced with financial and linguistic problems, and some have no medical insurance. Thus, Tzu Chi held a free clinic and distribution of relief supplies in Chinatown on June 12.

Most people who came to pick up relief supplies were elderly immigrants from Guangzhou, China. To help them pick up goods, see doctors, and learn the results of examinations, volunteers who could speak Cantonese accompanied the senior citizens from the beginning to the end.

Health examinations included weight, height, blood pressure, blood sugar level, eyesight, teeth, and spinal cord checks.

El Salvador

In El Salvador, over 100 medical volunteers from the United States, El Salvador, and Guatemala held a free clinic from July 30 to August 1 for residents at the two Tzu Chi Great Love villages and Las Delicias.

The free clinic provided treatment in internal medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, ophthalmology, and dentistry. The medical team also brought dental equipment that would be useful in future free clinics.

Most patients were women who brought many children. The youngest patient was three weeks old, and the oldest was 102 years old.

The village of Las Delicias is about 150 kilometers away from the capital. It is home to about 245 families, most of which moved here after Hurricane Mitch swept through the country. The village has no running water or electricity. To help these villagers, residents from the two Tzu Chi Villages raised money and bought food, daily goods, and children's shoes to distribute during the free clinic.

Disaster relief in Dominican Republic

In May, days of rainstorms caused serious damage in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Over 1,500 people died in mudslides and floods, and close to 2,000 people were missing.

Jimani is the poorest town in the Dominican Republic. Close to half of the population of 8,000 are illegal immigrants from Haiti. The mudslides killed over 300 people in the town, and the survivors were staying in shelters. They needed drinking water, food, and clothing.

On May 27, volunteers from the Dominican Republic and New Jersey distributed milk powder, drinking water, bread, toilet paper, cookies, clothing, and shoes to 400 people in Jimani. On June 6, the volunteers again delivered eating utensils, personal cleaning goods, bleach, toilet paper, cookies, and bottled water to 1,200 people.

When a woman received her goods from the volunteers, she suddenly cried, "I don't want these! I want my kids!" The woman's six children all died in the disaster. The volunteers could do nothing except hug her and express their sympathy to her. Another woman also cried because her husband and children had passed away in the disaster.