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Some of the images that people most often associate
with Tzu Chi are those of volunteers consoling the
elderly, opening a Great Love Village for occupancy,
dedicating a new school for a quake-devastated town, or
offering free clinics to the uninsured. In other words,
these are scenes when Tzu Chi delivers help to the needy.
While these are true images of Tzu Chi, there are
other aspects of the foundation's work that are less
frequently seen. In this article, we briefly present a
little of what needs to be done before Tzu Chi can deliver
its services.
 Soon
after a severe disaster occurs, Tzu Chi volunteers with
expertise in many related fields, such as food, clothing,
shelter, water purification, transportation,
communications, and medicine, immediately gather around
Master Cheng Yen to provide ideas, give advice, and await
assignments.
Even on normal days, the Master needs to be ready in
case of unexpected disasters. She is very much concerned
about the safety of Tzu Chi rescue volunteers. Take for
example the design of their clothing. Huang Hua-de, one of
the Master's disciples, is responsible for research and
development. This picture shows him displaying one new
sample after another to the Master. He will make
modifications later according to her feedback and
comments.
His job seems straightforward enough. The uniform for
Tzu Chi rescuers must be pleasing to the eye, economical,
light, durable, warm, breathable, moisture resistant, easy
to clean, and able to reflect light in darkness...
Food for disaster victims also undergoes constant
refinement. Texture, nutritional value, local customs,
flavor preferences, and even the materials of the
containers are all factors that need to be examined
closely. On May 30, 2004, Wang Ling-yi, Chen Kuan-bo, and
Qiu Yao-shan, et al., came to the Tzu Chi Guandu Compound
in Taipei to see the Master. They showed her the food
items and shipping and packaging materials that they had
developed. Cans of wheat tea, "eight treasure"
porridge, simmered bamboo, vegetarian curry [all foods
provided by Tzu Chi worldwide are meatless], and noodles
just about filled the  tabletop.
Master Cheng Yen always emphasizes the importance of
quality control. The fact that these instant foods will be
given away free to disaster victims does not mean they can
be produced with a less attentive attitude. With no
drinking water or electricity after a disaster, survivors
should be able to just "open and eat" when they
receive Tzu Chi food.
The Master emphasized, "We should always give
other people things that we'd like to have
ourselves." She asked about each item's shelf life,
production quantity, transport, and storage. She then
invited everyone present to try the food.
The brown rice porridge apparently tasted pretty good
because the Master suddenly asked, "Why did I eat
three spoonfuls of it?"
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