On April 29, the Tzu Chi Free Clinic Center in the No.1 Tzu Chi Great Love Village in Jakarta, Indonesia, signed an agreement with the Lion Star company. The agreement stated that the company will pay for the medical care of its 1,000 employees at the Free Clinic Center.

Dr. Kurniawan of the Free Clinic Center pointed out that the agreement will benefit residents living near the village, because most of them work for the company. It will also give the public a chance to understand Tzu Chi and know what the foundation has done in Indonesia. The public will in turn be encouraged to pitch in to help the needy.

Later the same morning, Dr. Kurniawan and several Tzu Chi volunteers held a medical seminar for employees of the Taman Palem Group in Aula Kantor Pemasaran City Resort. The seminar gave the audience a better understanding of bird flu and dengue fever. Employees of the Taman Palem Group have been participating in Tzu Chi activities, and the company hopes the Tzu Chi Free Clinic Center will provide long-term medical treatment for its employees.

Hong Kong

The Buddha's birthday was observed this year on May 5, 2006. Celebrated with the ritual of "Showering the Buddha," it commemorates the Buddha's contribution to the world.

This was a major day for Tzu Chi volunteers in Hong Kong, because it was also the opening day for their new office in Kowloontong, Hong Kong. At 8:30 in the morning, the volunteers entered the new office in orderly lines and started the opening ceremony by chanting the preface to the Lotus Sutra. Then, the participants took turns approaching the little statue of the Buddha on the front stage and offered flowers and a bowl of clean water in celebration of the Buddha's birthday.

Some participants who came later were puzzled because they could not find a donation box anywhere. In many temples, participants in the Showering the Buddha ceremony bring traditional red envelopes with money inside and drop them into a donation box next to the Buddha's statue. A Tzu Chi volunteer informed them that most Tzu Chi offices around the world do not have donation boxes, since each donation is strictly used for a specific purpose and the donor's name must be written down on a receipt. An anonymous donation in a donation box cannot be tracked and applied to a particular project. Furthermore, the meaning of the Showering the Buddha ceremony is to remind us of the compassion and good deeds of the Buddha as an example for each person to follow; it has nothing to do with offering money in a red envelope.

The participants understood this and made donations to Tzu Chi charitable activities later.

Jordan

Twice a year for the past five years, local Tzu Chi people have been distributing provisions to Bedouin tribes in Mafraq, Jordan. On April 17, 2006, 11 volunteers brought rice, sugar, beans, and cooking oil to 150 families.

What made this occasion special was that 2006 also marks the 40th anniversary of the Tzu Chi Foundation, and Prince Al-Hassan Bin Talal joined the distribution. Women and children put on their best dresses to welcome the prince.

When the prince arrived, he joined the Tzu Chi people, handing out Tzu Chi distribution cards to relief recipients and shaking hands with them.

The prince is in charge of the Hashemite Jordan Charity Organization. He said that all religions, including Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, should promote their common goals of achieving world peace through their services and contribution to mankind.

After the distribution, the prince and the volunteers went to visit a few families. The tribal people welcomed the arrival of the prince and the volunteers to their tents. When the guests sat down in a tent, the residents served Arabian tea and delicacies and chatted happily with them.

Alaa Kutkut was the youngest volunteer in the distribution. A sports medicine student at Syria University, she is also a student of Chen Qiu-hua, head of the Jordan Tzu Chi office and a martial arts expert. Alaa won a silver medal in taekwondo in 1998. She hopes to be able to study in the medical college at Tzu Chi University in the future.

Thailand

The Tzu Chi Thailand branch held a distribution on April 1, 2006 for needy families.

When the families arrived at the office, the volunteers first asked them to pray to the Buddha's statue on the first floor. Then everyone went to the second floor to watch a videotape of Master Cheng Yen giving a talk on environmental protection.

The Thai New Year falls in mid-April. It is also called the Splashing Water Festival, when people splash water on each other as a blessing. Therefore, the volunteers and the needy families splashed water on each other to wish everyone a wonderful New Year.

Then the attendees went to the third floor for lunch. Volunteers crisscrossed the floor serving fruit, tea and more food, hoping a good time would be had by all.

Singapore

In Singapore, Mother's Day is celebrated in May and Father's Day in June. Therefore, the Tzu Chi Singapore branch held a special event on May 7 to express gratitude to parents in general and also to make relief distributions to needy families. Participants included families and residents of institutions frequently visited by Tzu Chi volunteers.

In the morning, these needy families and residents arrived at the Tzu Chi office in volunteers' cars or on chartered buses.

The volunteers used the one-on-one opportunity with the families to make them feel welcome and at home. The branch provided stage performances, martial arts performances, free haircuts, distribution of provisions, etc.

Argentina

Tzu Chi people delivered books, basketballs, soccer balls, and other sports equipment to No. 13 Elementary School in Malvina. Volunteer Tzu Yang told the students that 40 years ago people in Taiwan received aid from the United States. Although Taiwan was poor at that time, people worked hard and there was little violence, few demonstrations or robberies. Tzu Chi now has branches and offices in 40 countries with over four million members worldwide trying to help the poor around the world. Tzu Yang hoped that these students would also do the same.

South Africa

Tzu Chi volunteers and Tzu Chi Collegiate Association members in Johannesburg visited senior residents of the Frank Mynhard nursing home on April 29, 2006. They have been visiting the residents for some time, so they have become well acquainted with each other.

The volunteers played Bingo with the residents, and the winning prize was a hat. Therefore, residents looked attentively at the numbers on their cards. Frequently, the sound of laughter and applause added excitement to the place.

Afterwards, since it was winter in South Africa, the volunteers distributed scarves, woolen hats, mittens, socks, and blankets to the residents. At the same time, other members gave presents to bedridden residents who were unable to move around freely. The volunteers were heartbroken to see the miserable lives they led; some could not talk, and some had no reaction to the visitors. This reminded the volunteers to be more attentive to their own parents, so they would not have to follow in the same footsteps as these senior residents.

Malaysia

On May 7, 2006, the Tzu Chi Malacca Free Clinic offered free medical examinations for local residents. Five nurses were dispatched by the Malacca National Family Planning and Population Development Bureau to help with examinations for breast cancer, taking blood pressure readings, Pap smear tests, and so on.

Of the 116 women who received the examinations, a lump was found in one woman's breast. She will receive more tests to determine the cause.

Sint Maarten

On Saturday March 4, 2006, seven Tzu Chi volunteers visited the HvB Prison on Sint Maarten, a Dutch island located in the Caribbean Ocean.

A group of 21 inmates gathered to listen to the volunteers' presentations. Words about caring for strangers, sharing with others, and living a pure life without greed were used in the presentations. A video was shown about the devastating tsunami that struck Indonesia and other countries bordering the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. The film documented Indonesian survivors moving into a housing community built in Aceh Province by the Tzu Chi Foundation. A US$27 million project, started in September 2005 as part of Tzu Chi's long-term relief efforts in Indonesia, includes plans to build three housing communities with 3,700 units in Panteriek.

This same love and care is also being shown on the island of Sint Maarten, where Tzu Chi rebuilt a house in Cayhill in just one and a half months.

At the end of this visit the volunteers donated to the inmates a DVD player and 150 gift bags, each containing a cup of soup, biscuits, sweets, and Tzu Chi books.

A certificate of appreciation was presented to Kit Wing Cheung, a Tzu Chi commissioner, for the gifts and the charitable work that is being done both locally and overseas.

Canada

For four consecutive years, the Tzu Chi Montreal office has been holding an annual fundraising event by selling a traditional Chinese delicacy called zong-zi, a pyramid-shaped mass of glutinous rice wrapped in leaves. Between May 2 and 14 this year, they sold 5,600 zong-zis.

The purpose of the fundraising this year was to buy medical equipment for the Montreal Children's Hospital. Almost 30 volunteers took time off from their jobs and devoted themselves to the whole process, from buying the rice to the final stage of steaming the zong-zi. The first stage was from May 2 to 7, when they bought the needed ingredients; in the second stage, May 8-10, they mixed the rice and other ingredients and wrapped them in leaves. The third stage, selling the finished products, was carried out in Xian Kong Temple in Montreal on May 14, which coincided with Showering the Buddha Day.

Master Ming Tong, abbot of Xian Kong Temple, has known about Tzu Chi and Master Cheng Yen for a long time. Thanks to his support, Tzu Chi volunteers were allowed to use the spacious kitchen in the temple to prepare the delicacy. The abbot also informed Tzu Chi that his disciples would buy 2,000 zong-zis to support the fundraising.