Hong Kong

On January 21, volunteers invited 70 long-term Tzu Chi aid recipients to the foundation office in Kowloontong for the Chinese New Year celebration.

Many of these elderly people used wheelchairs, so the elevators had to go up and down many times to get them all up to the office on the upper floor. Many wanted to go to the washroom outside the office before the show started, so the office entrance suddenly became jammed with visitors and volunteers trying to get past each other going to and from the washrooms.

The celebration started at 10:40 in the morning. It began with volunteers leading the guests in doing finger exercises. Then there was a video of a sermon by Master Cheng Yen in which she talked about showing love to people around you.

After that there was a five-minute video showing the highlights of Tzu Chi in Hong Kong in 2006. Finally there was a stage performance in which the performers interacted with the audience and brought excitement to the whole place.

When it was time for lunch, the senior citizens had to take the elevators down to the dining hall. Since the elevators could only carry a few passengers each time, volunteers sang songs for the people who were still waiting for the elevators so they wouldn't feel bored.

Indonesia

On February 1, heavy rains once again caused widespread floods in Jakarta and in nearby towns. The floods were so serious that many people were trapped in their homes and were unable to go get food or move to shelters.

Beginning February 3, Tzu Chi volunteers cooked meals for flood victims in the kitchens of the Dusit Restaurant and Sands Restaurant. On the first day, they prepared 2,000 meal boxes, and 4,000 the following day. On February 5, 30 volunteers started cooking in the hot kitchens at 6:30 in the morning. They prepared 5,000 boxes of fried rice which were delivered to flood victims by rubber boats and trucks from 7 in the morning to 7:30 that evening.

Flooding also affected the Tzu Chi Great Love Village I in Jakarta. This was the first flood since the villagers had moved into the new residental complex, and they had never expected it could be so serious.

At about midnight on February 2, while most residents were sleeping, a security officer used the loudspeakers in the village mosque to announce that the floodwaters were rising. Unfortunately, the noise of the heavy rainfall prevented the residents from hearing the warning.

The next morning, floodwater had entered the first floors of the residential buildings, and in some other areas in the village the water was 50 centimeters (20 inches) deep, so residents hurriedly moved their goods to their neighbors' apartments on the upper floors.

The central kitchen in the village was also flooded, so volunteers moved all the food they were preparing for the flood victims to the kitchen of the Sands Restaurant, which is owned by a Tzu Chi volunteer. Fortunately, the Tzu Chi schools, the free clinic, and the recycling center were not flooded.

Thailand

On January 27, volunteers carried out the annual winter distribution for 251 families in the village of Padoon. They arrived at Pei Yin School, the distribution site, and started organizing the goods: Each person would receive clothes and a blanket, and children would receive school supplies. Then the volunteers held a meeting to learn what duties they should perform throughout the distribution.

The distribution was held the following morning on January 28. The scheduled time for the distribution was at eight, but there was still no sight of the villagers when the time came, and it started to rain. The volunteers felt that they might have to postpone the event. However, a little before ten the villagers started to arrive, and the volunteers began the distribution.

The villagers lined up in an orderly manner and the volunteers cooperated with each other very well. They showed the villagers how to write their names down on the bags they received, and then they led them to pick up each of the assigned items.

South Africa

January and February were very hot in Durban, South Africa, but Tzu Chi volunteers still traversed bumpy roads to bring warmth to people who were forgotten or abandoned by society.

On January 12, they went to Umlazi Q2 and Q Districts. They visited several local poor people and presented a walking stick to one senior citizen.

The volunteers returned to Q District later to help volunteer Eunice distribute hot meals to children. Eunice regularly provides hot meals to over 50 orphans in the community every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This was one of those days, and the orphans were waiting outside of Eunice's home when the other volunteers arrived.

On January 16, the volunteers went to visit needy families in Ntuzuma, Durban. Many poor people there lived in shacks made with plastic sheets, cardboard boxes, planks, metal sheets, and anything else they could get their hands on.

On January 19, they visited a place called Nsimbini. They first visited 64-year-old Irene Makhanya and 30-year-old Ngenzeni Cynthia Khumalo. Irene had suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of her body, and Ngenzeni had been injured by a gas explosion not long ago. The volunteers taught Irene's family how to help her do simple rehabilitation exercises, and they encouraged Irene not to give up hope of recovery.

The Tzu Chi people later visited AIDS patients Alfred Gumede, 38, and Kanzi Msomi, 28, stroke victims Mamtolo, 65, and Thullani Chamane, 33, and finally David Dlungele, 73, who had been injured in a street gunfight.

Alfred became ill in January 2006, and he has been bedridden ever since. January is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and the sweltering heat and the foul smell in his room made it hard for the volunteers to care for him. Volunteer Fikile was sweating profusely, but she kept a smile on her face and gently helped him to exercise his arms, all without showing any disrespect.

On January 23, the volunteers went to Inanda New Town. They found 41-year-old Katiwe Mhlongo lying on an old blanket on the floor. Her four limbs, and even her fingers, were twisted as a result of cerebral palsy. A volunteer knelt down beside her, caressed her head, and encouraged her in a gentle, motherly voice while other volunteers massaged her body.

Malaysia

On February 4, the Malaysia branch held the largest relief distribution of the year. Around 800 volunteers welcomed 990 needy families to either the morning or the afternoon distribution and celebration of the up-coming Chinese New Year.

A month before this event, volunteers had started buying and preparing goods for the distribution. They used reusable bags to pack the goods because they wanted to encourage the needy families to reduce the use of plastic bags.

Each bag was loaded with food, daily necessities, noodles, and food products provided by Still Thoughts Publications. The volunteers even gave instructions for the products in both the Chinese and Malay languages.

Free haircuts were given by many hairdressers and barbers. Hairdresser Guo Xio-qun recalled that she was first invited to give haircuts ten years ago at a nursing home. Since then, she has been coming to help out every year, and she feels grateful for the chance to serve.

The guests also enjoyed delicious meals while watching performances by young Tzu Chi volunteers on stage.

Singapore

On January 13, Singapore members learned that flood victims in Kota Tinggi, southern Malaysia, required emergency assistance. That morning Liu Ji-yu, CEO of both the Tzu Chi Singapore branch and the Malaysia branch, held an emergency meeting with volunteers in Singapore. He made several phone calls during the meeting to Liu Han-shan, head of the Tzu Chi Kota Tinggi office, to confirm the needs of the local victims. That afternoon the Singapore volunteers purchased comforters, milk powder, diapers, and other daily necessities, and the next day they prepared a thousand boxed meals.

The floods had destroyed major roads in and around Kota Tinggi, and the volunteers discovered that a regular two-hour trip between Singapore and Kota Tinggi would take them much longer. Therefore, they decided to leave at eight the following morning so the victims could receive their lunch before noon.

To make that possible, the cooking team promptly went to buy food, and they prepared the food throughout the night. At three in the morning the team started cooking the rice, and at 4:30 all the Singapore volunteers arrived and started helping with the preparation. They washed vegetables, cut them, cooked them, folded lunch boxes, and performed other necessary duties. By five, the meals were ready. Even though there were only three types of vegetables, they represented the love of the volunteers.

The volunteers lined up along the tables and passed boxes from one person to the next, putting in rice and vegetables. Then, one thousand boxed lunches were put into large cardboard crates and loaded into two cars, accompanied by a total of ten volunteers who would deliver them to the victims in the disaster areas.

The volunteers cleaned up the kitchen before they went home. They felt happy to have a chance to serve the needy early in the morning. Although they had to give up their sleep to come in so early, they felt it was worth it because they had given flood victims a nice, warm lunch. It was a special morning.

The Philippines

In May 2006, the foundation collaborated with the world's largest floating hospital, USNS Mercy, in sponsoring a major surgical mission in Zamboanga City. Six months later, the Tzu Chi Zamboanga office again had received over 80 requests from residents for free major surgeries for goiters, hernias, hydroceles and varicoceles. Always trying its best to respond to the needs of the community, the office contacted Dr. Romeo Ong, superintendent of the Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC), Dr. Nonie Cabrera III, director of the ZCMC Department of Surgery, and Dr. Girlie Lo-Rivera, ZCMC chief resident doctor. Having gotten their agreement, Tzu Chi contacted Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) volunteers both in Manila and Zamboanga with the good news, and the surgical mission was scheduled for January 26 and 27, 2007.

Tzu Chi Zamboanga volunteered to shoulder the majority of the cost for this huge undertaking, including pre-operative laboratory tests, cardiopulmonary clearances, anesthesia, surgical supplies and post-operative medications. ZCMC, the host of the mission, in turn waived the standard operating room fees and board and lodging charges for all the Tzu Chi recipients. All this, coupled with the selfless love of the medical volunteers who waived all their professional fees and shared their medical expertise for free, made it possible for all the needy Tzu Chi patients to receive treatment. Major surgeries in Zamboanga cost anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 pesos (US$300-600), which is not within the reach of less fortunate residents.

To reach out to a wider population, Tzu Chi asked its media partners Radio Agong, Golden Broadcasting Corporation, GMA and ABS-CBN, to announce the good news daily for two weeks. This resulted in a very high turnout on the day of the screening, January 14, at the Tzu Chi Great Love Physical Rehabilitation Center. A total of 185 people from all over Zamboanga and its neighboring cities and provinces, braved the early morning sun and lined up for the screening.

At the end of the two-day mission, only 61 patients were actually operated on for free. Twelve patients were rejected due to coughs and colds, high blood pressure and heart ailments. Of the 61, 30 had goiter excision surgeries while the other 31 were operated on for hernias, varicoceles or hydroceles. Credit went to the 88 Tzu Chi and TIMA volunteers, who cooperated fully with ZCMC medical staff, resulting in a very smooth, successful mission. They sacrificed their weekend and worked non-stop from 8 in the morning to 9:30 in the evening on the first day. Another big factor for the success was the additional operating capacity that Tzu Chi Zamboanga created by setting up three additional mobile operating tables with complete surgical equipment to improve patients' safety.

After each operation, volunteers gave each patient a T-shirt as a simple token of appreciation for giving all the volunteers and medical staff an opportunity to do good deeds. A piggy bank was also given to patients and their families. The volunteers explained that their free surgeries were paid for by hundreds of good Samaritans. Now that they had been relieved of their illnesses, the piggy banks would give them the opportunity to help still more needy people.

Argentina

Heavy rains on January 10 caused serious floods in several cities in Tucuman Province. Tzu Chi people went in the morning of January 24 to deliver relief goods to flood victims in the San Roque district in Concepcion. When they arrived, residents had already set up a row of tables to speed up the distribution process.

In his speech, police officer Suarez Vila spoke of his gratitude to Tzu Chi volunteers for helping disaster victims without regard for religion, race or nationality.

The recipients lined up in an orderly manner to receive their goods. The volunteers handed over the goods with both hands to express their respect, and they gave each of the victims a hug and a kiss on the cheek to express their warmth and love and best wishes.

These acts of kindness touched off enthusiastic responses. One kind person brought over six boxes of cookies and asked the volunteers to give them out to local residents. A young man donated a box of sandwiches for the children present at the distribution site; he said that he had made them himself because he knew the children would be starving. These acts of kindness were the result of the cycle of love, and the volunteers believed that the victims would overcome their miseries very soon.