When the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan in 1949, a large number of soldiers went to northern Thailand to continue battling against the Chinese Communists. To this day, they are foreigners in Thailand and cannot receive Thai citizenship or social welfare. For the last two years, Tzu Chi has been carrying out a comprehensive relief plan to help the people in the refugee camps to improve their living conditions.

During this period, the construction of houses, tea plantations and fruit orchards have already partially improved the lives of the refugees. In order to completely transform their lives, attention is especially focused on education.

The three-year plan has entered its third and final year. During this time, Tzu Chi rebuilt houses in Changlong, Bangala, Misara and Huiho. Now the residents of these four communities do not need to be afraid that their houses will leak during the rainy season. Yang Chun-cheng, Changlong village chief, commented, "It's better now! We don't need to be afraid of the rain, and we'll be warm in the winter." These solidly built houses give the villagers confidence. In the past, Yang used to be pessimistic about life, but now his eyes are filled with vigor.

Planting Seedlings, Planting Hope

Hualiang Farm has been planting all sorts of tea and fruit seedlings, which are sent to plantations in various villages. Huiho has 20,000 tea plant seedlings. Changlong planted 7,000 mango trees, Misara 7,000 peach trees, and Bangala more than 7,000 peach, plum and other fruit trees. Agricultural seminars are taught to young villagers every summer and winter. The seminar instructors also go around to each of the villages to provide special instruction based on the needs of each village. In this way, villagers can learn farming skills and become self-sufficient.

This summer, the seminar was held in A-Ru Non Thai from July 14 to 29. Forty people from twenty-four villages came for the course, which included instruction in raising and fertilizing fruit trees and harvesting the fruit. Increased knowledge in these areas will help the villagers to improve their farming skills.

At the closing ceremony on July 29, Brother Wang Tuan-cheng, deputy CEO of the Tzu Chi Foundation, noted in his speech that the relief plan was almost three years old. The most important part of the plan was the agricultural education. People need food to live, so agriculture is the foundation for a good life. For the people of northern Thailand to improve their living conditions, they had to start from agriculture.

To the executives of the plan and our Bangkok liaison office, the end of the seminar is not a good-bye, but the beginning of new caring.

All Old People Are My Parents

Ban Mai Non Bua Ban Pa Khun Chala, a nursing home for disabled veterans, has close to two hundred Nationalist army veterans. After more than two years of caring for these old soldiers, Tzu Chi members now feel as close to them as to their own relatives. They know the names and health conditions of each one of these veterans.

When we first came here two years ago, the veterans were sternly polite. The military posture, salutes and slogans have now been transformed into smiles, folded palms and greetings of "Amitabha." Brother Wang told the soldiers that Master Cheng Yen was very concerned about them, and that Tzu Chi would continue to support them after the three-year relief plan was officially ended. At that news, the veterans shouted with joy and clapped their hands, smiles and tears on their wrinkled faces.

Tzu Chi members in Bangkok are now helping veterans who have citizenship or refugee identification cards to receive one-year medical insurance. Thus, whenever they are sick, they can be treated in public hospitals and will not need to worry about their personal financial situation. The

Bangkok Tzu Chi members also discovered that the veterans only had two meals a day because of their tight financial situation. The members are now delivering porridge for breakfast for the veterans , who thus can have

All Youngsters Are My Children

The hope of the refugees is their children. In Ban Wa We, we visited Kuang Fu Middle School. At 5:30 a .m., we could already hear the sound of children reading. The refugees built the school thirty-five years ago simply because they wanted their offspring to understand Chinese culture. Public schools in Thailand are required to teach only the Thai language.