Last year Typhoon Herb devastated Taiwan. This year Typhoon Winnie created major disasters in the northern part of the island. While many victims did not know what to do, their good neighbors-Tzu Chi people-arrived to console the victims, clean their homes, and help them in any way they could.

Hsichih

When Typhoon Winnie swept over northern Taiwan, the most hard-hit area was Lincoln Mansions in Hsichih, a suburb of Taipei. The residential complex,just completed a year ago, was built on a hillside, but because the construction company failed to properly protect the environment, rocks and mud slid down the hillside and pushed four five-story buildings off their foundations.

Brother Huang Ming-hui, who also lived in the Lincoln complex, dashed out of his home early in the morning when he heard the sound of toppling buildings. Immediately he phoned other Tzu Chi members in Hsichih. At around 9:10 that morning, several of them appeared with ropes to rescue victims still trapped under the collapsed buildings.

About an hour later, they had pulled out five people. "We went from door to door and yelled, 'Is there anyone inside?' At one place, we saw somebody throwing out rocks from the debris to get our attention. We immediately went to break through the windows. However, when we got in, we realized that the rocks were coming from the floor below us. A rescue team brought over a machine and dug a hole in the floor. Two little boys were saved."

Other Tzu Chi people set up service centers at the community social center and at nearby Peikang Elementary School to provide meals and other assistance to both victims and rescue workers.

Ludwig Richer and his wife, Petra Schmidt, from Germany, had just moved in three days before the disaster. They were frightened, but Tzu Chi's immediate assistance gave them a new perspective. Mr. Richer said, "When I saw your sincere care for the victims, I felt that Taiwan was a wonderful place." When his wife recovers, both of them will go to Hualien to visit Tzu Chi headquarters. When they return to Germany, they can tell their friends about Tzu Chi.

Thirty-five residents are now taking temporary shelter in the Hsiufung Secondary School auditorium, so Tzu Chi members also visit them and bring them food. Many of the residents do not know where they should go. Even though their own buildings are still intact, they are afraid to go back.

Hsinchuang

Twenty households in an alley in Hsinchuang, Taipei County, were knee-deep in water. Tzu Chi people who lived nearby immediately went to clean out clogged drainage ditches. When the flood receded, they also removed debris from the area.

When they heard that a school for the blind in Hsinchuang was flooded, these Tzu Chi people at once realized that the residents would have many problems taking care of themselves. Five Tzu Chi members went to clean the ditches and the environment at the home. They went again the next day to see if the residents needed any more assistance. The staff there thanked them for what they had done the previous day, and informed them that the residents could help themselves.

After Typhoon Herb last year, Master Cheng Yen actively promoted the concept of community volunteering, hoping that all Tzu Chi people could bring out the spirit of good neighbors. When Typhoon Winnie stormed through Taiwan on August 18, Tzu Chi set up a rescue service center to coordinate the efforts of all members living near disaster areas.