James Chen is the director of the Tzu Chi Overseas Development Department. He is in charge of all international relief programs sponsored by Tzu Chi.

Each time I go abroad to do disaster relief work , I feel very grateful for what I have. It is a feeling which cannot be explained in words. Over and over again, I am deeply touched whenever I participate in international relief activities.

In October 1996, I went to Cambodia to inspect a disaster area, and I was once again gripped by a terror of natural disasters and man-made calamities. Usually, when a country is hit by a natural disaster, there is still a chance to rebuild. However, if it is devastated by a man-made calamity, things are different.

Since 1975, Cambodians have suffered from the devastation of war and the threat of the Khmer Rouge. The country was also ruled by a Vietnamese government for 10 years. Half of the total population of 10 million are under the age of 15. The whole country is desperate and miserable. The war has taken the hope of life away from the people.

I saw the harshness of natural disaster as well as the cruelty of war. In September 1996, thirteen provinces along the Mekong River in Cambodia were flooded and quickly became a big swampland. Roads, bridges, rice fields and barns were all washed away in the deluge. The damage to agricultural production and to people's lives and their property was immeasurable. There were more than 1.3 million disaster victims, one third of whom were homeless. Moreover, food and medicine were badly needed. Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the first premier, General Ho Sok, secretary of state, and Chhay Born Lay, deputy interior minister, wrote to the Tzu Chi Foundation for help.

According to Master Cheng Yen's directions for disaster relief work, we must personally go to the disaster area to learn about the situation first-hand, carefully evaluate the situation, and then make detailed relief plans in response to the actual needs. The funds and materials for disaster relief are the accumulation of love from millions of Tzu Chi members throughout the world. We have gathered their love and collected the money that they worked so hard for with their blood and sweat. Every drop of love, every penny of money, must be used appropriately. Therefore, after receiving letters from Cambodian officials at all levels, we had to personally go to inspect and evaluate the situation before we could begin the actual relief work.

When the Tzu Chi disaster inspection team arrived on October 22, our first impression of the disaster areas was that they were all soaked in muddy water. Many villages were isolated from the outside world and wooden boats were the only transportation. The further we went into the country, the more we could see how poor and miserable the local people were. Most of them sheltered themselves in grass huts and plastic sheds along the roads. Children ran around with no clothes. There was no food to eat or rice seeds to plant. After hearing that we were Tzu Chi people from Taiwan who had come to offer them help, the villagers all welcomed us with friendly smiles. They said that before the floods, they had expected a good harvest, but now everything was gone. Whenever I recall the longing for help revealed in their eyes, I cannot help but shed tears.

When we had collected enough information about the actual situation in Cambodia, we immediately came back to Taiwan to report to Master Cheng Yen. The team suggested that we ship 5,000 tons of rice seeds to the Cambodian farmers so that they could plant them at once. After hearing our reports and suggestions, the Master immediately authorized the relief plan for Cambodia. One month later, we successfully distributed 5,000 tons of rice seeds to the refugees.