On December 20, Tzu Chi presented a washing machine, wheelchairs, clothes, medicine, daily necessities, etc. to Casa De David, a nursing home for the disabled. Sister Yeh Yueh-kuan, director of the liaison office, said that Tzu Chi was very honored to present these items to Casa De David on behalf of the local Chinese community. She hoped that more people would follow suit and assist the home.

Mr. Lin Hsin-hsing, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sao Paulo, was also present. In his address, he commended the nursing home staff for their hard work. He also praised Tzu Chi members who, after working hard at their own jobs, use their free time to help Brazilian society as well as poor people in the Chinese community.

Bringing Love to Orphans in Paraguay

In October 1996, Tzu Chi members visited the El Redil Nursery in Asuncion, Paraguay. The nursery accepts children aged two to seventeen. The parents of these children work in Argentina or other faraway places. The children have to wait until the Christmas holiday to be reunited with their parents. Although some parents do not have enough money to pay for the service, El Redil, a Christian nursery, still takes equally good care of all the children.

When the Tzu Chi members arrived, it was lunchtime. The Tzu Chi people saw two-or three-year-old children eating white rice with beef liver, and they felt sorry for them. The nursery sometimes had problems with its food sources, which worried the staff. Therefore, Tzu Chi members decided to assist the nursery by providing food and fruit every month.

On November 24, members also went to visit the Don Bosco Roga Orphanage, which houses 110 orphans aged seven to 17. In addition, 40 to 50 children come to the orphanage to have their meals. Because the the orphanage is a private institution that depends on contributions, Tzu Chi members also decided to help there every month.

"We have the same love towards all, despite our different beliefs!" said Catholic priest Padre Martin, director of the orphanage. He expressed his gratitude for Tzu Chi's periodic donations of clothing and food.

Overseas College Tzu Chi Youth Winter Camp

The annual "Tzu Chi Overseas Collegiate Youth Winter Camp" started in Hualien on December 29, 1996, and continued for five days. A total of 134 students participated in this event. Professor Tseng Han-jung first presented a lecture on "Expression and Communication," during which he used a short film entitled "Apple Tree" to demonstrate the theme of "unselfishness." The students came to understand the subtle relationship between parents and children and the importance of expressing one's feelings and preventing misunderstandings.

The second major event in their schedule was volunteering at the Tzu Chi Hospital. The students were encouraged by their counselors to chat and sing to the patients and bring them joy.

The students then had a short meeting with Li Ho-cheng, a patient in the final stage of pancreatic cancer. Li had decided to donate his body for medical research. In order to protect his body and cancer cells from being damaged, he was not undergoing any chemotherapy. He seemed so casual and at ease, but his courage and ability to endure pain touched the heart of every listener.

The students went to a veterans' home the next day , which was quite a totally different experience for them. There they talked or sang with veterans of various ages to dispel their loneliness. Some were still healthy, but some were either slightly or heavily handicapped. The students were able to experience aging, illness, and helplessness.

When it was time to say good-bye, there were many hugs and tears, but as Master Te Jen said, "The undefiled great love from this camp will be spread and planted everywhere as the students go back overseas."

Clothing to The Gambia and Azerbaijan

Recently, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Tzu Chi that while the government was providing agricultural aid to The Gambia, it hoped that Tzu Chi, with its experience in international relief, could also help the West African country. After investigating the situation there, Tzu Chi decided to provide two containers of summer clothing.

In addition, on December 9, 1996, Tzu Chi signed a cooperation agreement with the University of London to provide Azerbaijan with 5,000 tents, medical supplies, winter clothing, food, etc. Twenty containers of winter clothing have been collected.

Tzu Chi members started to collect clothing and blankets in Taiwan's northern, central and southern areas at the beginning of February. Within half a month, they collected, packed, sorted, organized, and loaded 4,400 boxes of clothing.

Some members had never heard of Azerbaijan before, but when they heard that the people there needed winter clothing, they immediately put down their own work and helped to collect used clothing. For them, the most important thing is that no one should have to suffer in the cold winter.

A Change of Pace for the Homeless

In the early morning of January 6, eleven Tzu Chi members drove to the Scott Mission in Toronto to start cooking hot food for almost 500 homeless people. At 10:30, Tzu Chi welcomed the first 260 homeless people. Then, they quickly cleaned up the dishes and the tables to take in another group of 160 people.

While the members were washing the dishes, they discovered that all the food had been completely eaten up. Some of the homeless people claimed that Chinese food was their favorite. The praise brought out the love and confidence of the Tzu Chi people. Although they were tired, they were quite happy and worked even more industriously.

The Scott Mission is the only charity organization that provides hot food to the homeless in Toronto. About 500 homeless go there every day to eat. However, due to limited manpower and finances, the mission cannot provide much variety in the food. Tzu Chi members have decided to cook hot Chinese meals every month, hoping that the homeless can feel the blessing and care of Tzu Chi.

Helping Handicapped Children Walk Again

In fall, dark comes very early in Los Angeles, but on November 22, the Hilton Hotel in Torrance, southwest of Los Angeles, was shining brightly. The Tzu Chi South Bay branch office hosted a Love Banquet for the Tzu Chi Disabled Children's Rehabilitation Center. Close to 500 people attended the event. A film about the lives of handicapped children was shown, which touched the hearts of everyone in the audience.

"It is the greatest fortune to have a healthy child." The organizers hoped that through this event, everyone could bring out their love for handicapped children.

The evening began with a performance by the children of the Torrance branch. They performed a group dance and a fashion show. Some of them were shy, but did a very good job. Five children dressed up as Western cowboys. They won applause and laughter from the audience.

Sister Amy, the representative of the parents of the handicapped children, went to the stage with her baby. She talked about the long hardship of nine years of nurturing and caring for her handicapped child. She described how her child was able to take his first step with a walker under her persistent guidance. Her speech showed her motherly love.

Ms. Lin Mei-chun, former principal of the South Bay Chinese School, was in charge of auctioning off the paintings. The chief executive officer of the Tzu Chi US Branch, Mr. Stephen Huang, donated an amount equal to 40 hospital beds to the Disabled Children's Rehabilitation Center.

An anonymous donor wrote that her two sons had decided to donate their college tuition fee of US$100,000 to the rehabilitation center. They would get jobs to support their own college education.

"Great Love" Carnival for Kidney Dialysis Center

In order to raise funds to build the first Tzu Chi kidney dialysis center in Malaysia, a fund-raising event was held at the Han Chiang High School in Penang on January 12. With more than 160 stalls, it was the largest charity activity ever held in Penang.

Tzu Chi members from Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand, as well as members from more than 20 Buddhist organizations and other enterprises, went to the school at 5 a.m. to set up. At 9, they opened for business. Besides food, clothing and handicrafts, there were also stalls providing information about Taiwan, Chinese calligraphy, the Internet, and kidney diseases.

One member prepared more than 80 kg of fried noodles, and his friends were surprised that he was sold out by 11. There were also stage shows, including sign language and magic shows. The Malaysian police department sent over 60 team members to perform a drum show, martial arts, etc.

In order to reduce the amount of garbage and protect the environment, every person was told to bring his or her own cup and eating utensils.

Currently 1% of Malaysians have kidney problems. Kidney dialysis costs 2,000 ringgits [US$800] a month, which is quite a burden for poor patients. The center will be finished in April, and in its first stage it will provide 30 machines to serve the poor.

Typhoon in Malaysia

While Christmas bells were still ringing, Tropical Storm Greg tore into the state of Sabah, Malaysia, at 2 a.m. on December 26, 1996. It was the worst natural disaster in the last twenty years. It caused flooding in Keningau, about 100 km [62 miles] from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah. It was estimated that 500 houses were destroyed, 200 people were swept away by floods, and thousands of people were made homeless.

On the 28th, Tzu Chi members in Sabah went to the disaster relief center to receive more information, and Tzu Chi members in both Kuala Lumpur and Malacca went to meet Tzu Chi members in Kota Kinabalu to discuss how they could proceed with the relief program. The next day, they ordered boxes of mineral water.

From the 29th to the 31st, Tzu Chi members went to inspect the disaster area. They distributed 300 boxes of mineral water at temporary housing centers and more than 100 boxes of mineral water at a local hospital.

After the inspection, Tzu Chi decided to focus on the village of Kampung Karabunai. All the houses there had been built of wood, and most of them had been either totally or partially destroyed by the tempest. Despite the destruction, no villagers were injured.