At the end of January 1999, thirty containers of clothes and food reached North Korea.

Some areas in North Korea have experienced continuous shortages of food and necessities, and lives were made even more miserable by sub-freezing winter weather. Tzu Chi sent 724,000 pieces of winter clothing, 22,440 cans of cream, and 7,200 cans of vegetables to the victims. In Taiwan, 215 Tzu Chi members spent three days loading the goods into containers for shipment.

Children of Chernobyl

In 1986, an accident at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, caused a massive radiation leak, which brought untold harm to people living nearby. Kiev District Hospital for Children has been treating some of the children injured in the accident. However, with temperatures dipping to -15 degrees Celsius [5 F], the hospital did not have enough blankets, clothes or basic medicines for the children.

Penny Ziakas has been soliciting help from various charity groups in Australia for these children. She remarked that even if these innocent children had to die, they ought to die with dignity, not like neglected animals.

Tzu Chi members in Melbourne, Australia, heard about the situation from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Melbourne. On November 8, 1998, they held a news conference and asked the public for help. They collected a total of AUD$29,000 [US$18,241] to purchase needed medicine.

On November 18, collected goods worth a total of AUD$300,000 [US$191,226] donated by various Australian organizations were delivered to the hospital. Tzu Chi members in Melbourne will continue to send more goods to assist these hospitalized children.

Santa Claus in the US

This last winter was extremely cold. Tzu Chi members in various parts of the United States distributed presents to provide a warmer winter for the poor and the homeless.

From December 19 to 21, the Tzu Chi US branch provided quilts, winter clothes, raincoats, and daily necessities to 1,500 low-income families. In San Bernardino, the Tzu Chi Free Clinic also held a free clinic for people who received goods there.

Members in Los Angeles dressed up as Santa Claus and handed out goods in the city hall. Many homeless and low-income people lined up to choose the clothes they desired.

The temperature in New York on December 19 was close to freezing. In Chinatown, 900 homeless and low-income people gathered to receive winter clothes, quilts, blankets and gloves from New York Tzu Chi members. One homeless person carrying a load of presents said to a volunteer, "Each one of you is so modest, and that makes me feel very warm."

In Oakland, northern California, Tzu Chi members held a winter relief distribution on December 12. One 82-year-old Mexican woman was delighted when she discovered that the presents she received included blankets, daily goods and Christmas gifts for her seven grandchildren.

Earthquake in Columbia

On January 25, Columbia suffered a major earthquake, measuring six on the Richter scale, which killed or injured hundreds of people. Tzu Chi dispatched an inspection team on January 29 and provided 280 emergency medical packs to victims.

The team went again on February 8 to re-evaluate conditions and discovered that in the cities of Armenia and Calarca, more than 85% of buildings had been flattened or damaged, with many bodies still buried under the rubble. Furthermore, the disaster areas still lacked drinking water, electricity, food and medicine, and residents had to use plastic sheets or tents as temporary shelters. The team decided that the town of Circasia near Armenia and the communities of San Jose and Simon Bolivar near Calarca were the areas most in need of help. Tzu Chi provided red beans, rice, sugar, salt, corn powder and cooking oil.

In Calarca, Tzu Chi also erected 154 temporary homes in which victims can stay until the government helps them rebuild their homes. Each of the temporary homes covers about 16 square meters [173 sq ft] and costs US$100. In addition, Tzu chi is also constructing public kitchens, bathrooms and roads.

Floods in Malaysia

November is the rainy season in Malaysia, but last November two straight days of rainstorms in northern Malaysia caused serious flooding. The Krian River, bordering Perak and Kedah states, overflowed and flooded surrounding houses and farmlands. The Krian district in Perak state had the most serious flooding in years. Forty villages in the state of Kedah were submerged and more than 6,000 residents were evacuated to an emergency shelter.

When Tzu Chi members first attempted to enter the area on November 23, they found the area closed by the government because of the serious conditions. They went again on December 3 and found that many areas were still underwater. They went to the emergency shelter to console the victims and to ask about their needs. The next day, the members again went to the emergency shelter to distribute emergency cash and goods to help the flood victims get through the crisis.

Third Anniversary in Long Island

After three years of hard work, the Tzu Chi Long Island liaison office has more than 900 members, including 12 commissioners and Tzu Cheng Faith Corps members. On November 8, 1998, Tzu Chi members celebrated both the third anniversary and the opening of their new office.

On that special day, more than 100 guests filled the new office space. Master Cheng Yen also sent a wire to congratulate the opening of the new office, and she encouraged members to join hands and invite more people to participate in their good deeds.

More than 200 Tzu Chi members from other parts of the world also arrived for the celebration. Brother Ke Chi-sheh, head of the liaison office, had just come back from a relief mission to the Dominican Republic. He said that he hoped everyone could cherish the wonderful life they had and could give more to assist those in need. He also hoped that the Tzu Chi spirit could spread to all of Long Island, and that more people could join in doing good deeds.

Currently, members of the Tzu Chi Long Island liaison office prepare meals for the homeless and visit hospital patients, among other activities.

The liaison office can be contacted at:

17 Barstow Road, Suite 310
Great Neck, NY 11021
Phone: (516) 466-1804
Fax: (516) 466-1756

The Hundredth Marrow Donation

On January 15, Tzu Chi Hospital successfully extracted marrow from its hundredth marrow donor. A representative of the Tzu Chi Marrow Donor Registry delivered it to Chechiang province, mainland China. This was also the sixth transplant to mainland China.

In the past few years, more and more mainland Chinese patients with blood diseases have sought marrow donations from Taiwan.

The Tzu Chi Marrow Donor Registry was established in October 1993 at the request of the Taiwanese Department of Health. Over 170,000 voluntary donors have registered with the data bank.

Marrow Donation in the US

On January 26, the Tzu Chi USA Marrow Donor Registry helped arrange another marrow transplant at the City of Hope medical center near Los Angeles. This was the 103rd case of a non-relative transplant arranged by Tzu Chi, including operations carried out in Taiwan and abroad. Transplants done overseas include those in the United States, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China.

Alice Li, deputy director of the Tzu Chi USA Marrow Donor Registry, remarked that they have been promoting marrow donation since 1996 in the United States, and they currently have over 6,000 marrow donors registered.

This particular transplant was full of complications. First, when the hospital was ready to kill the recipient's cancerous marrow on October 13 last year, the recipient suddenly developed a liver illness, so the operation was postponed until December. Then on December 7, the marrow donor was discovered to have fewer white blood cells than normal, so the donor had to wait for the cell count to rise again to the normal level. The donor was further in and out of the hospital seven times because of various medical problems. It was not until January 26 this year that both the patient and the donor were physically fit for the transplant and the operation was able to go ahead.

Chinese New Year Celebrations in Malaysia

The Tzu Chi liaison office in Kuala Lumpur held its Chinese New Year relief distribution to the poor on February 7, with more than 120 needy families attending the event. Tzu Chi members distributed money, cooking oil, cakes, biscuits and oranges to these needy families. On this special day, meals and entertainment were also prepared for these families. Tzu Chi members and Youth Corps members also went from table to table to chat with the guests. One person, who had been paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident, also sang a song onstage.

In Malacca, more than 200 Tzu Chi members prepared the distribution, which was held on January 31. More than 350 needy families attended, with the help of volunteers who drove them to the site.

Ten volunteers were busy giving free haircuts. These were in high demand due to the approaching Chinese New Year. The liaison office also arranged for two traditional Chinese doctors and three Western medicine doctors to provide a free clinic.