ENVELOPING THE WORLD WITH GREAT LOVE

Long-term war in Afghanistan impoverished certain regions. Bamiyan Province, situated in the highlands, is one such place. The five or six million people residing in the area depend entirely on neighboring provinces such as Takhar for medical care and daily necessities. On February 4, 1998, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale shook Takhar, killing five thousand people and making thirty thousand people homeless. Bamiyan was left with no outside aid whatsoever.

In February and May the same year, Tzu Chi worked with Knightsbridge International to deliver antibiotics and other medicines to Bamiyan, enough for at least thirteen thousand people. A generator was donated to a local school, and twenty-four stethoscopes were given to a local clinic and the medical department of the University of Bamiyan.

The executive officer of this relief operation, Hsieh Ching-kui, told of an incident which impressed him deeply. In a small rural clinic established by a Belgian missionary, all the foreign medical staff had left to avoid the perils of war. Only a doctor and her husband had stayed behind. For six months they had gone unpaid and unaided, hanging in there to serve the locals. Said Hsieh. "Because of the existence of such people, our bringing medicines from thousands of miles away gains more significance: no longer is the act simply the conveyance of goods, but it becomes the expression of care, respect, moral support and encouragement for their courage and perseverance."

Edward A. Artis of Knightsbridge International was in charge of delivering the medicines to Bamiyan. He remembered that when the plane touched down on a snow-covered mountain 9,500 feet high, it was in extremely foggy weather and on a runway that had been cleared overnight by residents with their bare hands. It was evident how pressing the need was for outside aid. Artis remarked. "The relief operation in Afghanistan was executed by an American Christian organization, who distributed relief items provided by a Buddhist organization from Taiwan, for the purpose of helping victims in a Muslim country. It was indeed a manifestation of Great Love that transcended borders and religions."

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