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A volunteer holds the hands of an aid recipient during a relief distribution for flood victims in Elkview, West Virginia. Photo by Qiu Bo-nian
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USA
On June 23, 2016, thunderstorms brought torrential rain to West Virginia, resulting in such severe flooding that the U.S. weather service called it a “one in a thousand year event.” In the wake of the floods, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency in 44 of the state’s 55 counties.
To tackle the large-scale disaster, over 130 Tzu Chi volunteers from New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. joined forces to deliver aid to victims. Elkview was one of the worst-hit areas, so the volunteers held a distribution there first, at the Elkview Baptist Church, on July 16.
The distribution was set to start at 9:30 a.m., but some victims started to arrive as early as 6:30. By nine, the plaza outside the church was crowded with people. The local Red Cross had done a good job spreading the word.
The distribution began with Sister Guo Lu Yue (郭慮悅) thanking Elkview residents for giving Tzu Chi volunteers the chance to serve them. Then the song “God Bless America” was played, accompanied by a sign language performance by Tzu Chi volunteers.
Erica Mani, chief executive officer of the Red Cross West Virginia region, spoke to the gathering. She thanked Tzu Chi for its assistance. She pointed out that the collaboration between Red Cross and Tzu Chi allowed for the best assistance to be delivered to the victims. She also mentioned that the way the two organizations complimented each other could allow her organization to achieve goals that had been difficult to achieve in the past.
Some mothers came with their children, so volunteers helped look after the children, freeing the mothers to line up, fill out information, and receive debit cards from the foundation.
One elderly couple came to the distribution together. Morris Dean, 85, and his wife had just celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary the day before the floods. Mrs. Dean could not walk very well, so Morris carefully guided her along. Volunteers accompanied the couple throughout the process, giving them any help they required. Their thoughtfulness warmed the couple’s hearts.
Michael and Lora Mullins told volunteers that the floods came very quickly. When the water at their house reached a depth of six feet, their family of three climbed into their canoe and rowed away. The couple took the volunteers to see their house. Their basement was completely under water, and everything there was ruined.
Their house was near the Elk River. All the other houses nearby were submerged too, forcing many people to abandon their homes. Many of those people were not financially able to rebuild their homes, so they moved away. Seeing many neighbors they had known for years leave the place, Lora Mullins was rather upset.
Despite going through a difficult time, many aid recipients still hoped to help others. After learning from Tzu Chi volunteers how the foundation had started with small donations from housewives, many victims took home coin banks in which they could save money to help the needy. Some even joined the “Power of Five” program whereby they would donate five dollars a month to Tzu Chi to help the needy in countries such as South Africa and Haiti.
By the end of the day, volunteers had given out $166,900 to 377 families. They also gave their best wishes to the victims, hoping that they would soon get back on their feet.
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Despite damage to their houses, many people were still willing to help others. Many flood victims in Elkview took home coin banks in which they could save money to help the needy. Photo by Qiu Bo-nian
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Indonesia
H. Harnojoyo is the mayor of Palembang, the second largest city on the island of Sumatra. He visited Tzu Chi Jing Si Hall in Jakarta in November 2015. His purpose was to ask Tzu Chi to help rebuild houses in his city for needy families living in deplorable conditions. Tzu Chi agreed to help rebuild a hundred homes. The first phase of the project consisted of building 17 houses in 13 Ilir, a neighborhood in the city where many people lived in rundown houses.
Sister Like Hermansyah (王惠嬌) led a team of volunteers to the neighborhood to explain to residents Tzu Chi’s reconstruction plans. Interested residents were advised to have the title documents for their land and homes ready so they could sign up for the project. After the meeting, the volunteers went with local officials to see homes in the neighborhood.
On April 26, 2016, residents selected for the project signed contracts with Tzu Chi to participate.
M. Marham’s old house burned down in 2012. After that, he and his family could only rent a shabby, tiny house across from his old house. The rented house, about two by six meters (130 square feet), did not have enough space for his family of five. “The house was so small that even moving about was an inconvenience,” said Marham. They really wished for a better, bigger house in which to live.
Marham is a carpenter, making about 125,000 rupiah (US$9) a day. His wages could barely cover daily expenses, tuition for three children, and the rent, let alone allow them to save for their dream of a better house. Fortunately, he was one of the 17 recipients selected for the first phase of the rebuilding. He volunteered to help build his home, and in just 30 days his new house was completed. He and his family could now move into their new house before Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Marham’s wife, Yulianawati, repeated what their children had kept yelling: “Mom, we can celebrate Eid-al-Fitr in our new home!”
Tzu Chi held a turnover ceremony for the 17 houses on July 4. Marham expressed his gratitude to Tzu Chi on behalf of his family. By helping out during the construction of his home, he had learned the beauty of mutual assistance.
From his experience with Tzu Chi, Marham realized that it was not difficult to help other people. Although he was not rich, he was still able to help. He poured out the coins from his coin bank to donate to the foundation, saying that he hoped his modest donation could help someone realize his dream, just as Tzu Chi had helped him.
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Yulianwati on the small plot of land where her family's old house used to stand before it burned down. Photo by Metta Wulandari |
Great Britain
On July 9, Tzu Chi volunteers from Manchester visited the Abbotsford Nursing Home to spend time with the residents, celebrate a birthday, and cook lunch for them. Tzu Chi volunteers Chen Chiou Hwa (陳秋華) and Hana Sabat from Jordan happened to be on a business trip to Manchester, so they joined the other volunteers and offered their help at the nursing home.
Despite a heavy downpour in the morning, the volunteers’ enthusiasm was not dampened. They arrived at the nursing home at 10:00 and split into two teams to carry out their tasks.
One team went to the kitchen to prepare a hot lunch. The other team went to chat with the elderly and to lead group activities. There were many elderly Chinese people in the nursing home, and they all loved to hear old songs, so the volunteers sang favorite oldies for them. They also sang English folk songs and nursery rhymes for the European seniors in another section of the home.
The volunteers also brought a cake for the birthday of a resident. He was surprised and delighted to see it. Smiling, he read out loud from the birthday card containing the volunteers’ best wishes for him.
At lunchtime, the volunteers served lunch for the residents and the staff of the nursing home. Everyone had an enjoyable meal. The residents were all getting on in years, so the volunteers cherished every chance to spend time with them.
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Tzu Chi volunteers amuse elderly residents at the Abbotsford Nursing Home in Manchester. Photo by Wang Su-zhen |
Brazil
The Brazil Tzu Chi office held a free clinic on July 17 to celebrate its 24th anniversary. Health talks were given at that time to help people learn how to take better care of their health.
The office began bustling early in the morning with all the people who were there to receive treatment and the extra volunteers to serve them. Volunteers first took attendees’ blood pressure and blood sugar and then passed them on to see doctors. Services offered included ophthalmology, dentistry, dermatology, gynecology, ENT, internal medicine, and Chinese medicine.
Dr. Lin Yu-zhuang (林育壯) (gave a lecture on Alzheimer’s disease and its prevention. He suggested that people keep learning new things, exercise, interact with other people, and listen to light music to help stimulate their brains. There were also talks on the prevention of cardiovascular and urological diseases. Dr. Zhou Guo-ji (周國驥) used a lot of slides to explain the serious consequences of blood vessel blockages and ruptures, and he urged everyone to watch their diet for the sake of their hearts.
Lin Ji Xing (林濟幸), CEO of Tzu Chi Brazil, thanked the local Chinese community for making donations or getting personally involved with Tzu Chi to help the needy in Brazil. One service Tzu Chi provides, for example, is distributing glasses to people who cannot afford them. Because of this service, many people have been able to see clearly again, which has improved the quality of their lives.
Su Ju-chu (蘇鉅初) donated on behalf of Rotary International a notebook computer, an electrocardiography monitor, three blood pressure gauges, two blood glucose meters, and two boxes of blood glucose test strips to the Tzu Chi office. He commended Tzu Chi volunteers for their unselfish dedication to those in need.
Seventeen physicians served 595 patient visits that day. Tzu Chi Brazil started its free clinic service in 1995. Its medical team has since served 165,800 patient visits in more than 20 towns.
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People line up to register at a free clinic sponsored by the Tzu Chi office in Brazil in honor of its 24th anniversary. Photo by Zeng Qiu-qin |
Guatemala
On July 2, eight Tzu Chi volunteers left Guatemala City, the national capital, at seven in the morning and traveled for two hours to San Agustin Acasaguastlán, a municipality in the El Progreso department. The purpose of the trip was to hold two distributions.
Their first stop was the Centro de Atención Nacional al Adulto Mayor “Mi Dulce Refugio,” a nursing home for the elderly. Volunteers first gave out modeling balloons to the residents, hoping to bring some cheer to the elderly people there and remind them of happy times from their childhoods.
When the volunteers had lined up the relief supplies, a short ceremony followed. Sulma Ramirez, a nursing home representative, introduced Tzu Chi to the residents. Then volunteers performed a Tzu Chi song accompanied by hand gestures. Their performance drew warm applause from the residents and livened up the occasion.
The volunteers donated black beans, oatmeal, sugar, cooking oil, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and diapers. They also brought small gifts for the residents.
After visiting the nursing home, the volunteers traveled to the Tzu Chi Community Children’s Center, which was built with money raised by the local Chinese community and donated to the local government in 2003. Currently the center has two teachers, four nannies, and 40 children from needy families.
Twenty-six parents came for the event, so the activity was held outdoors to accommodate so many people. After a simple ceremony, the volunteers presented backpacks, crayons, coloring books, and potato chips to the children. They also donated black beans, oatmeal, sugar, cooking oil, rice, and laundry detergent to the center. The teaching staff and parents also received goods from the volunteers.
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Guatemalan children line up to receive backpacks and other supplies. Photo by Huang Yu-hua |
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