| Tzu Chi Events Around the World | ||||||||||||||||
The United States Over 30 tornadoes ripped through six midwestern and southern U.S. states—Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee—on December 10 and 11, 2021. The storms left a trail of death and destruction in their wake. Tzu Chi USA responded by launching a series of aid distributions for victims in Missouri and Kentucky. Besides a cash card worth a thousand U.S. dollars for each recipient family, volunteers also prepared care packages containing blankets, scarves, face masks, and other items for distribution. In order for the distributions to take place before Christmas, the American Red Cross, which has worked with Tzu Chi USA for 13 years on disaster relief missions, compiled the recipient rosters at record speed. Two of the distributions were held in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 22 and 23. When Kathy O’Nan, the mayor of Mayfield, learned of Tzu Chi’s plans to help, she said: “Everybody’s been so generous, but this one just really hit me specially. . . . I am humbled; humbled to realize what you’re bringing to our community.” Richard Foley, a resident of Mayfield, came to the December 22 distribution. His home had sustained serious damage during the tornados and he lost his car as well. Despite that, he emphasized his gratitude to have survived the disaster, especially as so many lives had been lost. He recalled that scary day to Tzu Chi volunteers: “I looked up and the roof went and I could see the tornadoes.” Speaking of Tzu Chi’s aid, he said, choked with emotion, “It was a surprise and it gave me hope. . . . I needed help, and I really appreciated receiving it.” Steven Nelson, of the American Red Cross, commented that Tzu Chi was giving survivors a very gracious and necessary gift. He said that he could see the impact of the foundation’s help. “When many of them [survivors] are leaving the [distribution] centers, you can tell by the look in their faces that there were tears in their eyes. Your gift is very much appreciated.” Volunteers heard many heartrending stories during their distributions. A mother held her son tightly in her arms as the tornadoes hit, but their roof collapsed, killing her son on the spot; the mother herself was injured in her face and body. A household with 12 members lost their home and six family members to the tornadoes. Among the six family members who had survived was a 24-year-old daughter who had become paralyzed and would have to spend the rest of her life confined to bed. By December 24, 2021, Tzu Chi had helped 455 tornado-impacted families. While the tragedies that had occurred as a result of the disaster were deeply saddening, volunteers hoped that their sincere care and the foundation’s help could help lessen the suffering.
Chile Tzu Chi volunteers in Chile held an aid distribution for underserved families on November 7, 2021, at Liceo Carmela Carvajal de Prat, a girls’ high school in Providencia. A free eye clinic was conducted at the same time for students at the school. On the morning of November 7, forty-three volunteers worked together to unload and organize the food items to be distributed that day at the school. Among the volunteers were 12 students from the high school. Tzu Chi had held a distribution at the school in August 2021 for 200 needy households, and these students had helped that time too. They were all happy that they could take part in such meaningful activities. Some students at the school noticed that their myopia had worsened because of remote learning during the pandemic, prompting school administrators to ask Tzu Chi to conduct a free eye clinic at the school for underprivileged students. Prescription glasses were offered at the event, in addition to eye examinations. The clinic was staffed by members of the Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA). TIMA doctor Xu Zhe-zhang (許哲彰) saw 45 students that day. Isabel, a parent of one of the students, said of the free clinic: “This is a terrific activity. I don’t have a job now and cannot bring in any money for my family. I’m greatly thankful that my daughter could get a suitable pair of glasses here.” Two hundred families received food items that day. Like many other countries around the world, Chile has suffered from the impact of COVID-19. With no end to the pandemic in sight, volunteers hoped to help ease the financial burden of needy families.
Indonesia A road that Tzu Chi Indonesia repaired for the village of Simpak in Parung Panjang, Bogor, West Java, was inaugurated on December 5, 2021. According to Wiwih Kristanto, a resident of Simpak, people in the village used to have to take a mountain road to get to the township of Jagabaya. That road was difficult and dangerous to navigate at night. For everyone’s safety, Kristanto invited his fellow villagers in 2007 to chip in to build a new, different road to Jagabaya. Many villagers made a living by selling pastry in Jakarta, and the new road would make their trips there safer, so many contributed to the construction. With everyone’s help, the road was completed in 2008. Unfortunately, not enough money had been raised to build a high-quality road, and it wasn’t long before damage began to emerge. Motor scooters often slipped on its surface when it rained, and cars easily got stuck in muddy potholes. Villagers tried to fix what they could on their own, but their makeshift repairs didn’t improve the situation much. When Tzu Chi volunteers learned of the road’s poor condition, they decided to help by repairing the road to make it safer to travel. The project began on October 25, 2021. To make the new road more durable, the repairs were made with concrete reinforced with steel wire mesh. Two to four volunteers went to the village every day during the road’s construction to monitor the work and keep an eye on its progress. Some villagers helped monitor the work too and prepared drinks and snacks for the construction workers. Workers worked late each night to finish the repairs sooner. Villagers would also stay willingly into the night to keep an eye on the work. Wiwih Kristanto said of their participation: “We don’t mind staying up late to help out. Even being tired is worth it. Tzu Chi volunteers are helping to improve our lives by fixing the road. We must do what we can to help.” The repairs to the road, 700 meters (2,297 feet) long and two and a half meters (8.2 feet) wide, were finished on November 15, 2021. An inauguration ceremony was held on December 5 to mark the happy occasion. Polung is a pastry vendor who has to drive early every morning to Jakarta for his business. He said thankfully of Tzu Chi’s help: “I’m really grateful to Tzu Chi for repairing the road for us. This means a lot for vendors like me who often have to take the road when it is dark. The new road is smooth and even—a lot more comfortable and safer to travel on now.” Volunteers also distributed 131 bags of rice, each weighing ten kilograms (22 pounds), to villagers on the inauguration day. The distribution enhanced the joyous atmosphere of the occasion. The villagers’ smiles were the greatest reward volunteers could hope for on the happy day.
Serbia Tzu Chi volunteers in Europe distributed winter clothes to residents of four refugee camps in Serbia, from November 25 to 27, 2021. The four camps were in Obrenovac, Sid, Adaševci, and Krnjaca. To save transportation costs, the clothes given out were ordered and produced in Serbia. Even so, the cost of the clothing had increased because the pandemic had made it harder to obtain the materials necessary to produce the clothing. The manufacturer had originally intended to pass the higher prices on to Tzu Chi, but after they learned that the foundation was ordering the clothes for refugees, they lowered the prices. The volunteers had 1,000 winter jackets prepared for the distribution this time. The sizes included those for children as well as adults. On the morning of November 23, six volunteers from Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands traveled for nine hours across five countries before they arrived in Belgrade, Serbia, at 6:40 in the evening. They were joined by 17 more volunteers from Britain, Serbia, and Bosnia. One of the distributions was held on November 25 at the camp in Obrenovac. Samiullah Bahadari, 22, was from Afghanistan. He had arrived at the camp just three days earlier. His father had worked for the United States. Fearing for his own life after Taliban insurgents took control of Afghanistan, he decided to leave his home country. It took him three months to trek to Serbia. Tzu Chi volunteers felt for the plight of refugees like him. They hoped that the clothes they brought could warm not just their bodies but also their hearts. Quite a few refugees had broken their legs during their journeys to seek a better future for themselves. Volunteers were heartened when they saw that refugees lining up to receive their clothes let those who had broken their legs go first. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the number of refugees in the camps that volunteers visited hadn’t decreased. The pandemic had affected everyone’s life, and the refugees must have felt its impact, too. Volunteers prayed that the pandemic would pass soon. They also prayed for world peace so that there would be fewer suffering people in the world. Tzu Chi volunteers started distributing clothes to refugees in Serbia in 2016. Though their work was interrupted for a time by the pandemic, this was the second time in 2021 they visited Serbia to help refugees. Their first trip was made in the summer for the distribution of summer clothes. Volunteers also gave out cards printed with the contact information of Tzu Chi offices in Europe during the latest distributions so that refugees could seek the foundation’s help where and when they needed it.
New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, went into lockdown in mid-August 2021 as it began fighting an outbreak of the Delta variant. The lockdown wasn’t lifted until early December 2021, after more than 100 days of severe restrictions. To help ease the impact of the lockdown on the vulnerable, local Tzu Chi volunteers responded by distributing food aid to those in need. Volunteers gave out 255 packages of food and other daily necessities over three days in late October and November alone. Nearly 20 items of food and other necessities were prepared for each family who came to the distributions. Participants registered online to receive aid. They were also required to provide their license plate numbers for volunteers to identify them on the day they received their aid package. The events were conducted in a drive-through fashion to prevent the spread of COVID-19. One hundred and twenty-five families had signed up online for the October 30 distribution, but only 83 showed up, 42 fewer families than expected. In a meeting afterwards, volunteers decided to email those households that didn’t show up to find out why. Some families responded that they had forgotten about the distribution or gotten the dates wrong; others said they had fallen ill or had had to take care of an emergency. Volunteers brainstormed how to increase attendance and decided they’d email families three days before the following distributions to remind them to come, followed by a text message reminder one day before the events. If they still didn’t show up on the designated day, volunteers phoned them on their cell phones. The volunteers’ efforts paid off: the attendance rates for the following distributions increased considerably. One recipient told volunteers at the November 27 distribution that the latest outbreak had made her life very difficult. That day was the third time she had received food aid from Tzu Chi. She said she didn’t know what she would have done without Tzu Chi’s help. When she learned from volunteers that the foundation was mostly funded by small donations from its donating members, she said, visibly moved, “Thank you for pooling together people’s small donations to help those experiencing a rough patch in their lives.”
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