| Tzu Chi Events Around the World | ||||||||
Portugal After forest fires ravaged central and northern Portugal in June and October 2017, Pedro Alves, a deputy at the Portuguese national parliament, requested assistance from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC), Lisbon, the equivalent of Taiwan’s embassy in Lisbon. In response, Representative (Ambassador) Raymond L. S. Wang (王樂生) wrote two letters to the Tzu Chi Foundation headquarters in Taiwan requesting aid for fire victims. With the help of Ambassador Wang, Tzu Chi volunteers from France, England, and the United States went to Portugal in early December 2017 to survey the damage, visit victims, and talk to government officials. The victims of the forest fires were mostly farmers. Their farms, implements, and livestock—things that they needed to make a living—had gone up in flames. After the visits, the volunteers decided to distribute gift vouchers, which the recipients could use to pay for daily necessities and implements. With the assistance of local governments and the TECC, the foundation obtained a list of victims and began to plan and prepare for distributions in Portugal. On February 24 and 25, 2018, 68 volunteers from Germany, England, France, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, the United States, and Portugal held three distributions for 492 affected families in Tondela and Vouzela. Four volunteers licensed to practice medicine in the European Union provided health consultations on site. Ambassador Wang took part in all three distributions. He pointed out that though Portugal and Taiwan were geographically very far apart, the distributions had brought the countries much closer, thanks to Tzu Chi volunteers and donors.
Vietnam Tzu Chi Vietnam has awarded scholarships to students from impoverished families in District Nine of Ho Chi Minh City twice a year since 2009. The award ceremony for the latest round of scholarships, for more than 550 students, was held on January 14, 2018, at Phuoc Binh Secondary School. A distribution of daily goods was held at the same time for the students and their families. Eighty-five volunteers worked together at the ceremony to serve the attendees. As people began to arrive, volunteers lined up at the entrance, singing and clapping to welcome everyone. Other volunteers helped students sign in, and then guided them to their seats in the auditorium. Many students had brought their coin banks to donate to Tzu Chi. Volunteers gave each of them a pen as a token of appreciation. Parents sat in a separate area, entertained by other volunteers. During the ceremony, volunteers talked about the importance of environmental protection and promoted recycling, which is an important part of the work of Tzu Chi. They also introduced how the foundation began and explained that the donations to the foundation come from many good-hearted people. After the students were awarded the scholarships and were leaving the auditorium, volunteers gave each of the students a coin bank to encourage them to save money to help the needy. Next, students picked up their distribution goods, including cooking oil, noodles, and rice. Because each sack of rice weighed 10 kilograms and was heavy for some smaller children, volunteers helped carry the rice to the children’s parents. Le Nha Thanh, one of the scholarship recipients, is a tenth grader. She said that she drops money into her coin bank when she wakes up every morning. Doing that makes her happy. It allows her to help needy people and become more frugal in the process. Duong Nguyen Khoa, a sophomore at a teachers college, said that Tzu Chi has helped him for five years and that the scholarships have reduced the burden on his parents. As a beneficiary of other people’s kind-hearted help, he will do his best to help those in need after he graduates.
Paraguay Hogar de Anciano San Agustin is a nursing home in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Forty-three seniors currently live there and are cared for by three sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict. The nursing home receives no funding from the government; all of its operating funds come from charities and kind individuals. Tzu Chi volunteers learned from Sister Maria of the nursing home that the three sisters were spread thin taking care of the seniors, and so they wanted to do something to help. On January 28, 18 volunteers visited the nursing home to serve the residents and give the sisters some relief. Sister Maria asked the volunteers if they could help cut the residents’ fingernails and shave male residents. Volunteers happily set to work. For the event, Cai Min-wei (蔡敏薇) said she searched the internet for tips on how to shave elderly people. She hoped she could one day shave her own grandfather in Xiamen, China. Volunteer Zhang Min (張敏), who once suffered from depression, said that she liked to participate in Tzu Chi events. She massaged some residents and trimmed their fingernails on this day. She was happy she could bring some cheer to the older people. Volunteers also put on a song and dance performance and led residents in exercises. The group donated four bathroom wheelchairs, 51 boxes of medicine, 200 kilograms of vegetables, and 400 adult diapers to the nursing home on this visit. They also agreed to pay for some repair work to the facility.
Thailand Tzu Chi volunteers in Bangkok hold a monthly distribution of goods and financial aid for care recipients. At the distribution on January 7, volunteers also celebrated the upcoming Children’s Day with the children of care recipients. Volunteers rented vehicles, as they do every month, to bring attendees to the venue at the Bangkok Jing Si Hall. The event soon kicked into high gear as volunteers led participants in group activities and games. Gifts, including toys, school supplies, daily goods, and even bicycles, were awarded as part of the fun and games. People young and old were in high spirits as they participated in the activities. After all the gifts had been given out, volunteers brought out delicious Thai dishes for the attendees to enjoy. The people who had prepared the food, consisting of Tzu Chi volunteers and care recipients, were invited to line up at the venue to receive thanks from other participants. Volunteers and care recipients alike called out “Thank you” in gratitude. Sarai, one of the care recipients, said that Tzu Chi has helped her family for 19 years. Her husband is ill and cannot work, so she does odd jobs to scrape together a living. Without the foundation’s help, she wouldn’t have been able to afford her husband’s medical bills. She referred particularly to her husband’s cataract surgery, which the foundation had paid for. Once his eyesight was restored and he could care for himself, she could go out and work with an easier mind. Sarai liked coming to the monthly event. Participating in the cheerful activities each month allowed her to temporarily forget her worries and cares. Seventy-eight-year-old Jamnian, sitting in a wheelchair, watched people dance with a smile on her face. Even though she could only sit and watch people dance, she was happy and content. She and her husband, who collect and sell recyclable garbage for a living, have received care from Tzu Chi since 2006. They do not have children, but Jamnian said they were not lonely because the volunteers were like their children. She enjoyed meeting people each month at the event. Tzu Chi volunteers in Thailand will continue to bring love and relief to needy people and help brighten their worlds.
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