慈濟傳播人文志業基金會
A Thousand Wool Caps

When rescue workers are dressed warmly, they have more energy to work. But it was the long Chinese New Year holiday, and all the shops and factories were closed. Where could they get some knit wool caps? With her desire to help others, Lin Xiu-qing got the courage to make a few phone calls.

Photo by Guo Ming-juan

At 3:57 in the morning of February 6, 2016, when most people were still sound asleep, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan. After a fit of violent shaking, many buildings collapsed, tilted, or suffered other damage. The most devastating damage occurred when a 16-story residential complex collapsed in Yongkang, Tainan.

While rescue workers rushed to save lives, Tzu Chi volunteers also quickly mobilized to provide assistance. Lin Xiu-qing (林秀卿) lives in Yongkang. She hopped on her motor scooter soon after the disaster and drove directly to a Tzu Chi service center set up near the collapsed building complex.

“Shortly after I arrived, a rescue worker came up to me and asked for some bananas,” Lin said. The peculiar request stunned her for a moment. Not sure what to do, she looked around for help and saw other volunteers bustling about, each busy with their task. She decided to write the request down, along with other requests she would receive, to make sure she remembered to fulfill them. She pondered at the same time whether people might donate bananas later.

Sure enough, just a short while later, a man showed up at the service center and asked, “Is there anything I can donate to help out?” Lin told him about the request for bananas. It wasn’t long before several bunches of the fruit appeared before her.

People continued to drop by the service center throughout that day with requests for Band-Aids, bottled water, surgical masks, etc. As if by magic, those requests were quickly fulfilled one way or another. Lin felt as if she were being aided by Guan Yin, the bodhisattva with a thousand eyes to see the suffering in the world and a thousand hands to reach out and help.

The day soon passed and night arrived. Lin suddenly glimpsed a knit wool cap someone had left behind on a table at the service center. She used to sell textile products, and she knew that type of head covering was warm and light, just perfect for rescue workers to wear in frigid weather as they worked outdoors saving lives.

She thought of a supplier, a man named Chen, from whom she had once bought this kind of cap and whom she hadn’t contacted in a long time. It was ten already, but as the temperature dropped in the night, Lin decided to call him and place an order. Chen answered the phone, which he usually didn’t do after nine p.m. After hearing what Lin said, he generously promised to supply over a hundred of them free of charge to be given out to rescue workers. Lin was overjoyed. They arrived a short while later, and many rescue workers who had heard the news came by to ask for one. In under an hour, all the caps were gone.

Lin though to herself, “There should still be a lot of rescue workers at the disaster site that could use one.” She had learned that Chen’s business had not been doing well recently, but she knew that if she called him again to ask for more caps, he would refuse to accept any payment. That really left her in a dilemma.

“The weather is so bad. The rescue workers must keep warm so that they can have enough energy to save lives. But it’s late. Where can I find another supplier?” After debating with herself for a while, Lin rounded up her courage and called Chen again.

It was nearly 11 by then, but Chen did not mind being disturbed again. He insisted on donating over 200 more wool caps. Then on the following morning, February 7, after receiving another phone call from Lin, he made another donation of over 300 caps.

Several new batches of rescue workers from other areas of Taiwan arrived at the disaster site the next day. It was still very chilly at night. It was Chinese New Year Day, and most businesses were still closed for the long holiday. With no one else to turn to, Lin called Chen yet again. Amazingly, he again responded to her request cheerfully: “Thank you for allowing me to do another good deed and form good affinities with people on the very first day of a new year. Thank you!” Lin was adamant about paying this time, but Chen would not hear of it. In the end, he donated a total of 1,100 knit wool caps.

During unfortunate times, the love of people shines especially brightly through the gloom.

Rescue workers rush to save lives trapped under a collapsed building.  Photo by Huang Xiao-zhe

 

Summer 2016