20150324祈甘霖．護人間 Helping Those in Need with Love
Yesterday, it rained in northern Taiwan, but the rain didn't fall in areas where reservoirs are. Although rainmaking operations were carried out, it didn't \bring enough rain to relieve the drought in Taiwan. so, we still need to pray sincerely for timely rain in areas worst-hit by the drought so the water shortage in Taiwan can be eased soon. We truly need to pray for the weather to be favorable. when the weather is unfavorable and a disaster occurs, it takes much time and effort for areas affected to recover.
Take for example Vanuatu, which was hit by a cyclone early this month. Now, the U.N. World food Programe is supplementing the government's food aid to those affected in the next two weeks. But, with over 160,000 people being affected, can the food feed them all? This is an example of how people will suffer when there's a disaster. Apart from natural disasters, there's also the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, including Sierra Leone. since the end of last year, we've been thinking about how we can help Sierra Leone. Now, the chance has come.
There is a Mr. Fomba who immigrated from Sierra Leone to the U.S. when he was a child. After the Ebola outbreak in his home country, he learned that Tzu Chi was eager to help, but Tzu Chi has no volunteers in Sierra Leone. So, over half a month ago, he accompanied members of Healey International Relief Foundation to Hualien where HIRF and Tzu Chi signed an MOU to help Sierra Leone together. That day, Mr. Fomba assured me that he'd personally deliver all of our aid supplies to those in need of them.
I also reminded him to visit institutions caring for Ebola patients to assess their needs first because we didn't have many supe hoped to give them to those who were most in need of them I heard that he visited nine health clinics and social welfare agencies, and from March 18 to 20, he worked with HIRF and Caritas Freetown Foundation to deliver aid supplies to them.
He went to these clinics and agencies one by one and gave them our portable beds, instant rice, and blankets HIRF also provided some medical supplies, such as stethoscopes, etc., which they also gave out to these places. While giving out these aid supplies, some wore our volunteer vests. See, Tzu Chi is now present in Sierra Leone. Let us pray sincerely for the people in Sierra Leone. May the Ebola outbreak be contained quickly and those affected regain their health soon.
We also see our recycling volunteers. They not only safeguard the Earth and protect the environment, but also help those in need they come across. Through doing recycling work, they saw that many recyclables were thrown away. Take for example the protective sleeves for fruits. As people always pick fruits that are not bruised, farmers have to protect their fruits. In the past, they used paper to wrap their fruits, but now they use Styrofoam protective sleeves and plastic bags. As no one collects Styrofoam and plastic bags, our volunteers go to collect them every day.
There are also clothes hangers, which take much effort to recycle as some are made of both plastic and metal and our volunteers have to hammer apart the metal hooks from the plastic triangle parts so plastic and metal can be recycled separately.
This is how carefully they recycle to assure the quality of recyclables. We also see our recycling volunteer, Su-qin. She's been doing recycling for over ten years. She collects things that no one wants to collect, such as plastic bags and protective sleeves for fruits. After collecting them, she still has to clean and dry them, which takes much time and effort. But she still does it to ensure the quality of her recyclables. Through recycling, she met Li-hua, a waste picker.
She's physically challenged, but she collects recyclables for a living I feel for her, so I want to help her. She collects cardboards and I collect plastics. So, we help each other. We're friends. We work together to care for the Earth. See what I've got. There are recyclables everywhere. Open your eyes big and wide. Hello, any plastic bags today? Do you want to keep the bag? There are cardboards there. See, there's a beer can here. Open your eyes big and wide.
See how loving and sincere she is to Li-hua. She even told her to open her eyes big and wide. She is really very compassionate and loving to those around her. There is also a 91-year-old grandma who is also a waste picker. She keeps her recyclables at home, so her house was packed with recyclables. So, our volunteers offered to clean up her house. Altogether, they cleaned out four trucks of garbage and recyclables. Having sold the recyclables, they gave the money to the grandma.
After the cleanup, her house looks very clean and tidy. they also gave her a second-hand bed. The grandma was very happy.
I'm 91, but I've never slept on such a comfortable bed.
When our recycling volunteers come across waste pickers who are in need of aid, they'll do everything they can to help them and care for them regularly. Every year, they care for over 2,000 waste pickers in need. Such love and harmony between people is very heartwarming. This is how we can sow blessings for our world and turn it into a pure land on earth. So, we must know more about our work. Only then can we share it with more people. All this requires everyone's mindful dedication.
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