20131213悲智雙運廣無邊 Giving with Immeasurable Love and Compassion
In times of peace and safety, we should be very content. In addition, we should be very grateful.
Look at those tents in the refugee camps in Lebanon. Can they withstand the snow storm? Actually, they can’t. Everything is literally covered in know and it’s freezing cold.
In Amman, Jordan, many Syrian refugees, adults and children alike, can’t stand the freezing cold anymore. So, some even sold their food vouchers and used the money to buy firewood to burn for heat. Their suffering is truly unspeakable.
Also in Jordan, see Tzu Chi volunteers holding a Year-end Blessings Ceremony for Syrian refugees and giving out aid to them.
Our volunteers also told them about the disaster in the Philippines. Although there are refugees, learning of the plight of the typhoon survivors in the Philippines, they felt for them. So, they also made donations to help the people in the Philippines.
We also see a woman in Indonesia who has been scavenging for a living for over 30 years. But, learning of the disaster in the Philippines, her heart went out to those who have lost everything overnight and are living in fear and anguish.
‘My kid said Tzu Chi is raising fund for the typhoon survivors in the Philippines. I told them we should help, too. The monetary aid we’ve received from Tzu Chi is much more than the money I donated’
See, although she is poor materially, she is very rich spiritually. Abundance comes when we give with the love in our hearts.
It’s been a month since Tzu Chi volunteers set foot in the typhoon-stricken areas in the Philippines. The locals are very grateful for our help, such as the cash-for-work program.
They shared with us that the money and supplies we gave them will be used up one day, but the loving care and emotional strength they’ve received from us has given them great strength and helped them recover both physically and emotionally in a short period of time.
Their hope for life, hope for tomorrow, and hope for the future all come from the love of Tzu Chi volunteers. See how immeasurable Tzu Chi volunteers’ love is.
The cash-for-work program we’d launched in Tacloban uplifted the locals’ spirits and put a smile back on their faces. And the whole city all came back to life.
Every day, there were many trucks, bulldozers, backhoes, etc. working in the city. It truly was a big undertaking. All this heavy equipment had to be shipped there by a cargo ship.
‘The captain knew this is for the relief work.’
‘This is the second trip, so he put up the Tzu Chi flag we gave him. See, it’s indeed a Tzu Chi Dharma ship’
With so much heavy equipment, the cargo ship had to make two trips.
Our volunteers also carried out relief in Ormoc. It was the first disaster area that our volunteers went to after the typhoon by taking a boat from Cebu.
In Ormoc, our medical volunteers had held free clinics for typhoon survivors, and our Tzu Chi volunteers also gave out supplies and cash to nearly 10,000 households.
With the money, the locals could buy metals sheets to repair their homes with. So, the locals are very grateful to Tzu Chi.
The mayor of Ormoc and his wife as well as a congressman are all very grateful to Tzu Chi. Learning that we needed heavy equipment, the mayor gave us his full support and provided us with about 20 trucks, bulldozers, etc.
He also put up Tzu Chi’s banners on the trucks so that everyone could see that it was Tzu Chi doing the work. Instead of taking the credit himself, he gave the credit to Tzu Chi and did all he could to help Tzu Chi.
I’m very grateful to him for giving the credit to Tzu Chi. So, I wrote a letter, prepared a certificate of appreciation, and had it framed for him to show my gratitude.
When our volunteers handed the certificate to him, he said, “I’m honored and happy. Please feel free to use the heavy equipment as long as you need and only return it after your relief work is done.”
A few days ago, when our volunteers went to Ormoc again, they saw that many people put up posters outside their houses or painted “Thank you, Tzu Chi” on their roofs to express their gratitude to Tzu Chi. The people in Ormoc have felt our love after we went there to help, and now we’ve seen their gratitude to us.
The love our volunteers have given them comes from great loving-kindness and compassion. When we give with immeasurable loving-kindness and compassion we reach out to places far and wide.
Starting tomorrow, we’ll hold a three-day large-scale distribution. Yesterday, Tzu Chi volunteers from seven countries and regions have arrived in Tacloban. Today, they’ll meet with the local’s Chinese business people and some government officials to share Tzu Chi with them.
This time, as well give out checks to around 40,000 families, a local bank will also set up temporary bank at the distribution site. After receiving the checks from us, the locals can then go to the temporary bank to get the money.
As there are a lot of people, the bank has to mobilize many clerks. So, for this distribution, more people will be mobilized than ever before. The distribution will last three days. So, it s a major aid distribution.
For our relief work in the Philippines this time, Tzu Chi volunteers first gave with love to boost the locals’ morale and then inspired them to help clean up their own community. Having done all this, we’re now going to give our monetary aid to people, marking the end of our emergency relief effort there.
We’ll also carry out mid and long-term projects to help them more. So, our love for the people in the Philippines will continue on.
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