20160517 - 珍惜資源‧行願報恩 Cherishing Our Resources and Reaching Out to Those in Need
Fast fashion has five problems. First, people throw their clothing away after wearing it not for long. Second, fast fashion creates a lot of pollution and people discard their clothing at every turn. Third, there’s too much second-hand clothing. It’s good to donate your clothing, but most people do that so they can buy new clothing. It’s a vicious cycle.
Do you know that in 2012, Taipei City alone collected over three million kg of used clothes.
Fourth, new clothing comes out not at the turn of seasons anymore, but a lot more frequent than before. Fifth, fast fashion is not environment friendly.
Every year, up to 85% of clothing produced is discarded. That translates into 31.5 kg per person.
Our Da Ai TV program “Calling Dr. Marvelous” is really very good. In the program, our child reporters looked info how fast fashion can impact our environment as well as how technologies have changed every aspect of our lives.
The program is easy for children to understand, and it also reminds adults not to waste resources. For example, when our clothes can still be mended, we should not throw them away.
We can also learn some needlework to tailor, mend or alter our own clothing. So, it’s great to encourage people to mend or alter their clothing themselves.
Not only do fashion trends become fleeting, but transportation is also emphasizing speed. The U.S. is now making a high-speed train that will travel faster than jets.
For example, for Taipei to Kaohsiung, it will take only 20 minutes. Hearing that, I said to myself: “In order to build such a high-speed transportation system, how much land will be damaged and carbon emissions be created?”
Indeed, people’s desire to acquire material comfort will never come to an end. It’s really heartbreaking to see how the beauty of Mother Nature is ruined by people’s pursuit of material enjoyment,
Due to the destruction and pollution we bring to our environment, Nature’s elements have become imbalanced. In some places, heavy rains cause flooding while in other places, drought occurs due to lack of rain. Because of drought, farmers cannot sow seeds and crops wither. Without food, how can we survive? It’s truly worrisome.
What also worries us very much now is the wildfire in Alberta, Canada. The fire has been raging for over two weeks and even roared into urban areas. What can we do to help those affected?
Our volunteers in Canada have been keeping us updated on the situation there. The local government has also pledged to match all donations made to the Canadian Red Cross. So, if the Red Cross collects tens of millions of dollars, the government will donate the same amount.
Now in Edmonton, Alberta, a large EXPO centre has been used to shelter those whose houses have been burned down and those who need to be evacuated. They’re in need of aid.
So, Tzu Chi has also set up a service station in the center to provide relief supplies to people taking shelter there. Our volunteers are also helping to organize relief supplies sent there. What people need most now is thick blankets as temperatures drop greatly at night.
When our volunteers told us that people are in urgent need of blankets, we immediately prepared the blankets and contacted airline companies to ship them. I am grateful that China Airlines agreed to ship 4,020 thick blankets for us at half the transportation fees.
That is what we’ve urgently prepared for the people in Canada. This fire in Canada is truly worrisome, but with love, we can help many people.
In Ecuador, our second aid team is there to continue our relief work for quake survivors. We need our U.S. volunteers to go as they’re relatively closer to Ecuador. We also need our volunteers from South America as they can speak Spanish. Our volunteers launched a cash-for-work program in Ecuador, which lasted for eight days and has now come to an end. Yesterday, they held a Buddha Day ceremony for the locals.
They explained to people that as Buddha Day is also Mother’s Day, we should be reminded to be grateful to our parents. And because it is also Tzu Chi Day, we should show our gratitude to all living beings by doing good.
And we should also be grateful to the Buddha as it is Buddha’s teachings that our volunteers are inspired to give of themselves.
They traveled to Ecuador from afar at their own expense and overcame many difficulties to help the quake survivors because the Buddha teaches us to walk the Bodhisattva Path and help others with love.
So, our volunteers shared with the locals that as we observed Buddha Day and Mother’s Day we should be grateful to the Buddha and our parents. And as it is also Tzu Chi Day, we should be grateful to everyone around us for their support.
Learning of our suffering, Tzu Chi volunteers came from afar to help us. It is very touching to see that Tzu Chi volunteers cried with us. We’re still struggling to recover. So, the fact that everyone is able to smile now really means a lot. Many people said that they cannot cry anymore because they’ve cried too much. We need to leave our grief behind. I’m sure we can do it.
Over 1,000 people took part in the Buddha Day ceremony held in Ecuador where most people are Catholics. The locals were very grateful to our volunteers for traveling a long way to be there and offer them help even though they’ve not related to them. So, the locals are all very grateful.
After the quake, we’re not forgotten. We’re grateful to Tzu Chi volunteers for coming here to help us.
It’s not about how much money Tzu Chi gave us or how much help they offered us. What’s important is that with all that Tzu Chi volunteers have done for us we’re able to start life anew. God bless Manta! We’ll move on.
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