Date: July 14, 2010 (Wednesday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Pooling Together the Strength of All to Help Disaster Survivors
Seeing how Typhoon Conson has made its way across the Philippines truly worries us, as we don’t yet know if the people there are safe or not. It is indeed very hard not to worry.
So, we must pray with sincere piety that Typhoon Conson will not cause great harm and let those in its path remain safe and sound.
May the typhoon bring just the right amount of water people need and not bring any disasters to them.
So, we must send them our blessings and pray for their safety with sincere piety.
Although we do not yet know how the typhoon has affected the Philippines, we’ve learned that in China, severe flooding brought on by torrential rains has caused serious devastation in ten provinces and municipalities.
We see that Tzu Chi volunteers in Guangdong who had gone to hand out tuition aid, also surveyed some flood-affected areas nearby.
And from the images they’ve sent back, we see scenes of devastation everywhere.
Apart from Guangdong, the area affected by floods is vast as total of ten provinces and municipalities have been inundated and each province is so large.
With such a vast area being flooded, those affected suffer greatly indeed. So, in putting themselves in the survivors’ shoes, Tzu Chi members are mindfully making plans to help.
Yesterday, a meeting was held at the Abode to see where the local Taiwanese businesspeople and Tzu Chi volunteers in China are located and how far they would have to travel, if they were to go to the flood-affected areas.
Despite finding the shortest routes on the map, the distance is still very long.
So, we are still looking at how our volunteers can safely reach the flood-stricken area to survey the disaster situation.
Of course, in our efforts to help others, we must ensure that the route we take is safe.
Such a disaster caused by the imbalance in Nature is indeed a cause of concern.
We also see that in Haiti, since the devastating earthquake struck, six months ago on January 12 this year, little progress has been made in helping to rebuild Haiti.
In fact under the rubble of these collapsed buildings there are still many bodies that are yet to be uncovered as it was estimated that over 200,000 lives had been lost.
On July 12, exactly six months, since the quake devastated Haiti, strong winds and rain from a storm ripped through a tent area, damaging everything that the quake survivors owned.
In the footage, we saw and heard children shrieking in fear and people carrying and holding onto their children to escape the storm.
But where could they escape to and find shelter?
They had no place to go.
Where exactly could they go to shelter themselves?
As I think of that, my heart goes out to them.
To help them, we need to bring together the strength of people all around the world.
But achieving this is easier said than done.
Despite the numerous NGOs working in Haiti, relief efforts have yet to be well coordinated.
Up till now, many quake survivors are still being helped through the cash-for-work programs.
But what kind of aid efforts can be done to truly provide Haitians with a future where they can feel settled down both physically and emotionally?
The prospect of achieving this is still far from sight.
Nevertheless, in March, Tzu Chi volunteers in North Carolina in the U.S. received a request from the local Red Cross to provide continued care for three Haitian patients who had been sent to the U.S. for treatment after being severely burned during the quake.
While many of those injured during the quake were sent to the Dominican Republic, patients with severe conditions were sent to the U.S.
So, the Red Cross hoped that Tzu Chi volunteers can provide continued care to these patients and their families.
But when our volunteers first visited them, they looked worried and anxious.
They even dodged when our volunteers asked to take their photos as a record.
It was only later that our volunteers learned that many people from the media or other charities visited them before, but never showed up again to provide them with the help they needed.
That was why when Tzu Chi volunteers visited them in March, they looked terrified and even refused to have their photos taken.
But our volunteers gently promised them that they would visit them again a week later.
When the time came, our volunteers really did return.
Not only that, but they also brought all the things they needed.
As they saw how our volunteers hand returned with aid materials and cared for them with love and respect, their minds were finally set at ease.
That’s how our volunteers started caring for them and are still doing so even today.
(Haiti’ victims lived in U.S) Sanuel Thomas: “Thank you a lot for every help, for everything help, for every action, especially so what I am in aid. So thank you so much. I will be appreciated.”
These are the Haitians that we are caring for in the U.S.
As we now have local Tzu Chi volunteers in Haiti, after the storm affected the quake survivors in a tent area a few days ago, we’ve been thinking about how we can help settle the people down safely and permanently, so that their lives may soon return to normal.
As the devastation brought by the earthquake is too severed and extensive, it’ll take a long time for Haiti to recover.
That’s why we need many organizations to work together to help the people of Haiti and do so as soon as possible.
Otherwise, it has been six months, since the quake hit and there are still scenes of devastation everywhere in Haiti.
It’s truly very heartbreaking to see.
In comparison, the people of Taiwan are very blessed.
But, what we need the most now is for everyone to have a heart of sincere piety.
It is our hope that the cycle of love and goodness that we’ve created in Taiwan can ripple outward to the rest of the world to help better our world so that we don’t have to worry about disasters every day.
See how the Philippines is now being affected by a typhoon: a large area of China has been inundated by flood: debris and rubble are still everywhere to be seen in Haiti while quake survivors in a tent area have been affected by a storm.
We really don’t know how they’re going to live.
All these things truly worry us very much.
But seeing how other suffer, we must realize how blessed we are and be more vigilant and sincerely pious.
May our world be free of disasters, society be filled with peace and harmony, and everyone be safe and well.
(Source: Da Ai TV 人間菩提)
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