Charity mission that transcends boundaries

1. Charity Mission that
Transcends Boundaries
Presented by Siri Su

2. Master Cheng Yen’s original hope was to eliminate poverty so people
could live better, but after years of work, she discovered that most people
became poor because of illnesses or injuries. When the breadwinner of a
family became handicapped due to a work-related injury or died in an
accident, his family fell in poverty.

4. Back in 1973, people in Taiwan celebrated Double Ten
Day in the rain, the day after Typhoon Nora brushed
past Taiwan.
Back then, few people were aware that the typhoon had
devastated Eastern Taiwan.

5. Tzu Chi volunteers double checked
the information provided by residents
in Taitung before narrowing the list
down to 671 disaster victims who
were the most affected. They then
sent postcards to notify these victims.

6. Disaster relief work in the aftermath of Typhoon Nora set
the precedent of surveying disaster, canvassing for
donations, compiling victims’ list, and holding distributions.

7. Later, Tzu Chi also set up the five types of
disaster relief aid, including long-term aid,
emergency aid, house renovation, winter aid
distribution, and large-scale disaster relief.

8. Even in distant countries, disaster
survey and compilation of
victims’ list have also become the
first steps of disaster relief work.

9. Tzu Chi’s charity mission overseas
The people in the landlocked province of Gansu in
China have long struggled with water scarcity.

10. Tzu Chi first built water cisterns for the residents from 1998

11. Up till now, Tzu Chi volunteers have built
19,060 water cisterns in 17 townships in six
counties.

12. Tzu Chi volunteers then built Da Ai villages and
an elementary school in Liuchuan 劉川鄉 and
Wuhe 五合鄉 townships of Jingyuan County 靖
遠縣.

13. Walking for half an hour to fetch water is a common
scene in Zimbabwe, Africa. The rainfall there is less
than one fourth of that in Taiwan. With lack of
infrastructures, most residents have to fetch water.

14. Local Tzu Chi
volunteer Zhu Jincai
朱金財 is a
businessman from
Taiwan. He often
provides water
purification tables to
residents and even
helps dig wells for
them.

15. “There are not many industries in Zimbabwe, so it
should have plenty underground water. But they
lack the equipments, so I help them.”

16. Water is essential, especially clean water. Tzu Chi
volunteers have drilled 20 wells in the capital,
Harare, to save the residents’ time in fetching water.

17. Tzu Chi’s charity mission in Malaysia: Reaching out to refugees

19. Refugees in Malaysia cannot reside legally because
Malaysia did not sign the 1951 Refugee Convention
and the 1967 Protocol.

20. Therefore, refugees do not have the
right to work, nor can they seek
free medical treatment like other
Malaysian citizens.

21. Since 2004, Tzu Chi has formed a partnership with
UNHCR to provide health care to some of the refugees,
with a Memorandum of Understanding and the
Refugee Aid Programme.

22. Tzu Chi’s charity mission combines medical mission
Tzu Chi’s medical mission turned lives around for two patients in China,
Chen Tuanzhi 陳團治 and Yang Xiaodong 楊曉東from Xiamen, China.

23. During this painful process, Dr. Chen Ing-Ho put Chen’s mind at
ease as he worked with the medical team to give Chen the
chance to walk properly.

24. From living with deformity
with tears to standing on
her feet, Chen can now
foresee a better future.

25. Due to ankylonsing spondylitis, Yang Xiaodong was
curled up in a fetal position for 19 years and retreated
into his own world, afraid of outside contact.

26. With the help of government officials in Xiamen and Tzu Chi
volunteers, cross strait medical teams collaborated to bring him
hope.

29. Tuanzhi also became on the giving end, giving
positivity to other people around her.