February
2011
Issue
USA Edition
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February
2011
Issue |
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Left:
Former
mayor
of
Gold
Coast
in
Australia
donates
to
Tzu
Chi's
relief
work.
Right:
Lunar
New
Year
blessing
ceremony
in
Port-au-Prince,
Haiti.
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TZU CHI'S FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS
IN AUSTRALIA - FORMER MAYOR OF GOLD COAST DONATES US$75,000 TO TZU CHI:
Moved by the work of the foundation in helping the flood survivors in
Australia, the former mayor of Gold Coast, Gary Baildon, donated the
equivalent of more than $75,000USD towards Tzu Chi's relief work and
put on a Tzu Chi volunteer vest during a relief distribution. "I
hope the money can benefit more needy people... I encourage everyone to
save coins in the bamboo bank in their daily life and donate it to Tzu
Chi," said Gary Baildon. As of February 13, Tzu Chi has mobilized 1,617
volunteers to hold 10 relief aid distributions, delivering 4,559
eco-blankets, 891 daily necessity kits, 1,451 medical kits, and
$799,660AUD
of cash/gift cards to 2,350 affected households.
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TZU CHI SETS UP RELIEF CENTER IN
NEW ZEALAND: Tzu Chi volunteers in New Zealand have set up an
emergency relief center to help the people of Christchurch, which was
hit by the country's worst earthquake in 80 years, leaving more than
150
dead and several hundred missing. The earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the
Richter scale, struck at 12:51pm on February 22, with its epicenter
just 10 kilometers southeast of the city. Tzu Chi headquarters is in
close contact with the foundation's volunteers in New Zealand over how
best to deliver aid to the people of Christchurch.
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TZU CHI'S RELIEF WORK IN
PAKISTAN - TZU CHI INVENTS PORTABLE BED FOR THE DISASTER SURVIVORS IN
PAKISTAN: Tzu Chi volunteers delivered their first aid to
Pakistan last October after the flood and returned in February, holding
four distributions between the 5th and the 14th in the Thatta district.
Moved by the plight of a 15-day-old girl sleeping in a Pakistani
village on ground flooded by water, the foundation invented portable
beds for the disaster survivors. Over four days in February, Tzu Chi
volunteers handed out the new
beds and tarps to 9,358 families in the Thatta district of Sindh
province, including the family of Shana, the baby girl.
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TZU
CHI
RECEIVES
RECOGNITION
FROM
THE
GOVERNMENT
OF
PHILIPPINES:
DSWD (The Department of Social Welfare and Development) in the
Philippines awarded the PaNata Award to Tzu Chi Foundation for its
selfless dedication in helping to extend aid to marginalized people in
the country. "Tzu Chi is engaged in helping us in our poverty reduction
efforts, particularly in Marikina City," said Assistant Secretary Vilma
Cabrera, Chairperson of the PaNata Awards.
Besides the PaNata Award, on
February 23, Tzu Chi received a special recognition from the House of
Representatives
in the Philippines for the foundation's 17 years of dedication in the
Philippines. Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo said that the
resolution honoring Tzu Chi is the first of its kind to be given in 18
years. "They (Tzu Chi Foundation) deserve all the recognition they can
get as they provided valuable assistance in helping Marikina get back
on track."
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GLOBAL COMPANY CERTIFIES DA AI
TECH'S ECO-PRODUCTS AS "GREEN GOLD": TÜV Rheinland has
officially certified Da Ai Tech's eco-products as made of 100% recycled
materials. This shows that the blankets are fully in compliance with
international environmental requirements and that the foundation's
efforts in using recycled materials meet the international demand to
reduce carbon emissions. Jason Wu, general manager at TÜV
Rheinland,
said: "Such (Da Ai Tech's) superior processing not only facilitates
better quality but also leads to consumption of less energy." To read
more about this story, please click here.
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LUNAR NEW YEAR BLESSING
CEREMONIES
HELD AROUND THE WORLD: Around the world, Tzu Chi volunteers
held Lunar New Year Blessing Ceremonies in the month of February to
celebrate Lunar New Year with gratitude, respect and love. At the end
of February, a team of volunteers from the U.S. traveled to Haiti to
conduct Lunar New Year Blessing Ceremonies and new volunteer trainings,
and to extend their gratitude to the local volunteers who have
tirelessly devoted themselves ever since the 2010 earthquake devastated
Haiti.
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Left:
South
African
Tzu
Chi
volunteers
at
UN
CSW
workshop.
Right:
Tzu
Chi
spokesman
Rey
Her
presenting
Tzu
Chi
at
Harvard.
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TZU CHI SPEAKS AT A LECTURE AT
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL: Tzu Chi has become the subject of a
case study at Harvard Business School. Faculty and students examined
Tzu Chi's management and organization as they would of a multinational
company. On February 9, Rey Her, the spokesman of Tzu Chi, was invited
to the school by Professor Herman B. Leonard to explain the concept of
Tzu Chi's relief work and answer questions from the students. To
read more about this story, please
click here.
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ZULU VOLUNTEERS SHARE THEIR LIFE
STORIES AT UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION
ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN PANEL WORKSHOP: On February 22, around
120
participants attended a panel workshop entitled "Breaking the Cycle of
Poverty of Women and Girls through Education and Training," hosted by
Tzu Chi, at the 55th session of the United Nations Commission on the
Status of Women in New York. Along with the speakers from the United
Nations High Commissioner of Refugees, Plan USA and Food for the Poor,
two Zulu Tzu Chi volunteers spoke at the workshop to share their
life-changing stories and the charity work they do in South Africa. To
read more about this story, please
click here.
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To me, being religious is about
finding life's true meaning and purpose, which in turn gives us
direction. We each have our own path or direction in life. My life
path, for example, is the monastic path. I have chosen to step outside
the bounds of worldly love to embrace all humanity as my family. When
there is a disaster somewhere and people are suffering, it breaks my
heart and I feel deeply for their suffering. Everyone is my family so
their suffering is my suffering, their hardship my hardship. This is
what it means to leave one's small family and live for the big family
of humanity, and this is the path I have chosen for myself - to
shoulder
humanity's burdens. To read the full
article, please click here.
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| About Tzu Chi Buddhist
Tzu
Chi
Foundation
was
established
in
1966
by
Dharma
Master
Cheng
Yen.
Since
then,
Tzu
Chi
has
grown
to
be
an
international
humanitarian
organization
with
nearly
10
million
volunteers
and
supporters
in
50
countries,
providing
relief
in
70
countries.
The
foundation
dedicates
itself
in
the
fields
of
charity,
medicine,
education,
environmental
protection,
international
relief
work
and
the
establishment
of
one
of
the
world's
largest
bone
marrow
donor
registries.
It
also
promotes
humanistic
values
and
community
volunteerism.
In 1984, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation in the U.S. registered as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in California. In 1989, the first office in the U.S. was established in Alhambra, California. Since then, more than 80 offices and facilities have been established with over 100,000 donors and volunteers in the U.S. working to make a difference in their local communities. |
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