The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.113)

2019 • 08 28 pecial Feature Selangor, Sio Kee Hong, who extended a warm welcome to the visitors and conveyed Tzu Chi’s educational ideals. The vendors came up with creative, memorable names for their stalls to attract attention, but the pungent aroma of durians wafting from one of the stalls stood out, pulling in a sizeable crowd eager to lay their hands on the King of Fruits. The stall helpers were busy parting open one durian after another to keep up with the seemingly endless stream of patrons. By 10 am, the first batch of durians had all been snapped up, prompting the vendor to adopt a numbered queue system to manage the crowd for the second batch of newly arrived durians. The durians, weighing about 1,000 kg in total, were sponsored by TIMA member Tan Sue Sian’s family, who owns a fruit orchard and operates a fruit export business. Making incisions with surgical scalpels is part and parcel of Sue Sian’s profession, yet he had proven to be equally skilled at cutting open durians with a knife, as he obliged the crowd by demonstrating his expertise in splitting open the thorny fruit. All for a charitable cause The charity fair was made all the more memorable with the wholehearted support of volunteers from not only Penang, but also Kelantan, Ipoh, Muar and Tampin, among other regions. “TCISKL is the first Tzu Chi-affiliated school in Malaysia. Tzu Chi is family, so as part of the family, we should take an active interest in any happenings concerning Tzu Chi, including raising funds for TCISKL,” remarked volunteer, Teoh Paik Lim, with a smile as he greeted fellow volunteers around him. Volunteer Lim Suh Mei, who is based in Butterworth, hatched the idea of contributing to the charity fair by making eco-friendly baskets woven from recycled strips of wrapping paper. Suh Mei, together with Lin Mei Zhen, the volunteer-in-charge at the Tzu Chi Butterworth Recycling Centre, mobilized volunteers from other communities, such as Sungai Petani, Tambun and Nibong Tebal, to work round the clock on producing the eco-friendly baskets. In the month leading up to the charity fair, the volunteers managed to achieve the predetermined target of 150 baskets. “Weaving the strips of plastic together is symbolic of binding together the hearts of volunteers from different communities. Volunteers from Penang and KL & Selangor seldom work together on the same event. Now that Tzu Chi is finally establishing its first school in Malaysia, we should cherish this rare opportunity to do our part for the cause,” she noted. As noon approached, the lunchtime crowd grew and made a beeline for the food stalls, accompanied by a performance by the Hong Shou Tong lion dance troupe. Nantha Kumar a/l Jayagandan, the founder of NSK Ventures Engineering Sdn Bhd, stood out from the crowd with both his hands full of bags. He bought 20 coupon booklets at the invitation of his friend, who is a Tzu Chi volunteer, and distributed the coupons to ten of his employees. “I’m pleased to see so many volunteers and visitors gathering here today in the spirit of charity. Choices are aplenty, and the prices are reasonable too.” The charity fair is made possible with the collective efforts of the community and Tzu Chi volunteers. The goods on sale were a testament to the kindness and generosity of all who have pledged their support to TCISKL – an educational institution with a mission to nurture the leaders of tomorrow.