The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.115).

TZU CHI 115 09 the Tzu Chi commissioners in Hualien – about two dozen in total – for a meeting. She informed them that the affected area was vast and so many people had been impacted that it was beyond the means of Tzu Chi to extend adequate assistance. “I hope all of you will form a relief team and give your best in soliciting donations for our relief mission,” stressed the Master. Jiang Mu-huo, the husband of Commissioner Qiu Lan-jiao, recorded the minutes for the meeting. Mu-huo, a bank manager, had been appointed as an advisor to Tzu Chi at the beginning of the year. When he heard the Master’s estimation of NT$600,000 to fund disaster relief efforts, he set down his pen and said in a worried voice to Master De Rong, a monastic disciple of Master Cheng Yen, who was sitting next to him, “How are we going to raise such a huge sum?” His concern was reasonable. The winter relief distributions were approaching andTzuChi had only slightly over NT$200,000 in funding. Furthermore, the Master hoped to complete the distributions for the typhoon victims by the end of the year, which was less than two months away. “How could we possibly pull this off?” Mu-huo asked. Every commissioner present at the meeting shared his worry, but Master Cheng Yen was undaunted. Despite the challenges ahead, all she could think of were the victims’ pressing needs. The Master decided against drawing from Tzu Chi’s existing funds to avoid impacting the upcoming winter distributions. She also made another important decision: Every penny raised for the survivors of Typhoon Nora would Principal Wang Tian-ding (middle) is pictured here assisting aid recipients to collect their living allowance during the winter distribution mission in Taitung in 1981.