The world of Tzu Chi June 2020 (Vol.123)

Timely Relief during Lockdown The Philippine government had imposed a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19. In the Great Love Village located in Ormoc City, Leyte Province, the livelihoods of 1,500 households were at risk as the inhabitants were unable to leave their homes to work or peddle goods to earn a living. Local volunteers rushed to the rescue by procuring and distributing sacks of rice to the families to relieve their hardship. In addition to disbursing essential supplies, the volunteers made the effort to raise awareness on Covid-19 precautionary measures and produced fabric face masks to be distributed with the rice provisions, besides encouraging the villagers to commit to a vegetarian diet. During the distribution exercise, Philippines Tzu Ching members spread the message on the benefits of vegetarianism through hand-drawn posters. The villagers responded to the appeal by adopting a vegetarian diet and expressed their piety by praying for the pandemic to end soon. [Photograph by Amos Matugas]