The world of Tzu Chi October 2020 (Vol.127)

TZU CHI 127 37 C ommencing September 2020, Tzu Chi KL & Selangor will provide financial assistance to 2,178 successful applicant families living in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya regions, for a period of three months. Depending on their circumstances, each household will receive the assistance monthly, ranging from RM300 to RM800, to meet their immediate needs. In the spirit of mutual help, Tzu Chi volunteers at the Tzu Chi Happy Garden Recycling Centre and residents in the neighbourhood rolled up their sleeves for a charity sale held on August 16. Since the end of July, the team had been working in concerted efforts developing recipes, purchasing ingredients, gathering funds, promoting the event, and planning for the implementation of social distancing measures. With thorough pre-planning, everyone had a role to play. Bringing love back to the community Among the good variety of food offered at the charity sale were 50 boxes of acar (pickled vegetables) prepared by an octogenarian, Yap Hon Choon. With a wholehearted intention to contribute, she cut the long beans meticulously and never complained of tiredness. Community member Lim Chwa Bee again prepared fruit tarts for the charity sale, just like she previously did for two similar events held in support of the Tzu Chi International School Kuala Lumpur (TCISKL) construction. She related how she was moved by the recycling volunteers’ selfless service: “They were all sweating profusely, yet, still laughing; and nobody whined about the time, money and energy they’ve contributed towards the charity sale.” To ensure the freshness of the tarts, she only started to bake the tart shells and cut the fruits a day prior to delivery and fill the whipped cream before she left home for delivery. Catherine Tang, who lives nearby, came into contact with Tzu Chi when her child enrolled for Tzu Chi Teenagers’ Class. However, she had to reduce her participations in Tzu Chi’s activities due to career and family commitments. At a volunteer’s invitation, she came to the event. She said, “I want to give my support because it’s to help families affected by the pandemic. My family would dine in a vegetarian restaurant whenever my kid suggests that we have economic rice when we dine out; and it so happens that today is the 15th day of the Lunar month and vegetarian food is available here. So of course, we want to support. We get to help others while enjoying a vegetarian meal; that’s double benefits!” Volunteer Boo Siek Foon explained that the team has decided to launch the RM5 vegetarian packed meal activity on the 1st and 15th day of every Lunar month starting August 4. This is because since the pandemic, Master Cheng Yen has been calling on everyone to observe a vegetarian diet as a way to alleviate disasters. Siek Foon said, “At this price, many people doubt if there’s any profits at all. But, our aim is to promote vegetarianism, not for money. As many people will go vegetarian on these two days, we thought it’s a good opportunity to encourage vegetarianism; more so, they’re also contributing to a good cause with the RM5 they pay for the meal.”