The world of Tzu Chi March-April 2022 (Vol.140)

2022 • 04 06 “I t has been raining today, and the alley leading to my house is flooded. Remember to wear slippers when you come, lest your shoes get wet,” Norshila binti Ahmad Azizi, wife of applicant Mohamad Iqpal, reminded Tzu Chi volunteers prior to their preliminary home visit. She also told her daughter that they were expecting some visitors. Curious, her daughter asked, “Why are they visiting us?” When Norshila honestly replied that they were coming to help the family, the girl asked innocently, “Usually Mum takes us to help others. Why are others helping us now?” For a moment, Norshila was lost for words. We can rise stronger The Covid-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges globally over the past two years. In Malaysia, the road to economic recovery is still grim. To help cushion the economic impact on families, Tzu Chi KL & Selangor officially launched the “Kita1Keluarga” relief programme (K1K) on July 12, 2020. “Kita 1 Keluarga” is the Malay term for “We Are One Family”. Following the outbreak of the pandemic, the Malaysian Government has called on its people to exercise the spirit of “Kita Jaga Kita” (which means “we take care of one another”), hoping that people of all ethnic groups can battle the pandemic and rise stronger with mutual help and support. The K1K relief programme had benefitted 2,178 families (9,178 individuals) in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya, whose household incomes were greatly affected by the pandemic. Having three months of cash hand-outs (from September to November 2020) had made a big difference in meeting their basic living needs. Tzu Chi had also launched several other charity aid programmes, including Tzu Chi Careline, e-Caring (provision of essential devices for online classes), and Food Care, in response to the needs of society. In September last year, Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob said that based on the Household Income Estimates and Incidence of Poverty Report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, over half a million of middle-income group (M40) households, who originally earned pecial Feature