Emergency Earthquake Relief in El
Salvador and India
(Translated by Jenny Chang, Northern California)
In January this year, El Salvador and India
were both hit by major earthquakes. In an effort to help out
in these international emergencies, Taiwan sent out over fifty
rescue groups to the disaster areas, including teams from the
Tzu Chi Foundation.
On behalf of the government of Taiwan, the
vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan issued
a "Certificate of Appreciation" in recognition of
the hard work these volunteers provided in El Salvador and India.
The Tzu Chi Foundation was selected to represent all the groups
to receive this honorary award. Hsieh Ching-kui, deputy director
of the Tzu Chi Department of Religion, stated, "When we
were there, we and the local people were just like brothers
and sisters despite our language barriers and cultural differences.
We worked together side by side to rebuild their country."
The vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented,
"We want the survivors to know that when they became sick
or when aftershocks continue, they are not alone."
Currently, Tzu Chi Malaysia is cooperating
with the French CARE agency to help in reconstruction efforts
in India.
