Altruistic Weekend Warriors: Three
Hundred Volunteers at the Great Love Housing Project in Chienching
(Translated by Stanley Peng, Northern California)
Ever since construction of the Tzu Chi Great
Love housing project in Chienching community, Wanjung Village,
started on August 6, numerous volunteers from all over the
island have participated. The housing project is thus ahead
of schedule. On August 11, nearly three hundred volunteers
worked on the landscaping for the Great Love houses. It is
estimated that the interiors, exteriors, and landscaping will
be finished soon. Survivors of Typhoon Toraji will soon have
a peaceful shelter.
Despite burning sun and rolling sweat, volunteers
worked like ants throughout the construction site to build
the Great Love houses. The volunteers, from twelve to eighty
years old, devoted their weekends with their families, each
individual contributing his or her strength and all supporting
each other.
The "three musketeers"-Li Hsiung-fu,
Wu Jen-hsiang and Tsai Chu-hung-all in their twenties, have
known each other since they worked on the Great Love housing
project after the big earthquake of September 21, 1999. They
met again at Chienching community, bringing with them the
experience and construction expertise that they gained after
the earthquake. With hearts full of love, they are working
to help disaster victims start a new life.
Most of the building materials and interior
equipment, including electric fans and curtains, are reused
from temporary classrooms that Tzu Chi provided for schools
damaged in the earthquake. Each of the new homes will have
four fans installed. Landscaping includes a pond, a pebble
footpath, an entrance ramp for the disabled, a grass lawn
and short fences, which will create a comforting and beautifying
environment. Tzu Chi stressed that even though some building
materials and equipment were used before, all of it is in
good condition. Defective materials have been replaced with
new, and thus the new houses will be of high quality.
