Special Report from El Salvador
(Translated by Queenie Huang, Northern California)
Care For Individual Cases
At the end of September, Salvadoran First
Lady Lourdes de Flores sent a telegram to the Tzu Chi El Salvador
office, informing them of a family living in poverty and hoping
the foundation could provide housing assistance for them.
The family, including 73-year-old Juana Orellana Avila and
her 15-year-old granddaughter, Elida del Carmen Orellana,
were victims of recent earthquakes. Tzu Chi has assisted earthquake
victims by building new houses for survivors of the recent
disaster. After losing their home, Juana Orellana and her
granddaughter currently live in a sheet-metal shack next to
a river. The situation is quite precarious since the home
is located in a very dangerous area, next to a river and a
major highway. The family faces financial difficulties, as
the grandmother is now the only one working. Unfortunately,
their names were not included on the list of victims, which
would have provided humanitarian aid to the family.
Whether or not the foundation should provide
housing to victims is decided by a committee, which visits
the victims' home and evaluates the situation. The executive
director of the El Salvador Housing Program, Yao Ji-yi, instructed
the Tzu Chi El Salvador office to respond to the telegram
quickly in hopes that the situation could be remedied quickly.
Elida Orellana is an outstanding student
and also a beneficiary of the Health Care School. With her
extraordinary performance, Elida leads the school's agricultural
team and has received recognition for her exceptional performance.
When the First Lady, who also serves as the board director
of the Education and Health Care Department, heard about their
story, she immediately sent a specialist to evaluate the family's
situation. During the visit, the specialist was touched by
their plight, but he also recognized their bravery and spirit
to persevere. He felt that the Orellana family needed the
care and assistance necessary for survival. After reviewing
his evaluation, the First Lady decided to send a letter to
the Tzu Chi office in El Salvador and offer suggestions on
how to resolve the problem.
Yao Ji-yi attended a forum hosted by the
First Lady on Friday, October 12, 2001. He and other personnel
visited other needy individuals and received a very deep impression
from the forum. Yao visited the small bungalow the Orellana
family lived in. The family had no electricity, water, bathroom
amenities, or even food. The red clothing that the child was
wearing had been borrowed just for this occasion. Although
the family lived in poor conditions, they did not give up
easily to the harshness of life. After the visit, Yao reported
to the Tzu Chi office and arranged for volunteers to follow
up on the case.
Send Kindness to El Salvador
The second Tzu Chi El Salvador housing project,
Chanmico City, has approximately 4,700 residents. Due to this
year's earthquakes, many people have been left homeless. Combined
with a drought and high unemployment, many families now face
financial difficulties.
There are approximately a thousand people
(including children, elderly and the unemployed) who are now
in urgent need of care and food assistance. To assist the
needy, the El Salvador Tzu Chi office offers breakfast and
lunch for 600 to 1,000 people twice each week. The food provided
includes rice, cornstarch, sugar, red beans and milk powder.
Tzu Chi hopes that in the future, it can
cooperate on housing projects with volunteers and provide
two meals biweekly to 1,500 residents of Chanmico City. Consequently,
the organization continues to seek long-term resources and
support from local and government organizations to improve
overall humanitarian aid.
In mid-October, on behalf of the Tzu Chi
Foundation, Yao Ji-yi, the executive director of the Tzu Chi
El Salvador Housing Project, attended a forum hosted by First
Lady Lourdes de Flores of El Salvador. At the forum, he presented
Tzu Chi's Brief Planning Report for Chanmico City in the hope
of persuading local government organizations to participate
more actively.
The First Lady has shown her eagerness and
devotion in participating in Tzu Chi's volunteer activities.
She has asked Yao on numerous occasions about the foundation's
development volunteer plans for El Salvador. During her last
visit to Taiwan, the first lady met Master Cheng Yen and attended
a volunteer ceremony. She acknowledged that she admires Master
Cheng Yen's philosophy and mission. Furthermore, she has a
good impression of the Tzu Chi volunteer system. Although
the earthquakes of January and February ravaged El Salvador,
Tzu Chi has planted seeds of hope in the country. The First
Lady sincerely hopes the foundation will further develop its
roots and expand its volunteer plans in El Salvador. With
the leadership of the Tzu Chi Foundation and the cooperation
of the First Lady, everyone's efforts and participation will
undoubtedly help El Salvador.
The First Lady has sponsored food assistance
for Chanmico City's volunteer activities. So far, the Tzu
Chi Foundation has already requested three tons of rice. If
everything goes smoothly, the organization hopes to start
other humanitarian activities soon.
After the forum, on behalf of Master Cheng
Yen and the Tzu Chi Foundation, Yao Ji-yi, presented red envelopes
(traditional Chinese gifts representing wishes for peace and
wisdom) and a set of Buddhist chanting beads with Master Cheng
Yen's portrait to the First Lady. She immediately put on the
chain to show her respect and gratitude to Master Cheng Yen.
In this positive mutual relationship, Tzu
Chi hopes that through the First Lady's devotion and commitment,
greater participation and involvement can be realized for
the Salvadoran people.
