Helping the Students in New Zealand
CENTRAL AUCKLAND,
New Zealand - Schools in Central Auckland receive donated
books and more from Tzu Chi volunteers, to help students with
disabilities and schools lacking in resources.
Popatoetoe South School
The Popatoetoe South School in New Zealand
has been teaching elementary students for 11 years now. However,
on a scale of one to ten measuring the amount of funding it
receives, the New Zealand Ministry of Education rated the
school a 3. The rating is based on six factors: student's
family income, parent occupations, parent educational levels,
number of family members per student, families who are recipients
of welfare, and New Zealand citizenship.
The school's principal David Dawson is
dedicated to bettering Popatoetoe and has continuously worked
to find sponsors and support for the students' education.
Thus, Tzu Chi volunteers have adopted the school as a care
recipient, to better the quality of resources.
In addition to donating books to the school's
libraries, Tzu Chi volunteers also donated recreational and
exercise equipment for the elementary school students. One
of the recipients expressed her gratitude, "We are very
thankful for what you've done for us. Donating books to give
us again, thank you very much."
Education should be received by all
Besides Popatoetoe South School, books
were donated to Auckland's East Tamaki Primary School and
a school for children with cerebral palsy, a disability that
affects body movement and muscle coordination. There were
70 students at the Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy, where
volunteers stayed to read books with the children.
Education is one of the four missions of
Tzu Chi, a Buddhist international charity relief organization
founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen.
Edited from Da Ai (Great Love) News, a
broadcast program of Tzu Chi's television station. For more
information on Tzu Chi's Da Ai TV, please visit http://www.newdaai.tv.
