Sept. 04, 2005

Translated by YungLi Tseng Edited by Tim Liu

Katrina Relief Log (2005/09/04)

In the evening of September 3, a crew of six reporters from Da Ai TV and Rhythms Monthly Magazines leaves from Taipei to Houston via Los Angeles. They would join the Houston Tzu Chi relief team with 30-plus members in a shelter at Beaumont.

Tzu Chi relief team members were preparing relief distribution to the 1,500 evacuees at Beaumont. Each evacuee would receive a $100 gift card, a 30-minute pre-paid phone card and a letter from Dharma Master Cheng Yen.

On this Labor Day weekend, all banks were closed. However, Tzu Chi relief team needed $150,000 cash to purchase the gift cards for immediate distribution. Many Tzu Chi volunteers withdrew cash from ATM machines of their own bank accounts to gather $50,000 cash.

Dr. William Keh, the Deputy CEO of Tzu Chi Headquarters, welcomed the Taiwan crews while they waited for the "red-eye" connection flight to Houston at the Los Angeles International Airport . Dr. Keh handed 10 envelops of total $100,000 cash inside to the Taiwan crews to be brought to the Houston relief team. The money had just been raised by the Tzu Chi volunteers around Southern California in one day's donation drive.

Meanwhile, in the Beaumont shelter, Simon Shyong, Director of Tzu Chi Southern Region, was demonstrating the proper manner of delivering the gift package to the relief volunteers. He held the gift package with both hands while saying "thank you." Simon Shyong emphasized that we must deliver the gift package to the recipients with respect, gratitude and love because they were not considered as refugees but as our neighbors who are going through a difficult time.

As the evacuees came into the Tzu Chi Relief office at the Beaumont shelter, they were first welcomed with soothing soft music, heart-warming greetings, and willing ears to hear their stories.

An ethnic Thai woman from New Orleans lost her home to the hurricane, and was separated from her children. She was touched into tears to see an Asian charity organization coming to hurricane victim's aid.

A woman came to the shelter to get medicine for her sick husband. She also had four grandchildren with her at the shelter. The woman's four grandchildren are from four different families. All four families have members separated during the chaos. She and her 15 extended family members, including a blind brother and a husband with cancer, now crammed in a small hotel room. As a licensed nurse, she wanted to get a job, rent an apartment, and send her grandchildren back to school. She wished to serve as a volunteer in the shelter after she has settled down.

Many evacuees volunteered to speak in front of the Da Ai TV camera, hoping to locate their separated family members or seek job opportunities through TV media. They would say, "My dearest daughter/husband/grandma, this is xxx. I'm OK in the shelter. Where are you now? Please contact me via the following number…."

One of the local high ranking officials offered a lot of help during Tzu Chi relief process. "In United States, nobody works the way Tzu Chi does: directly and respectfully. Tzu Chi offers immediate help to anyone who was identified as an evacuee from New Orleans. Tzu Chi never asked further questions," he told one of the local media with tears in his eyes.

Later in the day, Tzu Chi relief team halted the distribution because the team realized that some of the evacuees tried to get gift card repeatedly by sending different family members to the relief office.

To ensure relief aid would be distributed fairly, identification records tracking was enforced. Dharma Master Cheng Yen also gave Tzu Chi relief team a new instruction on the distribution amount:

-- $50 gift card for each child under 10 years old
-- Gift cards are delivered to show up family members
-- Each family receives a cap of $500

A count of 710 people received Tzu Chi's gift cards today. We would resume the distribution tomorrow.

Tzu Chi decided to offer gift cards to the evacuees currently housed in Houston Convention Center and Astrodome at a later time because the government officials told Tzu Chi volunteers that the evacuees received very good cares from the government.

The shelter in the Houston Convention Center was wide, clean and bright. Each evacuee slept on comfortable mattress. Plenty of donated items such as shoes, clothing, children's playground and big screen TV were found there.

However, the approximately 10,000 evacuees housed in the Astrodome were not so lucky. Foldable beds lined side by side. The sanitation conditions were terrible. Posted on the large bulletin board at the end of the room were numerous notes and pictures of many whom desperately trying to find separated loved ones.

A black, female diabetic in wheelchair told Tzu Chi volunteers, "I haven't heard from my two sons for nearly one week. There was confusion during evacuation. We were told that several buses would go to the same destination, but they didn't…."

Among all the confusions, William Addison, 20, with textbook in hand, can be found concentrated on the math problems. We asked if he was preparing for the school exam. No, he said, he just wanted to pass time by reading. We saw hope in this young man.

The Mobile Dental Van No.1 which left Los Angeles on 9/4 will arrive at Beaumont shelter on 9/4 evening to provide dental services. Tzu Chi is also evaluating the need for pediatricians and psychologists.

After the evening meeting, Tzu Chi relief team decided to first complete the relief project in the Beaumont shelter. Tzu Chi will then focus on offering care to Chinese evacuees, including New Orleans's overseas Chinese students. The third project will be offering relief and care to the evacuees in the Convention Center and Astrodome.