Tzu Chi emergency aid benefits 24,000
hurricane evacuees
The Buddhist Taiwan Tzu Chi Foundation
provided US$1.82 million in emergency cash assistance to some
10,000 households of Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Texas and
seven other states between Sept. 4
and 20. More than 24,000 persons were benefited. Related relief
efforts are going on.
After the devastating hurricane struck,
Tzu Chi mobilized hundreds of volunteers to help the victims.
In general, each household was given US$200 in shopping cards
or cashes. As of Sept. 20, a total of 10,001 households have
received Tzu Chi's cash gifts worth US$1,825,900 -- 6,103
households with shopping cards and 3,898 households with cashes.
Most of the cash gifts were distributed
in Texas. The distribution sites included Beaumont Ford Park,
the Chinese Culture Center, the George R. Brown Convention
Center, the Astrodome, Reliant Center, Freeway Meanor Baptist
Church, the Hong Kong Mall, Spring Tabernacle Church, the
Chinese Community Center, First Baptist Church in Kay and
South Houston, Vietnamese Catholic Church, St. Francis Cabrini
Church, the Dallas Convention Center, the Will Rogers Memorial
Center, and eight other places.
In other states, the gifts were given to
the evacuees in New York (Astoria, Flushing, Chinatown), New
Jersey, California, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana and Arizona.
The largest single-day distribution at
a specific site took place at the Will Rogers Memorial Center
in Dallas on Sept. 20. A total of 1,554 households (4,478
persons) were provided with shopping cards or cash gifts.
Red Cross volunteers also helped the day's distribution work.
The Tzu Chi volunteers who helped comfort
the evacuees and distribute the gifts in eight states are
from Houston, Austin, Dallas, Miami, Orlando, Chicago, Indianapolis,
Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, New
York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Vancouver, Washington, D.C.,
and Taiwan.
A Tzu Chi mobile dental clinic, that belongs
to the Buddhist Tzu Chi Free Clinic in Los Angeles, has been
driven to Texas. A total of 179 patients had received emergency
treatments from dentists of the Tzu Chi International Medical
Association as of Sept. 20.
Tzu Chi founder Dharma Master Cheng Yen
has called on Tzu Chi members across the world to raise funds
to support the relief efforts. Tzu Chi volunteers in close
to 30 countries have responded by taking various activities
to collect donations.
Those countries include the United States,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Dutch Maarten,
Paraguay, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, El Salvador,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand,
Jordan, mainland China and Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, France,
Austria, England, Germany, South Africa, and Taiwan.
In Brisbane, Australia, members of the
Tzu Chi Collegiate Association, and local Tzu Chi members
made moon cakes and helped wash hair at a beauty salon to
raise funds on Sept. 17-18. They collected 2,050 Australian
dollars (US$1,570) from selling the moon cakes and 2,330 Australian
dollars (US$1,790) from washing hair for 40 clients.
When extending relief, Tzu Chi members
always give the assistance to the people in need directly
in person. They indicated their sincerest blessings and told
the evacuees that many people across the world are caring
about them. Tzu Chi were also discussing with local authorities
on providing mid-term and long-term assistance to the hurricane
victims.
