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September 7, 2005. Answering the call of "Gathering
Tzu Chi's Love around the World to Help New Orleans,"
the students of Tzu Chi School in Chiang Mai,
Thailand, decided not to fall behind. The students
received preparatory instructions on September
5th. After the morning meeting on September 6th,
the teachers immediately explained to the schoolchildren
the effects of the hurricane and the present status
of disaster relief in New Orleans. The schoolchildren
listened attentively and asked many questions.
An explanatory meeting in the evening laid out
the significance of soliciting donations, the
proper methods, and details that required attention,
so that everyone reached a consensus. The students
were clear that they need to show good character
in doing this good deed. Under the leadership
of all the teachers of the school, a total of
nearly 70 students and volunteer parents were
divided into four buses. They headed towards the
night market. The kids on the bus sang their school
song and played with bamboo clappers.
Arriving at the donation site at 6:50PM, near
the local 7-Eleven, the first group of fourth-graders
was heartened by the good deeds of four to five
donors, who answered the call without even being
asked by the children. Thus inspired, the children
immediately said "thanks" in a loud
voice. Under the leadership of teachers Yu-mei
and Wen-shan, this group of children shouted such
slogans as "We are soliciting donations for
victims in America," and "A dollar is
not too little, and 100 dollars is not too much."
The inspired calls of the children moved many
people, and donations poured in. The children
expressed their gratitude in bilingual fashion,
saying "khop khun krap" to the Thai
donors, and "xie xie" to the local ethnic
Chinese donors. This surprised many people.
Gradually, after accumulating some experience,
the parents and the students were able to build
sufficient rapport. When the children stopped,
the parents took their place, and vice versa.
Many performed Tzu Chi sign language and sang
their school songs. This attracted some passers-by
to donate money. And because they were interspersed
with expressions of gratitude, the songs took
several steps to complete. This made the fundraising
event more delightful and moving.
Another group of fourth-graders and a class of
first-graders also tried hard to solicit donations.
It was moving that many fathers and mothers used
the excuse of going to the night market for the
express purpose of making donations and supporting
the children's good works. The father of fourth-grader
Chang Chen-ling is a Singaporean. When asked why
he decided to donate funds, he said he often watched
Tzu Chi's Great Love Channel on TV, and when there
was great love in the heart, he would want to
make donations. He continually praised the goodness
of the Great Love Channel. Mrs. Hu Wen-pin, who
worked in a store nearby, passed out water to
relieve everyone's thirst. Tzu Chi volunteer Mr.
Chang led a group of first-graders to the market
to solicit donations, and the owners of the stores
willingly donated money one after another on account
of how cute the children were. One restaurant
owner even allowed the children to solicit funds
from his patrons.
For the parents of the volunteers, this was a
good experience, too. Mrs. Kung, originally somewhat
slow in speech and diffident, became full of smiles.
She bowed and said thanks frequently. Mrs. Sun
Ya-wen and Mr. Wang Meng-che enjoyed good rapport
with the children, singing along with them from
time to time. This night of moving emotions led
the volunteers to believe that the next day would
be good for fundraising, too, and indeed it turned
out well. In one morning, the parents raised $2,340.
To make the number even, some teachers pooled
together $660 to make the total sum $3,000. The
total donations from the two days of soliciting
donations came to $10,070. This fundraising activity
inspired the wisdom of hundreds, and brought the
school, the parents, and the students together
to create a better and more joyful future.
In class today, the students were asked to think
of what happened yesterday. Many students said
that, although we had different skin colors, last
time (during the tsunami) the Americans helped
us; we should help them now in turn. Although
it was tiring to stand yesterday, we did not feel
it was difficult, but rather very moving. Lin
Wen-hsien said he really appreciated everyone
and that he felt he was fortunate. In the morning,
after students raised the flag, they came to donate
money at the office. With this learning experience,
everyone became joyous, and both parents and children
came to know how to turn love into action. The
teachers felt gratified. A humanistic education
has taken root and germinated in the hearts of
the children. Hopefully, the seeds will spread
with the wind in the future.
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