On 21 June, team Sri Lanka visited the Bukit Ho Swee recycling point. They called on every the household in the area to collect recyclables before learning how to classify them at the recycling point. (Photo by Ng Paik Eng)
On 19 June 2012, a team of 10, including eight Tzu Chi volunteers and two staff members from Sri Lanka arrived in Singapore to apply for visa to visit Taiwan. They were supposed to leave with the second Singapore team for Taiwan on the 20th for the year’s second overseas volunteer seminar. However, due to the continuous rains brought by typhoons Guchol and Talim, in the morning of the 20th, Master Cheng Yen instructed that the trip to Taiwan be called off for safety reasons. The team from Sri Lanka would then have to stay in Singapore till 24 June.
Despite feeling disappointed for not being able to meet up with the Master, the team believed that everything happened for a good reason. The Singapore staff and volunteers thus made arrangements for their Sri Lankan guests to interact with the local volunteers as well as to attend the Taiwan seminar in real-time through videoconferencing, helping them to make full use of their stay in Singapore for learning purposes.
A busy 5-day schedule including facility tour, home visit, medical house calls, community blood donation drive, community recycling activity, community get-together, together with a half-day training session was designed for the Sri Lankan team. Seeing that there are newcomers in the team, the hosting members also shared on how to organize, execute and review a Tzu Chi activity, as well as the structure and operation of various Tzu Chi functional groups, among other aspects.
On 21 June, the Sri Lankan team visited the daytime Tzu Chi recycling point that operates every Thursday morning at Bukit Ho Swee. Before learning how to classify the recyclables, the team, led by the volunteer in charge, had their first experience shuttling in nearby HDB flats to collect recyclables. The team members were impressed with the seriousness and team spirit of the local recycling volunteers.
As the recycling effort back in Hambantota (the tsunami-stricken town which houses the first Tzu Chi liaison office in Sri Lanka) has met with several obstacles, Dimuthu, a staff with the Tzu Chi office in Colombo, expressed that what they have learnt that day would be very useful for them to promote environmental awareness and to recruit more volunteers in their locality. The team all looks forward to making progress back home.
Thereafter, the team followed Joyce Foo, the nursing staff of the Tzu Chi Free Health Screening and Medical Clinic to visit a patient in his house. The 82-year-old elder has long been bedridden due to stroke and Parkinson’s disease, and is poorly responsive to stimuli. The Sri Lankan team listened attentively to Nurse Joyce’s explanation of the elder’s situation and helped to turn his body sideway so as to apply body powder to keep his back dry and comfortable.
The home visit volunteers told the elder in Malay that the Sri Lankan team had come to visit him, to which he raised his right hand high in the air to express his happiness. Dr Dayananda Waduge, who is a chartered architect-planner in Sri Lanka, was happy to learn more about Tzu Chi’s way of home visit and interacting with the patients. He also commended on the attentive care and concern showered on the patient by the Tzu Chi medical team.
The Sri Lankan members also experienced for themselves the humanitarianism of Tzu Chi’s medical services at both the TCM and western medicine sections of the Tzu Chi Free Clinic. They met a stroke patient who, with the treatment of Chinese physicians at the free clinic, was able to walk with a crutch instead of relying on his wheelchair to move about. When Colombo volunteer Kumara tried to hold the patient’s body as he started to walk, he was told by the volunteer on duty to let the patient walk on his own.
“I am very grateful to the volunteer for his advice on letting the patient practice walking,” said Kumara, who moved his children’s wear factory from a hilly area to Colombo so that he can participate in Tzu Chi’s activities. “I feel that patients here are very well taken care of and the caring atmosphere here gives them their peace of mind,” he said.
In addition to establishing videoconference with the overseas volunteer seminar for the team, the Singapore team also organized a half-day English training session on 23 June to share with the Sri Lankan members the philosophy of Tzu Chi’s charity and medical missions, the etiquette of Tzu Chi volunteers, and etc. The Sri Lankans’ eagerness to learn was apparent with them busily taking notes and romanizing the Chinese verse during the explanation on the Tzu Chi walking meditation.
During the dialogue session, volunteers from both countries shared their experiences in promoting environmentalism and Tzu Chi activities, as well as adopting a vegetarian lifestyle. The Sri Lankan volunteers were especially interested in the organization and execution of Tzu Chi activity that they enthusiastically raised many related queries.
When the discussion was on the screened video “Meet Your Meat”, which revealed the inhuman practices of the meat industry, Sri Lankan volunteer Ruwinda said thoughtfully, “All along I know that vegetarian diet is good for our health, but after watching the video, I came to realize how cruel we are to slaughter animals for their meat. I felt the pain too while watching it. I will start on a vegetarian diet when I get back to Sri Lanka.”
Ruwinda felt that such documentaries are very enlightening in revealing the reality behind the system that supports the carnivore diet and he wished to encourage more volunteers to become vegetarians during the Tzu Chi sharing sessions back home.
Shocked by the reality shown in the video, Sister Anula’s eyes were brimming with tears. Sister Anula had previously worked as a domestic helper in Singapore for 17 years and has joined Tzu Chi for more than a year after participating in the Sri Lanka free clinic organized by Tzu Chi Singapore. “Though I have become a vegetarian after joining Tzu Chi, my family members are not. I will share with them what I learnt today when I get home. I hope they will become vegetarians too,” said the volunteer.
All the other members too decided that they would embark on a strict vegetarian diet soon. Thereafter, the group prayed together sincerely, wishing Master Cheng Yen and all fellow volunteers a peaceful and safe life.
At present, Tzu Chi has a branch office in the capital city of Sri Lanka, Colombo, and a liaison office in the post-tsunami reconstruction site in Hambatota. For over six years since the 2004 tsunami, local volunteers have continued to conduct charitable activities and organize recycling activities, blood donation drives and visits to nursing homes, etc., on a regular basis.
After visiting the small and yet complete warehouse of Tzu Chi Singapore, financial staff Nadeeka shared with the rest, “The most important thing that I have learnt this time round is how to classify, store and properly utilize the resources in our office. We have to cherish and make good use of the property we have.” Her compatriots too identified with her idea and planned to implement better office space organization when they get back to their home country.
In those five days, the Singapore volunteers did their best to share practical experiences with their counterparts on several occasions to help them gain better understanding of the spirit and operation of Tzu Chi. Using the blood donation drive at Senja-Cashew Community Club on 23 June as example, the local volunteers explained the importance of the structure of functional groups and their roles in ensuring that everyone plays a role and every task is taken care of so that both staff members and volunteers work cohesively as a group. Cordial volunteers are also on site to comfort first-time donors.
Speaking on the current blood donation drives in Hambantota, volunteer Dilrukshi said, “I feel that we still have much catching up to do back home. Let’s hope we can make our blood drives in Sri Lanka more heartwarming in future and hopefully the Singapore team will continue to accompany and help us in running the drives in Sri Lanka.” She was also more certain and confident about the changes she has to introduce in future.
Among the team of 10, there was a couple new to Tzu Chi – retired chartered architect planner Waduge and his wife Shirani. Having undergone an operation and been under chemotherapy treatment for cancer before, Shirani was still on medication. Even though she has not fully recovered and the hectic schedule was a little taxing on her, Shirani had insisted on participating in all of the planned activities.
“I was originally determined to meet the Master in Taiwan,” she said, “and these few days of learning have started to take its toll on me. In any case, it is a good experience for us to stay in Singapore and to learn so many things here.”
Shirani had been active in doing Buddhist voluntary work but this was the first time she participated formally as a member of a team. Highly identifying with the precepts and discipline of Tzu Chi, she shared, “The Buddhist organizations that I came into contact with in the past did not lay down so many precepts for its followers, so we didn’t pay much attention to how we should carry ourselves in everyday lives. I have learnt much and benefitted from the discipline of Tzu Chi.”
At the end of the 5-day programme, team leader Kumara represented the Sri Lankan team to greet Master Cheng Yen through videoconferencing and brief her about what they had learnt in Singapore.
“Though we couldn’t make it to the seminar, we have learnt much in Singapore. We are grateful to our fellow brothers and sisters in Singapore for their warm hospitality. We promise that we will put in even more effort to promote Tzu Chi missions when we get back to Sri Lanka, and invite more people to join our ranks so that Tzu Chi will grow from strength to strength in Sri Lanka. May we also wish Master Cheng Yen abundant health and longevity.”
Kumara encourages a stroke patient to learn walking with a crutch while helping out at the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) section at the Tzu Chi Free Clinic. (Photo by Ng Paik Eng)
Volunteers on duty at the TCM section of Tzu Chi Free Clinic explaining the medicine dispensing process to the Sri Lankan guests. (Photo by Ng Paik Eng)
The team also got to attend the overseas volunteer seminar in real-time through videoconferencing. (Photo by Wong Sin Hwa)
The team followed Tzu Chi Free Health Screening and Medical Clinic nurse Joyce Foo to visit a patient in his house. (Photo by Ng Paik Eng)
On 23 June, team Sri Lanka came to Senja-Cashew Community Club to observe the organizing of the local blood donation drive. Picture shows the team paying attention to the briefing of the campaigning for blood donors. (Photo by Loh Shu Hon)
On the 23 June, a half-day training session was specially organized for team Sri Lanka at the Tzu Chi Free Clinic. Local volunteers were invited to share on the endeavours of Tzu Chi Singapore. Brother Alex Tan is seen here explaining the origin and missions of Tzu Chi to the visitors. (Photo by Ng Paik Eng)
At the half-day training session, the volunteers led their Sri Lankan counterparts in learning how to perform the Tzu Chi walking meditation. (Photo by Ng Paik Eng)
Anula, who used to work as a domestic helper in Singapore for 17 years, was both shocked and touched after watching the video ‘Meet Your Meat’. She took a vow that she would invite her non-vegetarian family members to join her in becoming vegetarians. (Photo by Ng Paik Eng)
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