Tzu Chi’s staff and volunteers meeting up social workers from Changi General Hospital over tea
“What hits me the most is how Tzu Chi defines ‘gratitude’. I find that it comes from the depths of your heart, so deep that it reaches the soul level,” said Jemin Chua, a social worker who has been liaising with Tzu Chi on referral cases.
Chua was a member of one of Tzu Chi Singapore’s partnering organisations that were visiting the NGO’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition at the Da Ai Gallery in September 2018. Some 20 long-term partners, including VWOs and healthcare institutions, visited the exhibition at the Gallery, where they learned about the core spirit and Missions of Tzu Chi. Among these visitors were representatives from Nexus Family Resource Centre (FRC), Singapore Amalgamated Services Co-operative Organisation (SASCO), Changi General Hospital, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, etc. They were cordially hosted by Tzu Chi staff and volunteers at the Gallery on 4th and 7th September 2018.
A briefing was conducted prior to the arrival of the guests
Tzu Chi staff and volunteers welcome the visitors at the Gallery entrance.
The invited guests were divided into smaller groups and then ushered to the second level of the building, with one or two docents leading each group. After passing a big “bamboo coin bank” affixed to the wall next to the main door, they proceeded to the exhibition zones upstairs. There were a total of five zones, namely, “Tzu Chi Singapore”, “Stories in Tzu Chi”, “The World of Tzu Chi”, "Multimedia Experience", and "Tzu Chi History", which featured the origin and development of Tzu Chi and its Missions.
Chief event coordinator, Tzu Chi volunteer Beh Keng Hua, shares about the global footprints of Tzu Chi with some visitors.
A docent demonstrating how Tzu Chi volunteers express gratitude with a respectful 90-degree bow
An eye-opener for the visitors
Jemin Chua was particularly touched by Tzu Chi's unique definition and practice of gratitude, and how its volunteers treat their care and aid recipients. As a social worker, she was moved to say: "The docent shared with us that we should treat the people we are helping like our own family. If they are elderly folks, we can see them as our grandparents. For those who are in the same age group as us, we can regard them as our brothers and sisters. I am very touched by this idea, and I will do so from now on."
Jemin’s job requires her to deal with patients very often. She said, “The moment I see them as ‘patients’, a barrier is formed between us. So it’s not easy for me to call a patient ‘granny’. But I feel that if I call her ‘granny’, she would feel happier and closer to me.”
After the visit, the visitors gained a better understanding of Tzu Chi. In particular, they discovered that Tzu Chi is an international NGO with various Missions that serve people of all races and religions in Singapore.
"My impression of Tzu Chi is that the organisation is in Taiwan. I didn't know that Tzu Chi is giving so much aid at the international level as well. It is truly an eye-opening visit for me today," said Constance Chen, a senior medical social worker from Changi General Hospital.
Tzu Chi has been working with hospitals, schools, social welfare organisations and prisons to assist aid recipients referred by the latter. For example, it provides AIDS medication subsidies for needy patients and home healthcare services to patients with mobility difficulties.
Goh Leay Ying, the assistant manager of Tzu Chi’s Charity Development Department, shared, "We only focus on a specific type of cases while dealing with each organisation. For example, some are about subsidies for HIV drugs while some require dialysis assistance. So these different organisations only learned that Tzu Chi is actually an international organisation after visiting Da Ai Gallery today.”
Visitors listening to a docent share stories about the pioneering years of Tzu Chi Taiwan
Wong Yuen Teng, a medical social worker from Changi General Hospital, commented that the visit has given her a clearer picture of how Tzu Chi Singapore developed over time into a large VWO with various Missions, including Charity, Education, Medicine, and Environmental Protection.
Tzu Chi usually corresponds with its partnering agencies and institutions by phone or email, and there is hardly any opportunity for everyone to have closer and deeper interactions with each other. Goh shared that this special visit has allowed everyone to understand each other better, and that all parties have benefited from the exchanges, because everyone is doing work that benefits the needy and they all share common intentions and goals.
Visitors gather for a tea session with Tzu Chi staff and volunteers after their tour around the Gallery.
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