Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

In Taiwan, many elderly people are cared for by women who have left their families and homes thousands of kilometers away. Since 2004, the foundation has been holding free clinics to show its gratitude to these hard-working ladies; this year it joined a ceremony to provide gifts to them.

It was in 2004 that, in co-operation with the department of labor of the Taipei city government, the foundation began free clinics for foreign workers at the city’s main railway station. This year, at the same time as the clinic, the department honored five of them for the hard work. The foundation joined the event, with a gift for the 13 foreign workers who did not win an award. It was a blanket made from recycled material with a logo of the foundation. “During the selection process, we heard many touching stories of these foreign workers who take care of the elderly for us,” said volunteer Yan Meiling. “So I thought we can build up a fellowship by giving them our well-known blankets.” One of the recipients was Susan: “I am so happy that you chose me to receive this kind of blanket. Am I right to say that it is recycled?”

At the same time, the foreign workers were delighted to attend the free clinic. One of them was Deona Rowena, who came for the first time. Initially she was nervous, but her unease melted away with the friendly banter of the volunteers. “You are like a big family,” she said. “You are very good people. You help me to go to the doctor and take care of my problems – my eyes and my teeth.” She heard of the clinic through word of mouth. It is Tzu Chi’s way of showing Deona and her colleagues that it cares for them.