On January 12-14, Tzu Chi volunteers in Jordan distributed winter clothing to more than 2,000 families from Syria who fled the civil war. They were delighted to receive these items to help them through a winter that is especially severe this year.
Since the start of the civil war in March 2011, a large number of people have fled to neighboring countries. Of these, nearly 110,000 are living in Jordan; many are living in camps in the desert, with the minimum of supplies. The government and NGOs are struggling to handle the influx.
To help them, starting from last October, the foundation in Taiwan collected over 188,000 items of second-hand clothing from the general public and 6,300 eco blankets. They realized how badly the refugees would need warm clothes to survive the harsh winter. The foundation shipped these items in seven cargo containers, which arrived in Jordan in early January.
The volunteers in Jordan distributed the clothes from January 12 to 14 in the city of Ramtha; a total of 2,179 families received the items, which had been cleaned and neatly prepared. Chen Qui-hua, CEO of Tzu Chi in Jordan, said that, at the beginning of the year, the areas of Amman and Ramtha were hit by heavy rain and snow, which had worsened the plight of the refugees. Fortunately, the clothes from Taiwan arrived in time to solve their most urgent problem and despite the rain and low temperatures on the first distribution day.
During the distribution, Chen reminded every volunteer to embrace the recipient and spread the love from Taiwan, while they were handing out the clothes. The volunteers were from both Taiwan and Jordan; they gave the clothes with both hands and bow, as a sign of respect. Chen said: “when the refugees fled, they could not carry too many personal belongings. Now they have spent most of their money and cannot afford to purchase oil, gas or other fuel to keep warm. Some cannot even afford winter clothes. Therefore, this distribution really helped them at the right time.”
When the volunteers saw the children wearing the clothes from Taiwan, they saw the love from Tzu Chi warming the refugee camp.
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