Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

On June 19, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation held a ceremony to open temporary classrooms it has built for Li-Ren Elementary School of Yunlin county in central Taiwan. Chiu Hsiao-wen, director of the county’s education department, and Lin Wen-bin, head of Huwei Township, and other guests participated in the event. Master Cheng Yen sent a letter of blessing, in which she wished the children a promising future.

The school was founded in 1942; over the years, the main school building has reached the end of its useful life and did not pass the earthquake risk assessment. Therefore the school board decided to rebuild it. During the construction, there will be a shortage of classrooms. After discussions with Tzu Chi, the foundation decided to bring 10 temporary classrooms, to be used for arts and science classes. The foundation mobilized volunteers to complete the assembly work in three weeks.

The opening ceremony began with a performance by the drum team of Chunder Junior High School. In his speech, Director Chiu expressed his gratitude for the contribution of the Tzu Chi volunteers and encouraged the students to work hard on their studies to repay the society. On behalf of Yunlin county, he presented a certificate of appreciation to Tzu Chi.

The students of Li-Ren sang songs and did a performance of dance and sign language. The Tzu Chi volunteers presented Jing Si Aphorism posters, bamboo banks, ornaments that symbolize safety and the keys to the classrooms.

Tzu Chi volunteer Lai Chueh-Fei read the letter from Master Cheng Yen. In it, she expressed her blessings for the students to have a safe environment to study and increase their knowledge and morality. She expressed her gratitude to the construction team and Tzu Chi volunteers in Yunlin for building beautiful and practical rooms. She also thanked the principal and teachers for their contribution in bringing a promising future to the students.

Principle Lin Chun-Yi thanked Master Cheng Yen and the foundation for providing a spacious environment for the students during the construction. He also thanked the Ta Chen Stainless Pipe company, parents, education department for all their support. Ta Chen provided the building materials for the classrooms. He especially encouraged the students to treasure all the blessings they have received, to create more blessings and to help those around them.

The foundation believes children's education cannot be postponed. Therefore, it cooperated with the Ta Chen company on the project. With the aid of the company's construction skills, the Great Love temporary classrooms were built. The classrooms were used before on the campus of Donghe Junior High School; now they have been re-assembled in Li-Ren. To protect the environment, the Tzu Chi volunteers insisted that the classrooms be made of high quality wood materials that can be reused safely.

After the ceremony, the principal led the guests, teachers, students and Tzu Chi volunteers on a tour of the Great Love temporary classrooms.