Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

The Tzu Chi Foundation has started to deliver relief goods to Indonesia -- instant rice and eco-friendly blankets. Just after 5.00 p.m. on September 28, the quake, with a magnitude of 7.5, struck the province of Central Sulawesi; it generated a powerful tsunami. More than 1,300 people were killed and hundreds are seriously injured.

On hearing of the earthquake, the headquarters and Indonesian branch of Tzu Chi Foundation mobilized at once. On October 3, Tzu Chi volunteers and Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) members arrived in Palu, the most severely damaged city; they began to plan the delivery of relief goods and medical services. In the city of Makassar, Tzu Chi volunteers went to care for patients injured in the quake and their families. On October 4, the foundation shipped disaster relief goods, including 10,000 Tzu Chi eco-friendly blankets and 8.4 tons of Jing Si Instant Rice.

After the earthquake, the foundation’s Indonesia Branch immediately held an emergency meeting and prepared supplies of daily necessities and medical goods. Access roads to Palu were blocked; the relief goods could only be sent in by military cargo plane. Volunteers have prepared 3,000 loaves of breads, 200 boxes of cookies, and 200 boxes of bottled water for the city.

In Makassar, volunteers went to a food factory to purchase the needed food. A volunteer recognized the factory owner as a classmate of her elementary school. After he learnt the purpose of the volunteers coming to the company, the owner expressed his willingness to donate goods. He wanted to help his fellow countrymen. He also said that, if there was a further need, he could continue to supply the goods.

In Makassar, volunteers visited the hospitals of RS Sayang Rakyat and RS Wahidin to care for the patients injured by the quake and their families. Many of them do not have any clean clothes to change into. Volunteers immediately went to purchase food, drinking water, toiletries, clothes, baby formula, and diapers.

On October 2, a medical team of doctors, nurse, pharmacists, and volunteers departed from Jakarta; they carried four tents and 200 kilograms of medicines. They utilized the transfer time in Makassar to care for the survivors from Palu and gather more information on the local situation. In the afternoon of October 3, the first disaster relief and medical team arrived in Palu city; volunteers not only surveyed the situation but also met the head of the military for disaster relief work to discuss collaboration.

After the assessment, the Tzu Chi Indonesia branch decided to provide blankets and instant rice, which can be prepared with cold or hot water. Since October 2, in Taiwan, staff and volunteers began to prepare the goods for shipment.

In Hualien, Taiwan, the Dharma Masters of Jing Si Abode packed and shipped out the instant rice, which has certificates of ISO 22000 and HACCP. In Taipei, volunteers and staff in the Neihu and Sanchung branches packed the boxes and labeled them as disaster relief. Later, at the Taoyuan Aviation Depot, volunteers loaded the boxes into a cargo container.

On October 4, a cargo plane of China Airlines shipped 10,000 blankets and 8.4 tones of Jing Si Instant Rice from Taoyuan International Airport; the company offered a discount price for shipments that go for disaster relief. The goods arrived in Jakarta at 12:27 and were received by the foundation’s Indonesia branch.

As of October 3, according to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance, AHA Centre, over 70,000 people have lost their homes because of the earthquake; over 65,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed. The Foundation has begun a mid- and long-term disaster relief plan. The humanitarian relief work will continue.