On December 13, 2022, Lamiya Lin, a staff member of Tzu Chi in Jordan, was officially certified as a Tzu Chi commissioner. Not only did Master Cheng Yen, founder of the Foundation, give her blessings in person, but Lamiya’s parents and many Tzu Chi volunteers also came to congratulate her.
Solid Force to Tzu Chi's Charity Path
Chen Chiou-hwa, CEO of the Tzu Chi Jordan branch, congratulated Lamiya on her successful certification. "This is also the beginning of taking on the mission," said Lamiya’s mother, Wang Yu-jie, a senior Tzu Chi certified volunteer. She also expressed her gratitude: "I am grateful to Tzu Chi volunteers for their care and love for Lamiya, and to brother Chiou-hwa for taking care of Lamiya in Jordan. She has been able to turn knowledge into wisdom, realize her blessings through seeing others’ suffering, and use her talents to take care of the needy."
Lamiya grew up in a Tzu Chi family. She graduated from the Department of Arabic Language and Literature of National Chengchi University. She won a government scholarship to study abroad, and stayed in Saudi Arabia to work. After that, she married a Jordanian Muslim and started a family. Now her two sons are in their sophomore and high school years.
Lamiya is fluent in Chinese, English and Arabic. She is also familiar with the customs of the Middle East. In 2020, she joined the Tzu Chi Jordan branch and spared no effort in undertaking the projects of the organization, especially in medical care, education, charity, and work involving Syrian refugees.
After two years of a Tzu Chi training program, Lamiya decided to take on Tzu Chi missions. Now that she has been certified, she is expected to add greater strength to Tzu Chi's path of charity in the Middle East.
Affinity
When Lamiya was young, she participated in Tzu Chi activities with her parents. She realized that giving without asking for anything in return would bring great peace and happiness to her heart. During her life, she has experienced ups and downs. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she had the opportunity to go to the Jordan branch to serve as a staff member.
During home visits and the provision of medical treatment with volunteers, she saw and felt that only a few breaths separate life and death. That made her think deeply of the value of her life. In receiving Chen Chiou-hwa's continuous encouragement, she was amazed to learn that he has been serving as a volunteer in Jordan for 25 years. It turned out that he vowed to do charity work for Master Cheng Yen in Jordan. What a great ambition!
See Others’ Suffering, Realize Our Blessings
Lamiya found special care cases and refugees requiring medical care during regular distributions in many places in Jordan. Having no language barrier with those she cared for, she made effective and detailed reports for Chen Chiou-hwa from the communication between the refugees and the doctors. Especially from medical cases, she received deep and shocking lessons.
"In October 2020, a young girl suffering from bone and flesh cancer was wrapped in a blanket by her family and sent to the doctor for help in a truck. After a lot of hard work, the operation was successful. But, after a few days of observation, she died suddenly due to a rapid drop in blood pressure. Although she was gone in the end, the medical assistance, companionship, and care we gave her made her leave with dignity. Truly, we are so lucky to be born as human beings," said Lamiya.
Lamiya was greatly influenced by a young man with brain cancer. His young wife never left him and took him to the doctors; but he passed away in January 2021. The love of this couple moved Lamiya very much; she realized that she should reconcile with her husband, and she did. She said: "I not only realize my blessings through seeing others’ suffering, but also see the shocking education of the impermanence of life. I reflect on myself from those cases. In fact, I am the beneficiary."
Realize, cherish, and cultivate blessings
Tzu Chi has been caring for the poor and the sick in Jordan for 25 years, and for Syrian refugees for 10 years. Lamiya said: "Besides helping people, the most important thing is to save their hearts. We don't just save their lives, we want to help them to keep the right thoughts, hoping that they can turn their lives around and make their future safer and smoother."
Although Lamiya is a Muslim, she transcends religious barriers to be a Tzu Chi volunteer. She believes that the great love taught by Islam is the same as the spirit of Tzu Chi. She upholds the "spirit of great love" and unswervingly follows filial piety and performs good deeds.
With the spirit of "realizing, cherishing, and cultivating blessings”, she continues to spread love to the needy in Jordan.
Article by Xu Fei-li; Wen Bao-qin
