Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

The foundation has built 15 prefabricated classrooms for a school in southern Taiwan destroyed by an earthquake in March. The students are delighted to hold their lessons in such a setting.

The powerful Jiaxian quake struck Tainan county and demolished the Yujing Middle High School, forcing teachers and students to move into temporary accommodation, an activity centre built for those who had been displaced. It was noisy, crowded and unsuitable for serious learning. So the foundation moved in and put up the 15 pre-fab classrooms within a month; the opening ceremony was held on May 5.

"It feels wonderful,” said student Ma Taize. “Because Tzu Chi has built this for us, it is very comforting.” Classmate Bing Tianci said that the new classrooms had insulation and so would not be noisy. “We are very happy to have this kind of environment to hold our classes,” said teacher Chen Meihong. “This is much better than the activity centre.”

The students express their feelings through drawings on the blackboard. “It is our way of waving to our new home,” said Yang Yujing. Classmate Hong Mingqian said that he wanted to study hard and be admitted into the school of his choice so that he could do something meaningful.

Teacher Zhang Xiuming told the students that everyone had pooled their strength to help them. “You must certainly treasure this kindness and study even harder, so that you can live up to their hopes and expectations.” After the cruelty of a natural disaster, the young people have learnt the importance of a safe haven in the face of danger and have turned into hard-working and loving students.



※Tzu Chi Builds Temporary Classrooms for Earthquake Survivors