The aid efforts of Tzu Chi or BTCF, short for the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, is designed around the belief of having that compassionate humanistic touch, where humanism and egalitarianism with a special consideration to vulnerable populations, of whom need special assistance, and where the dignity of disaster survivors are upheld at the forefront of all the projects implemented, a holistic approach to providing humanitarian aid. This type of all-encompassing approach begins with the provision of the most basic human needs—water, food, and shelter. During relief efforts, aside from the organization’s own philosophical and spiritually based methods for aid, BTCF also uses and follows the standards and guidelines of the Sphere Project, which, as stated by the project’s self introduction, “puts the right of disaster-affected populations to life with dignity, and to protection,” and “promotes the active participation of affected populations,” approaches that are parallel with BTCF’s internal methods, both of which emphasizes the empowerment of local communities while building their capacity to achieve sustainability and self-reliance.
With the Sphere guidelines, BTCF engages in, as defined by the Sphere Project, the “four primary life-saving areas of humanitarian aid: water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH), Food Security and Nutrition (FSN), Shelter, Settlement, and Non-Food Items, and Health Action.” Throughout the wake of disasters and to the months and years afterwards, Tzu Chi provides shelter and non-food items in the form of tents, plastic tarps, solar power units, mosquito nets, foldable beds, and blankets; health action including large scale medical outreaches, supplying of medical supplies, and coordination and collaboration with local clinics and hospitals; WASH requirements including education, sanitation tablets, and clean drinking water, and the expertise to retrieve clean drinking water; and finally FSN supplies including rice, beans, oil, sugar, and stoves.
It is in the wake of the Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal that the Sphere projects guidelines are so so very clearly reflected in Tzu Chi’s relief work. As of July or to date, Tzu Chi has distributed materials to 78,983 people, or 14,962 families while providing hot meals to 78,850 people. Volunteer medical staff treated 11,255 patients, 7,000 people were provided with shelter, and 2,439 were hired under a Work for Relief program. Relief supplies including rice, beans, oil, sugar, 1,554.2 kilograms of medicine, 90 large tents, 500 tarps, 5,603 foldable beds and 10,710 blankets were delivered to where needed via land, sea or air transportation. Other aid has included the provision of 10 solar power units, and distribution of clean drinking water to more than 400 families. Donations towards Tzu Chi’s activities have come from 36 countries. In the previous month of June, volunteers donated school supplies and calculators to students at Mahewsori tent area; held a 2nd volunteer training session, attended by 62 Nepali volunteers; gave first-aid kits to Seabird International College and 4 other schools; assessed the damage in Bungamati and Kokana; worked with Global Medic to distribute 80 water purifiers in Kadambas; started a 2nd round of large-scale supply distribution with the handing out of blankets to 1,335 families in Bungamati; and donated folding beds, blankets and medical materials to the Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital.
As the emergency response period ends and the local communities begin to find normalcy with schools, business, and governmental municipalities now open or operating, Tzu Chi’s relief activities in Nepal are also starting to transition towards the mid to long term protocol—meaning the implementation of development and reconstruction efforts. To kickoff the development and reconstruction phase, a Tzu Chi team is building simple classrooms at the Norvic Institute of Technology in Lalitpur. Meanwhile, Medical Outreach volunteers continue to visit tent settlements, remote mountain areas, hospitals, schools and Buddhist temples, and treat new cases, check up on previous patients, and address issues like head lice. The road to recovery is an arduous one with many challenges along the way, but being committed to the people of Nepal, Tzu Chi is there for the long haul.
Tzu Chi Foundation