On August 9, 2019, around 300 teachers and staff of Tzu Chi School gathered in the Tzu Chi Primary Hall to meet shijie and shixiong from He Qi North 1. The purpose of the gathering was to get to know them further and understand Tzu Chi’s volunteer work better.

Mr Sudino Lim, in his welcoming speech, said that, ‘Helping people makes us happy, especially if it’s done with love,’. That Friday afternoon, participants were not only given the knowledge of Tzu Chi’s mission, but were also given the chance to actually hear real stories, experience, and testimonies from the volunteers themselves through group discussion at their tables.

Sugi Shixiong, who’s been a volunteer for over 6 years, recounted his first encounter with the organization, when he jumped to the street to help people during the Jakarta flood in 2013. ‘I saw Tzu Chi and how they did their work, so I began to do my research about Tzu Chi and found that if I want to help people, Tzu Chi might be the right place for me to do it, and I was right,’

Despite being the only volunteer in his family, being a part of Tzu Chi community taught him many things one - and foremost - is to be grateful. One Jing Si Aphorism says, ‘When the unfortunate cannot find help, those who are blessed must go to them’. Blessing, Sugi shixiong said, can be as simple as being healthy and have the ability to help others.

We now live in an era where people are constantly boasting about living the perfect life through social media, hence, it is easy for one to get jealous and instead of being grateful for what we have, we whine about the one we don’t have.  

Through volunteering, saying grace is no longer a rarity because helping others in need would help us tremendously in recognizing our blessings. ‘I once met a kid who was just about to start a new job and become the breadwinner for his family. Not long after he started, he was affected by a rare disease that caused him to be paralyzed. That brushed off the family’s hope, and technically the rest of his life, too,’ added Sugi. He then realized, time is something we shouldn’t take for granted; anything could happen at any time.

On this occasion, participants also received a brief introduction about Tzu Chi volunteer work by Dr Haryo Suparmun, a volunteer from He Qi Utara 1. Dr Suparmun highlighted the significance of the bamboo bank in Tzu Chi’s mission. Quoting Master Cheng Yen, ‘Saving fifty cents each day raises a thrifty and loving heart.’ It’s not about the amount, but the kind thought every day that creates grateful heart. At the end of his presentation, Dr Suparmun invited everyone in the hall to sing Tzu Chi’s song: ‘We Are One Family’.

One of the participants was Mr Lee Bale, an English teacher for Grade 8, who expressed his affinity towards what Tzu Chi is doing through its volunteer mission. He further explained how the universal love of giving is something to be proud of in the Tzu Chi community. ‘One distinct feature about volunteering with Tzu Chi is, it’s universal… you know, you help people of any background, and Tzu Chi selflessly welcomes them without trying to gain anything,’