Tzu Chi Early Childhood is gladly participating in The Great Kindness Challenge, a program presented by Kids for Peace, a global non-profit organization dedicated to creating a culture of kindness and compassion. This is also related to the Jing Si aphorism of our Master Cheng Yen, who says, "Acts of kindness from each one of us are like the nectar of love that can enrich the hearts of many." Therefore, our goal in this challenge is to instill kindness in children until it becomes a habit, and to develop a sense of purpose and gratitude. We believe that by performing simple acts of kindness, they could become instruments of peace for a healthier, happier community.

This challenge begins from January 24th to February 4th, where class teachers guide students to do acts of kindness during their online classes, like saying hello or good morning to their classmates, singing a song or dance for their classmates or teachers, tidying up after class, and showing off their own bamboo bank that they made from recycled materials. 

To continue putting this compassion into action, we also encourage our students to challenge themselves at home, so we invite parents to guide their children to continue this challenge. We are grateful that many parents have addressed this challenge by posting on social media. Every captured moment emphasized the significance of how we should treat one another and how it influenced others to perform acts of kindness.

When the teachers do the reflections with the students at the end of the challenge, we realize that our students were very excited to share about acts of kindness that they had already done and how kindness had affected them.We also see that they are reaching out to each other and being very conscious of their actions and words, which makes for a happier and healthier learning environment. As a token of Kids of Peace appreciation for the students' participation, they award each class a certificate.

A big thanks to all the parents and children for the support and for shining a special light of kindness, gan en.