From Chapter 35 Responding quickly to the effects of Hurricane Katrina Background At the end of August 2005, one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history, Katrina, swept along the Gulf Coast of the United States, leveling homes, leaving hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and claiming the lives of more than 1,800 people. The cataclysmic storm caused an estimated us$81 billion worth of property damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in the country's history. The Tzu Chi Foundation immediately mobilized hundreds of volunteers in response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and helped evacuees who had been relocated to Texas, Arizona, Kansas, New York, and California. With so many left homeless, Tzu Chi volunteers supplied hurricane victims with shelter, food, and other basic necessities. Master Cheng Yen urged Tzu Chi volunteers around the world to help families recover from this disaster as quickly as possible. Challenge "I feel an indescribable sense of pain and sorrow," the Master said to all Tzu Chi members in a notice regarding the state of emergency in the regions affected by Katrina. Tzu Chi needed to help--that was obvious. The only question was, could help arrive fast enough? "The role of global warming cannot be denied, as scientific studies tell us," the Master told Tzu Chi members. "The disasters nowadays are increasingly more severe, and in the future, given human beings' wayward activities, the disasters will become even more devastating. The small acts here and there may seem minor, but very quickly we find upon us a calamity that tears apart families and destroys cities. As a member of this global village, how can we remain apart and take no action?" All Tzu Chi members from around the world responded to the Master's urgent call. With free transportation provided by Taiwan's China Airlines, Tzu Chi shipped 10,818 boxes containing medical pouches to Los Angeles, where Tzu Chi volunteers distributed the supplies to hurricane victims and low-income patients. In addition, Tzu Chi set up a database to collect information on missing people to serve the Chinese community and other evacuees in a systematic way. Tzu Chi also provided immediate and direct financial assistance to Katrina evacuees in the form of emergency checks or gift cards, which helped families pay for daily necessities. Affected families also received a prepaid thirty-minute phone card and a letter from Master Cheng Yen. In the letter, the Master said to the evacuees: "Besides helping you to meet needs, we hope the aid that we give can also be a source of comfort and support to you--knowing that it contains the love and good wishes of people around the world. These supplies will one day be used up, but we hope the love they hold in them will always stay with you. Today, our volunteers are there in person to represent the love and good wishes from people around the globe. Living on this planet, we are all connected to one another." Tzu Chi volunteers set up a table at an evacuee shelter in Beaumont, Texas, to accept applications for the relief package. At first, many disaster victims swarmed in front of the table. One policeman instructed the crowd to form a line and said: "You need to appreciate! In coming here, they [Tzu Chi volunteers] provide care and love, asking for nothing in return. They don't need to take pressure like this. Please be thoughtful and thankful." Those words proved to be effective. As a result, everyone lined up in an orderly fashion. Tzu Chi volunteers were instructed to give out the relief package with both hands while saying "thank you" to demonstrate respect, gratitude, and love. The evacuees were not considered as refugees but as neighbors struggling through a difficult time. The Tzu Chi relief team was, however, presented with some administrative challenges. Volunteers discovered that some of the evacuees tried to acquire multiple gift cards by sending different family members to the relief office. To ensure relief aid would be distributed fairly, volunteers tracked identification records. The Master also instructed that each family should receive an amount capped at us$200. In the end, Tzu Chi committed over us$4 million for emergency relief efforts in the region. Tzu Chi Canada was able to provide us$1 million within a week. Members in over forty countries also responded quickly to the call of the Master to raise funds to support ongoing and subsequent relief plans. As of spring 2008, Tzu Chi had given more than us$4,120,458 in financial assistance to Katrina evacuees. More than 22,487 families-- 58,553 people--received Tzu Chi's emergency cash gift in the form of a check, gift card, or debit card. Each family received an average of $200. More than one thousand Tzu Chi volunteers have participated in the relief effort. Effects and Reflections The Master says: "We should have a gracious mindset when serving as volunteers, for only a volunteer who is grateful can be happy. Real gratitude is portrayed through our actions." Among the evacuees we served, I particularly remember a young American woman. She told me that she had been traveling to many countries but was now stranded by Hurricane Katrina. She had been staying in a stadium in Houston with five thousand other evacuees for two weeks. Her greatest hardship, though, was being separated from her son, who suffered from asthma and could not stay in such a crowded place, so had to stay somewhere else. She missed her child terribly, but she had no money to go to see him. She felt she was not taking good care of him and was saddened by this thought. We bowed and presented to her, with both hands, the US$200 cash. We explained to her that it embodied multiple blessings from hundreds of our members, who sent their best wishes along with the money. Our members were all hoping that her hardship and that of many others would be over soon. This young woman was noticeably moved. "For the first time [in weeks] you put a smile on my face," she said. It seemed that her worries were gone just like that. I could see her face light up. I'll never forget that sight for as long as I live. When we bring happiness to people, we also bring happiness to ourselves. Excerpted from Challenges: The Life and Teachings of Venerable Master Cheng Yen by Gary Ho All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
