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As Tzu Chi provided medical relief to refugees of the Rwandan Genocide
in 1994, volunteers actively raised funds, such as here in Chicago.

In October of the same year, a historic flood the flood waters receded, twelve volunteers
inundated Texas with water reaching chest- brought their own shovels and buckets to help
high. Tzu Chi volunteers in Houston handed clean the mud from doorways and along the
out relief cash five times, benefiting a total of walls. They also handed out relief cash.
136 households. At the same time, volunteers On February 23, 1995, a small plane
from Los Angeles flew to Alaska to provide relief carrying tourists from Taiwan crashed near
funds to four dozen households affected by the Grand Canyon, killing seven passengers.
severe flooding there. U.S. volunteers accompanied the victims’
In early 1995, heavy rains ravaged California, families to Flagstaff, Arizona, and assisted
turning two dozen counties into disaster zones. them in identifying bodies and possessions
A volunteer team went to assess damage and and conducting memorial services. They also
found that residents of Santa Barbara’s Deluxe distributed relief cash, and assistance was
Mobile Home Park, which was situated in a provided to two wounded sisters who required
low-lying area and primarily low-income, had long-term hospital care. On August 29 of the
sustained especially heavy damage. After same year, a tour bus with fourteen tourists from

2 6 Tzu Chi uSA WiNTER 2014