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International (1997-2005)
Tzu Chi in the USA
1989 – 2014

disaster relief team to provide rice to seventeen In Chanmico, the second Great Love
thousand families across three affected cities, Village—with 835 homes, a community center,
helping them to get through this incredibly a school, and a medical clinic—was dedicated in
difficult period. a ceremony on October 31, 2003. The country’s
In addition to providing food, medicine, president, Francisco Flores, personally cut the
and genuine care to sustain survivors’ bodies ribbon alongside Tzu Chi volunteers, and a
and souls, U.S. Tzu Chi volunteers went a step bishop also came to lead Mass. Beginning on
further by taking on the major project of October 30, Tzu Chi volunteers carried out
building Great Love homes for 1,175 families three days of relief distributions and medical
in the hard-hit communities of Sacacoyo and outreaches in the new Great Love Village as well
Chanmico. In Sacacoyo, the project had two as Ahuachapan and Santa Ana.
phases. The first phase resulted in 119 rebuilt Through these experiences and more,
homes, which were presented to their new volunteers gained international disaster relief
residents in a ceremony on August 11, 2001. In experience and honed their abilities.
the second phase, 221 homes were dedicated
on February 13, 2002, to commemorate the first
anniversary of the second quake.

Tzu Chi rebuilt two entire
villages in El Salvador.

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