Page 1 - 2016 TC50Years

▲ Tzu Chi’s Project Hope reconstruction project and

long-term care after the 1999 earthquake in Taiwan

set the standard for future disaster relief efforts. Here,

volunteers work in Nantou the month after the quake.

1973. After Typhoon Nora

devastates eastern Taiwan,

Dharma Master Cheng Yen

forms a disaster relief team,

which establishes the model

for all future Tzu Chi disaster

relief teams: evaluation,

fundraising, collection of

materials, identification

of people in need, and

distribution.

1975. A group of students

at Hualien Normal School,

following the teachings of

Dharma Master Cheng

Yen, begin helping elderly

and disabled people on

weekends and holidays.

This becomes the model for

all later home visits.

1979. Master Cheng Yen

begins fundraising for Tzu

Chi’s first hospital, a 600-

bed facility in Hualien.