| Love in Action |
Rendering Relief to Natural Disaster Victims
By fellow initiate in China (Originally in Chinese)
From the end of June to November of this year, many regions in China were stricken by heavy rains, earthquakes and typhoons. As advised by Master, our local fellow initiates promptly went to the affected areas to render timely relief to the victims. Heavy Rains and Earthquakes Devastate Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan and Gansu Provinces On July 9, Yaoan County of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunan Province was rocked by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that toppled more than 18,000 residential houses and affected 1.26 million people. Our fellow initiates immediately purchased 500 beds and 800 quilts upon knowing that they were urgently needed, and then delivered them to the heavily stricken Sanduyi Village, Guanglu Town of Yaoan County, and the Dongshan Village of Xiangyun County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture on July 11 and 18 respectively. Later, they were informed that there were still 80 households in Lawu Village of Binchuang County in need of help, so they bought food and other basic necessities for them, and gave money to 7 families who had lost their houses. On November 2, Binchuan County of Dali was again hit by a 5.0 magnitude earthquake, affecting 14 villages in Pingchuan Township. On November 4, our Association members purchased some rice and vegetable oil which they distributed to the victims. Monetary help was also given to four especially poor families. On November 9, they went to the Returned Overseas Chinese Farm in Binchuan County to help the victims and distributed relief money to 52 households who were most affected. In Sichuan Province, Chongqing City, as well as five counties and regions including Qingchuan, Qianjiang and Yunyang, were hit by heavy rains between July and September. Our Association members travelled several hundred kilometres to Qingchuan County to distribute relief items to more than 30 needy families. In another relief operation, they visited more than 500 destitute households in three remote counties and regions in Chongqing City, giving them daily necessities and monetary help. They also visited five schools in Pengshui County, rendering help to 60 destitute students, including free vegan lunches for three months. After the disaster in September, they also went to Yunyang and Qianjiang offering cash relief along with SOS flyers to 17 households whose homes were totally destroyed. On July 25, torrential rain in Hunan Province caused massive floods, affecting 1.75 million people in seven cities and autonomous prefectures. Fellow initiates visited the 10 most heavily stricken villages to distribute food, canola oil and other relief materials; money was also given to the most affected households. During the relief work, they also took the opportunity to spread the message about the benefits of a plant-based diet and the harmful effects caused by animal farming. On August 16, heavy rainfall, accompanied by strong winds and hale, suddenly struck Jingyuan County of Baiyan City in Gansu Province, and caused damages of various degrees to all the 16 towns and 91 villages in the county. Our local relief team promptly purchased 800 quilts and 300 boxes of instant noodles for the three most heavily hit townships and a home for the elderly. They also distributed cash to five severely affected households. Typhoons Swept across the South-eastern Provinces On August 7, Tropical Storm “Swan” swept through Hainan Province capsizing many ships; some sailors lost their lives while others are still missing. Accompanied by the village chief, our Association members visited families who had lost loved ones, bringing with them much needed cooking oil, rice and relief cash from Master. The area most affected by this typhoon was in Penxi Town of Taishun County in Zhejiang Province. Fellow initiates offered rice and soybean oil to the 20 most affected households together with a monetary contribution. Due to time constraints and some blocked roads, they left behind 50 packages of relief supplies and 10,000 RMB (US$1,464) cash for the government officials to distribute to those in desperate need on their behalf. 
Upon knowing that two villages in Yihuang County, Fuzhou City, were heavily hit by the typhoon, our Association members in Jiangxi Province went to visit the victims on August 18, giving them relief cash as well as informative SOS pamphlets, flyers and DVDs, to encourage them to adopt a plant-based diet to help mitigate global warming and all these unfortunate disasters. They also contributed to a fund that will be used to repair bridges and classrooms. When they were informed that several households living in some very remote places were also in need of help, they gave some relief cash to the village chief requesting him to visit and take care of them. On October 16, Parma Typhoon struck 15 cities and towns
in Hainan Province. Upon hearing that 4 villagers were in need of
help in Dongou Town, Wanning City, fellow initiates went to their
homes on October 18 and brought them oil, rice and relief money
along with Master’s loving concern. Expenditures by Supreme Master Ching Hai for Victims of Heavy Rain, Earthquake and Typhoon Disasters in China (Currency: RMB¥)
* Throughout the relief
operation, fellow initiates paid
for their own traveling, food, and accommodation expenses. 
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Torrential
rains from June 29 to July 5 had caused a chain of disasters in
Yunan Province, especially in Guangnan County and Funing County
of Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which this year,
had already been hit by storms, droughts, floods and fires of various
degrees. On July 12, our fellow initiates purchased the required
relief materials including quilts, coats, T-shirts and blankets,
and distributed them to those in need the following day. As to the
victims in the remote mountain areas, the Civil Administration Department
requested the officers of those distant villages and towns to distribute
the materials. In addition, our relief team gave some money to two
elderly persons for treatment of their illnesses.
On
August 9, Typhoon Morakot struck Xiapu County in Fujian Province,
creating havoc in the lives of more than 11.8 million people in
five provinces. Fellow initiates travelled to Xiapu County on August
18 to visit the affected in Songshan and Dunhou Villages, giving
them relief cash, candies, stationery and books, along with the
SOS flyers.
On
September 15, Typhoon Koppu swept across Guangdong Province, bringing
disaster to a million people. In the heavily stricken area of Yongning
Town in Yangchun County, Yangjiang City, there were 475 households
in urgent need of many basic necessities. On September 18, our local
relief team purchased 500 sets of quilts and covers as well as 160
blankets, and delivered them to the victims. On September 20, they
were informed that there were eight more villages in Yongning Town
needing urgent help, so more quilts, quilt covers and thick blankets
were purchased for them. They also contributed cash to some disadvantaged
people, the most needy villagers and orphans.
