To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster relief around the world, entrepreneurs from various industries in Taiwan come together to research and develop products in food, clothing, housing, transportation, and communication. In 2003, the Tzu Chi International Humanitarian Aid Association (TIHAA) was formed. They provide logistical support to Tzu Chi’s disaster relief efforts and develop goods for use in times of disaster.
Combine Both Charity and Environmental Protection
To help save the earth’s resources and minimize its destruction is something always on the minds of Tzu Chi volunteers. Despite having their own businesses and careers to manage, this group of entrepreneur volunteers are also committed volunteers. It is often said, “Volunteers are the source of strength to change the world in the 21st century”. The main objectives of these entrepreneur volunteers are to combine both charity and environmental protection in the relief missions, and achieve the most efficient use of all resources.
For example, as disaster areas often lack electricity, TIHAA has worked with Tzu Chi’s monastic practitioners to develop instant rice that can be prepared just by adding cold water. It has also developed technologies to process recycled plastic bottles into fiber, which is then made into blankets and clothing to be given out to the needy and disaster survivors.
Tzu Chi has distributed over a million such blankets to needy people around the world, including victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Syrian refugees, and people in North and South America whose lives have been adversely affected by COVID-19.
TIHAA’s First Task
TIHAA first took part in international disaster relief work in the 2004 South Asian Tsunami. They transported tents, blankets, rice, large water filters, rice cakes, and soya brown rice to the disaster area.
When volunteers walk into the disaster area, they are all heartbroken by what they see; it’s likely the victims have nothing left at all. The most immediate task for volunteers is to provide the victims with the most basic needs like food and clothes.
Jing Si Multi-Purpose Folding Bed
Jing Si multi-purpose folding beds have an interesting history of relief aid work of Tzu Chi as they were uniquely designed in Taiwan in response to the major floods of 2010 in Pakistan.
This multi-purpose foldable bed has been continuously improved over time. Once extended, it is a single bed. When semi-folded, it can be used as a chair. The bed itself weighs only 15 kilograms, but it can bear up to 150 kilograms of weight. It can easily be carried with one hand.
The bed is widely used in Tzu Chi’s disaster relief efforts and has been used in disaster areas in Taiwan, as well as for disasters in the Philippines, Nepal, Malaysia, and more. In August 2021, Tzu Chi volunteers provided Jing Si foldable beds to help alleviate the shortage of hospital beds during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
Mobile Water Purifier
All-terrain Vehicle
Mobile Kitchen
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