Tzu Chi Medical Foundation

On August 14th, 2021, a deadly 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti, roughly 78 miles or 125 km west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Mobilizing swiftly, teams of local Tzu Chi Haiti volunteers in Les Cayes began their assessment to ascertain survivors’ needs and what aid may be most effectively delivered. With local assessment missions underway, volunteers from Tzu Chi’s U.S. Headquarters in California began assembling medical kits on August 20th.

Tzu Chi volunteers give without asking for anything in return Written by Audrey ChengTranslated by Audrey Cheng and Yves Danel GeorgesPhotos provided by Yves Danel

In September 2017, the Puebla earthquake, measuring 7.1 in magnitude, struck Central Mexico. Then, Tzu Chi volunteer Ken Nomura was working as a history teacher in Monterrey, Mexico.

Tzu Chi Medical Foundation has been sending medical volunteers from the United States, Canada, Taiwan, and more, three to four times a year to offer vulnerable residents access to quality medical care that includes consultations, dental treatments, pain therapies, ophthalmology, and pharmaceutical services.

Fishermen go out to sea under moonlight in San Mateo Beach, a fishing village with 5,500 inhabitants in Manta, Ecuador. Most residents rely on their catches to earn a living, but it’s not truly enough to live comfortably. It is ultimately what kinds of fish and how much the men bring back from the sea that determines how well or poorly their families will live in the next few days. San Mateo has one hospital and a pharmacy.