作者／楊凱丞 、蘇美娟；編輯／李成林
慈濟與墨西哥提娃那市議員米里安·埃切維里亞一同合作，為當地將近一千名貧困家庭孩子發放書包和文具用品。攝影／高銘哲
2023年7月30日，慈濟於墨西哥提娃那（Tijuana, Mexico）和提娃那市府及市議員米里安·埃切維里亞（Miriam Echeverria）合作，在該市鄰近貧民區的羅薩利托（Rosalito）為將近一千名貧困家庭孩子，發放書包和文具用品。市議員米里安在提娃那市主管教育委員會，她為了協助弱勢孩子，每年都會舉辦文具發放活動。今年慈濟提供了600個背包、800本筆記本、鉛筆、量尺、圓規、顏料、畫冊⋯⋯等各年級的學用品，讓每一個孩子都能夠快樂的返校學習。
給孩子最好的東西
市議員米里安在九年前開始這個幫助窮困家庭子弟快樂返校的活動，最初只有幫助50位窮困學生，給他們返校需要的學用品。這麼多年來，活動規模一直不斷地成長，今年邁入第九年。慈濟應市議員米里安的邀約，攜手深入社區，幫助提供學童開學時需要的各種文具用品。慈濟志工在年初時就和全美主要的供應商洽談，並於六月底開始採購、打包，運過美墨邊界；不僅在背包和各種文具上選購高品質的產品，也獲得優惠的價格。
慈濟志工王思宏讚揚市議員米里安的愛心和魄力：「這位市議員是我們的志工，也是我們的好朋友。慈濟在提娃那開始時遇到的一些問題，都是她幫忙我們解決的，我們很感激。她這次請我們來幫忙，我們很高興的來了，一起參加發放。今天，看到將近一千個孩子來這裡領取學用品，真是很感恩。」發放活動中看到的書包、筆記本⋯⋯等等文具，都是慈濟捐贈的。
志工王思宏說明發放的區域是被稱之為「最窮困者中的最窮困者」（poorest of the poorest）；獲得學用品的學生，是最貧困裡最窮的孩子：「開學在即，他們真的買不起學用品，所以我們給他們最需要的東西，也是相等於美國最好的東西。大家都可以看到，孩子們有多高興，我們大家都很高興。」王思宏很高興志工們採購的背包和文具都是最好的。
更多人從中受益
市議員米里安非常感謝今年打破了歷年參加學生人數的記錄：「我們已經第九年舉辦這個活動了。今天，我們在非常弱勢群體（低收入群體）的區域舉辦這次活動，為孩子們提供基本的學習用品，好讓他們能夠擁有開學需要的所有必備用品，繼續上幼兒園、初中和高中。今年我們非常感謝突破參加學生人數的記錄。感恩慈濟的幫助，讓很多的孩子開心，也為家庭減輕購買學用品的負擔。」
我們非常感謝慈濟的幫助，讓這麼多的孩子們開心起來。
當地慈濟志工、美國慈濟志工和市議員的志工團隊，一同成就發放活動。王思宏說明慈濟的捐贈和分工：「我們這邊有幼稚園、小學、初中、高中的分類，根據他們不同的年齡去拿不同顏色、不同大小的書包，還有不同的文具，再給他們慈濟的文刊，讓他們回去閱讀和進一步了解慈濟，希望他們和他們的家長在未來可以變成我們的志工。」
慈濟志工在背包裡放入筆記本、原子筆、鉛筆、削鉛筆工具等，還有適合不同年齡孩子需要的文具，例如圓規、顏料、剪刀⋯⋯。志工王思宏精心選購的書包，絕對可以讓孩子們用一年、兩年。
市議員團隊志工賈魯米·拉米雷斯（Jarumi Ramírez Martínez）帶著兒子拉美西斯（Ramsses Romero Ramirez）和女兒雅米爾（Yamile Romero Ramirez）一起協助發放：「非常感恩與滿意，從幾年前只是一小群人，到今天有一大群志工一起協助發放。」賈魯米的孩子們從學前班到現在，一直得到這個活動的幫助，她的兒子拉美西斯和女兒雅米爾都非常感謝市議員米里安給予的所有幫助，願意加入義工行列，一起來幫助人。
賈魯米分享自己在歷年活動中看到的變化：「我只能說，我非常感謝市議員米里安給予的所有幫助。對於我們來說，更多的人從這一切中受益，這個活動也得到更多巨大的支持，這是一種滿足。」在協助發放的義工行列中，有許多位在過去或現在也是這個活動的受助者，或是受助者的家人，他們願意成為團隊的義工，成就自己，也成就他人；因為能夠參與發放活動，他們的心靈獲得了滋養。
幫助貧困弱勢人群 獻出愛與關懷
Written by Kai Cheng Yang, Mei Juan Su
Translated by H.B. Qin
Edited by Patrick McShane
On July 30, 2023, Tzu Chi USA National Headquarters Region volunteers worked with the Tijuana Municipal Government and City Council Member Miriam Echeverria to distribute school backpacks and stationery to nearly 1,000 children from families in need in low-income areas of Tijuana, Mexico. Council Member Echeverria is the head of the Education Committee of the Tijuana municipal government, which organizes a school supply distribution every year to ensure every student in the city has the supplies they need to start the year off right. This year, Tzu Chi USA provided 600 backpacks, 800 notebooks, pencils, rulers, compasses, drawing books, and more to help the children succeed in their studies this year.
Give Children the Best
Council Member Miriam Echeverria started the program nine years ago with the goal of helping children from low-income families start the school year with all the supplies they need for their studies. In the beginning, only 50 students per year were provided with school supplies. Over the years, however, the program has grown in size and is now in its ninth year and serving more children than ever. At the invitation of City Council Member Echeverria, Tzu Chi went into neighborhoods in need to help provide the school children with school supplies.
At the beginning of the year, Tzu Chi volunteers started contacting major suppliers across the U.S. and began purchasing and packing. The supplies were shipped across the U.S.-Mexico border at the end of June. Through diligent negotiation and the eager cooperation of many corporations, the volunteers were able to purchase high-quality products, backpacks, and stationery at favorable price points.
Tzu Chi volunteer Si Hong Wang praised City Council Member Echeverria’s love and determination. “Council Member Echeverria is a volunteer and our good friend. She helped us solve some of the problems Tzu Chi encountered at the beginning of our work in Tijuana, and we are very grateful. She asked us to help out this time, and we were happy to come and participate in the distribution together. Today, it’s so good to see almost a thousand children here to receive school supplies.” The school backpacks, notebooks, and other school supplies seen at the distribution event were all donated by Tzu Chi USA.
Master Cheng Yen told us that when we give something to others, we must give the best; we want to give something that we would want for ourselves, so that's what we've done.
Volunteer Si Hong Wang explained that the area where the school supplies were distributed was called the “poorest of the poor;” the students who received the school supplies come from some of the most economically disadvantaged families in Tijuana. “The school year is about to start, and they really can’t afford to buy school supplies, so we are giving them what they need the most, and it’s also the best of what’s available in the United States. We can all see how happy the children are, and we are all very happy.”
Si Hong Wang is happy that the backpacks and stationery purchased by the volunteers are of the best quality possible. The volunteers follow Master Cheng Yen’s words and ensure the children receive supplies the volunteers would want for their own children.
Benefiting More People
City Council Member Echeverria is grateful that this year’s number of participating students is a record high. “This is the ninth year we’ve organized this event. Today, we are organizing this event in a very disadvantaged (low-income) area to provide children with basic school supplies, so that they can have all the essentials they need to go back to school when they go to elementary school, middle school, or high school. We are grateful that this year’s number of participating students is a record high. We are thankful for Tzu Chi’s help in making many children happy and relieving families of the burden of purchasing school supplies.”
We are thankful for Tzu Chi's help in making so many children happy.
Local Tzu Chi volunteers, Tzu Chi volunteers from the United States, and the City Council Members’ volunteer team joined hands together to make the distribution a success. Si Hong Wang explained the donation and division of work of Tzu Chi, “We have preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school, we get them different sizes and different colors of school backpacks, and different school supplies based on their different ages, and then give them Tzu Chi’s journals, so they can read and learn more about Tzu Chi, and I hope that they and their parents can become our volunteers in the future.”
Tzu Chi volunteers put notebooks, ballpoint pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, and other stationery suitable for children of different ages in their backpacks, as well as compasses, paints, and scissors, among many others. Volunteer Si Hong Wang has carefully selected high-quality durable school backpacks that can be used for one or two years.
Jarumi Ramírez Martínez, a volunteer from the City Council Member’s team, brought her son Ramsses Romero Ramirez and daughter Yamile Romero Ramirez to help with the distribution. “I’m very grateful and satisfied. We developed from a small group of people a few years ago to a large group of volunteers who help with the distribution.” Jarumi’s children have been helped by the program since preschool, and her son, Ramsses, and daughter, Yamile, are grateful to Council Member Echeverria for all the help she has given them and are willing to join the volunteers to help others when they are old enough.
Jarumi shared the changes she has seen over the years of distribution: “All I can say is that I am very grateful to Council Member Miriam for all the help she has given us. It’s a satisfaction for us that more people are benefiting from all of this and that the event is getting more tremendous support.”
Among the volunteers who helped with the distribution, there were many past and present care recipients or family members of care recipients. They were willing to volunteer as part of a team to make a difference for themselves and others, and their hearts were nourished by being able to participate in the distribution.
