Written by Lusha Lee
Translated by Yingying Lee
Edited by Andrea Barkley
On January 7, 2023, Tzu Chi USA and Care Mission USA jointly held a special donation ceremony at the Tzu Chi campus in Tijuana, Mexico. Care Mission USA is a non-profit organization that provides charity and medical care to underresourced adults and children. Care Mission’s reach is limited in Tijuana, so the organization transferred ownership of a new service center and central kitchen to Tzu Chi. They hoped Tzu Chi Tijuana could use the center and kitchen to expand and extend their scope of care to more residents and people in need.
Staying Grounded to Move With Ease
During the ceremony, attendees thanked Tzu Chi volunteers Dr. Joe Wang and Ah Mui Manguy for their dedication to the community for the past 12 years. Over the years, their actions have moved local kind-hearted people to donate land for Tzu Chi causes. As a result, Tzu Chi’s Tijuana continues to expand its presence in the Tijuana area.
Volunteer Lurong Lin read a letter of gratitude on behalf of Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation CEO Bowen Yan, “I am grateful to Care Mission USA for paving the way with love over the years and for their donation. This act of kindness will ease the pain of sick and suffering residents.”
The congratulatory letter also mentioned that Dr. Joe Wang had traveled to Taiwan twice in 2022 to pay homage to Master Cheng Yen. After receiving permission from Master Cheng Yen to obtain the new spaces, Wang served as the broker between Care Mission and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation.
The value of life is not evaluated by money, but by love.
CEO Bowen Yan continued in the letter, “I am sincerely grateful to the Care Mission for heartily donating to the campus to help us eradicate suffering for the impoverished and ill. Tzu Chi volunteers will achieve this goal collectively and welcome good people and high-quality professionals to work together to support our vision of creating a peaceful, content society.”
Greater Responsibility and Vision
Bei Song, director of the Care Mission USA, also attended the event. Song read the donation letter from Care Mission to Tzu Chi, “Dr. Joe Wang has traveled between Los Angeles and Tijuana weekly for over ten years, leading charity causes in both places. Unfortunately, Dr. Joe Wang and volunteer Ah Mui Manguy are getting older, and traveling has become more difficult. But this great work must continue. Therefore, all Care Mission directors unanimously agreed to donate this service center and kitchen space to the Tzu Chi Tijuana campus and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. This way, Tzu Chi can continue its mission to provide medical and charitable services to disadvantaged residents.”
I was fortunate enough to meet with the compassionate Venerable Master Cheng Yen. I am grateful to the gracious Venerable Master for affirming our efforts and giving us the greatest blessing.
Dr. Joe Wang, who has doggedly traveled to Tijuana for 50 weeks a year over the last decade to provide free clinics, shared, “Thank you to the directors of the Care Mission for their compassion.” Wang plans to take on greater responsibilities and vows to create a complete medical environment. The aim is to transform the new spaces into the region’s most complete and comprehensive campus and implement Tzu Chi’s four major philanthropic causes: Charity, Medicine, Education, and Humanity.
Jihong Chen, vice executive director of the Tzu Chi Foundation, also made a special trip to witness the donation ceremony. Chen expressed blessings and gratitude on behalf of Master Cheng Yen, and presented Tzu Chi eco-friendly pens to every volunteer of Care Mission USA, thanking the volunteers’ charitable giving in the community.
The expansion of the Tzu Chi Tijuana campus demonstrates that when good people gather with kindness, it becomes easier to achieve Tzu Chi’s three visions of “purifying people’s hearts, forming a peaceful society, and creating a world free of disasters.” With this joint effort, Tzu Chi Tijuana will doubtlessly become the most well-rounded campus in the region.
