Founded by Dharma master Cheng Yen, a Taiwan nun, in 1996, the Tzu Chi Foundation of Manila, Philippines is fundamentally driven by its four major missions: Charity, Medicine, Education, and Humanity. With a motto of ‘a day of no toil is a day of no food,’ Tzu Chi aims to construct a community of integrity, kindness, and morality. Among their missions, one of Tzu Chi’s main focuses lies in environmental and biodiversity protection. With their Da Ai Technology Company, experts in manufacturing and recycling turn garbage, mainly PET bottles, into creating blankets, shirts, and bags for the needy. By turning debris into basic necessities as valuable as gold, Tzu Chi not only bolsters in maintaining a sustainable environment but also in ‘purifies hearts’ of the distraught. The innovation Tzu Chi provides us with is indubitably an invaluable method in preserving our ecosystem. Further, through its own broadcasting networks, newspapers, website and magazines, the foundation plays a prominent role in advocating and advertising sustainability. Striving for mutual, beneficial coexistence with our earth, Tzu Chi’s projects range from recycling magazines for arts and crafts materials to using plastic bottles for constructing tangible, buoyant boats; these variegated methods Tzu Chi undertakes are definitely promising steps towards a sustainable future.
-Julie Min
-Julie Min