The Supreme Master Ching Hai
By Formosa Relief Team (Originally in Chinese)
On July 3, 2013, an earthquake of 3.9 magnitude rattled Balochistan Province in southwest Pakistan, bordering Iran. It happened a few months after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake took place on April 16 when 36 lives were lost and 150 were injured. This time, although there was no reported death or injury, many people were still in desperate need of help.
Conveying Her love and prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai contributed US$20,000 and asked our Association members to provide aid to those most in need. On July 4, our Association members in Formosa applied for visas which were approved on July 11. The next day we flew to the country’s largest city, Karachi, the capital of Sindh Province, which is adjacent to Balochistan Province in southern Pakistan. That night, after some discussion, we decided to provide rice to the most remote areas in need of relief. Although most of the stores and institutions were closed for the next few days, a local rice merchant agreed to work extra hours to grind the rice and package it.
On July 15, our relief team went to Jam Goth Village, which is about 26 kilometers from Karachi, and delivered 250 bags of rice. Each bag contained 10 kilograms of rice. When our team arrived, people from different villages lined up to receive the food.
In the early morning of July 16, our relief team drove to one of the villages called Buhara, which is approximately 102 kilometers from Karachi, and delivered 200 bags of rice.
Next, we drove two hours to Nabi Bux Singhr Village near Garho where we mainly provided medical services. One of our team members is a doctor who brought medicine and purchased additional medicine locally. With assistance from the village chief, he treated more than 30 patients, including adults and children, in an elementary school classroom. He prescribed medicine for symptoms of ailments including colds, malnutrition, exhaustion, asthma and skin disease.
The third stop for our relief team was a village called Shah, where the affected people were widely dispersed. We requested that everyone gather in the village plaza to receive the rice. The roads in the fields were too narrow for a big truck to get through. Therefore, we loaded the rice onto tractors and tricycles and drove on the muddy roads to reach the village plaza. At this location, we distributed 530 bags of rice, which were received with joyful smiles by the villagers.
The last stop was Perozani Village, which was one hour away near Keti Bunder. When we arrived at the community center, we received a warm welcome from the villagers. The village chief has been very supportive of our Association in the past and has a picture of Supreme Master Ching Hai on the wall of his office. Our relief team gave out 101 bags of rice. Afterwards, the village chief hospitably treated us to a Pakistani vegan meal with local dishes, fruits and drinks to thank our relief team.
In summary, 1,081 households each received aid, which included a 10-kilogram bag of rice. With Heaven’s blessing, the operation was completed successfully to help many of our kind Pakistani brethren in need.
Expenditures by Supreme Master Ching Hai for Earthquake Relief Work in Pakistan
| Description | Amount (PKR) | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Rice (1,081 10-kilograms bags) | 1,999,850 | A |
| Total | PKR 1,999,850 (US$19,998.50) |
The relief team members paid US$6,000 for their own travel, lodging and other expenses.
