By Taoyuan Center, Formosa (Originally in Chinese)
Remembering Master’s instruction to put love and kindness into action, our Association members from the Taoyuan Center reached out to our local homeless friends on the streets. We learned that the NGO Renan Homeless Social Welfare Foundation was short of funds. Therefore, our local Association members contributed financially or physically in order to provide fresh food ingredients to the Foundation. Our Association members will use the ingredients to demonstrate and encourage vegan cooking among homeless individuals, so that they can enjoy hearty, wholesome and loving meals.
The Renan Homeless Social Welfare Foundation provides cooked meals to homeless individuals on weekdays, and meals that do not require cooking on the weekends. Due to limited funding, most meals were prepared from leftover ingredients that customers did not want from the market, which were donated by the vendors.
Since April 23, 2015, we have been sending volunteers who provide fresh, healthy, balanced, nutritious vegan ingredients. We also bought new, stainless steel pots for the Foundation’s kitchen. We started out by providing vegan meals twice a week to the 30 individuals at Pingan Shelter, which is one of the shelters of the Renan Homeless Social Welfare Foundation. Since the end of May, we have provided additional vegan meals to the 30 homeless individuals in Wenchang Park. Starting in July, we increased the meals to three times a week at both Pingan Shelter and Wenchang Park. DVDs of Master’s teachings are played in the Pingan Shelter in order to share Master’s love, and to provide spiritual comfort and support to our homeless friends.
In May 2015, upon knowing that the local homeless individuals were in need of summer undergarments, our Taoyuan Center immediately purchased 600 pairs of undergarments made from bamboo carbon fiber, which is know for its coolness and durability. Hoping to make their lives more comfortable, we gave the items to 316 homeless individuals whose names we were given to us by the Taoyuan municipal government. Up to December 31, 2015, we have spent a total of TWD 160,105, of which TWD 91,105 was used for food and TWD 69,000 for summer clothing. Our deep gratitude to Master for the opportunity to help our homeless friends.
Expenditures by The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association for Helping Homeless Individuals in Taoyuan, Formosa
Description | Amount (TWD) | Receipt |
---|---|---|
Food | 91,105 | A |
Summer undergarments | 69,000 | B |
Total | TWD 160,105 (US$5,000) |