Ateneo confers Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan Award on Tzu Chi Foundation Ph

There is a saying that goes 'what you reap is what you sow,' and for the Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines, what they have sown had always been good seeds--seeds of compassion, genuine concern and love.

The Tzu Chi Foundation has been carrying out disaster preparedness missions through relief operations and charitable activities in the Philippines for 22 years. In the beginning, it was merely an offshoot of its parent global organization, Tzu Chi Foundation of Taiwan, founded in 1966 by Master Cheng Yen.

In 1991, Master Cheng Yen was named Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for outstanding Community Leadership (1991) and she donated half of her cash prize to victims of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. When members of the local Chinese community heard about her magnanimity, they vowed to continue working on disaster preparedness in the Philippines so that in 1994, Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines was born.

Tzu Chi first caught the public’s attention in 2013 during its relief operations in Leyte in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda where they were able to start a housing village project for 2,000 families in Barangay Lilo-An, Ormoc City. Read more about it here.

Apart from these programs, Tzu Chi also supports scholars, conducts medical missions and youth camps throughout the country. 

Tzu Chi Philippines relies on its local members for donations and has to raise funds for its own programs, but in times of great disasters like Ondoy or Yolanda, its parent organization in Taiwan provides the necessary resources and donors from its members all over the world are quick to help. 

Tzu Chi Foundation is founded on Master Cheng Yen’s belief that “to save the world, we must believe in transforming human hearts.” This may be achieved, she said, through humanitarian work, where one does not only help those in need but also becomes aware of the harsh realities of life and finds spiritual happiness through giving.

Tzu Chi Foundation distributes rice relief to indigent families in Carmona in 2012

It is because of this rather than just its work in disaster response that influenced the Ateneo board’s choice of Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines as the recipient of this year’s Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan during the Traditional University Awards on Sept. 27, 2016.

As part of the Traditional University Awards, members of the foundation will also give a lecture on Sept. 28, 2016 at 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on “Decades of Excellence in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.” The lecture will be held at the Escaler Hall, Science Education Complex, Loyola Schools, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Tzu Chi volunteers post-Yolanda, November 2013

Other recipients of this year’s Traditional Academic Awards are Austere Panadero (Government Service Award), Aga Mayo Butocan (Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi award), Beatriz Tesoro (Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi award), and Justice Adolfo Azcuna (Lux-in-Domino award). The other awardees will also be giving public lectures on their specific areas of expertise.

The Special Academic Convocation on September 27, 2016 will be livestreamed here starting 3:00 PM.