Love
in Action |
Relief Report on Hurricane Victims in the Domincan Republic
Expressing Master's Compassion Despite Adversity
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By the Los Angeles Relief Team (Originally in Aulacese)
In September 2004, while the world was stunned by the effects of hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and especially Jeanne, which caused almost 2000 deaths and thousands of missing persons in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other Caribbean countries, Supreme Master Ching Hai instructed fellow initiates to render aid to the victims. So a contingent of several initiates from the LA Center traveled to the Dominican Republic to provide assistance.
After a ten-hour flight from Los Angeles, the group landed in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo on the afternoon of September 21, and upon arriving in the city booked a hotel and met with its staff to inquire about the hurricane situation in their country. Through God's grace, the initiates were then eagerly led by a young receptionist to the National Civil Defense (NCD), which specializes in national disaster relief work and is located in the southeastern Dominican city of San Pedro de Macoris.
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As the group expressed Master's love and concern for the hurricane victims, the NCD director explained that another organization had promised to help them with their relief work but had had to cancel at the last minute. So he was delighted that Master's team had shown up at this critical time! The NCD representatives then gratefully guided us to the hurricane-ravaged areas, which included several villages. However, access to one village of about 300 residents was fraught with danger due to high water and mud flows.
The next day, after we had inquired about the supplies needed by local residents, the NCD dispatched two trucks and almost ten staff members to accompany us to a market to help purchase the relief items, which included rice, beans, cooking oil, sugar, crackers, fruit, diapers, children's toys, soap, bleach and cleaning implements such as brooms and shovels. After learning that we were on a disaster-relief mission, the manager of the market generously offered us wholesale prices with an additional ten percent discount. We then rapidly loaded the materials onto the two trucks and headed straight to the first village on our schedule.
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Upon our arrival at a safe shelter, the local representatives gathered its residents outside the shelter's fence so that groups of villagers could receive the gifts. Thanks to tight cooperation between the local security staff and NCD members, the gift distribution went very smoothly. Seeing local people feeling warm and comforted by the items they received and from reading Master's sample booklet in Spanish really lifted our spirits, and gave us much joy in having the chance to serve others and share Master's love. After distributing the relief supplies, our truck convoy returned to San Pedro de Macoris. And as we drove along narrow, uneven roads and passed by many rickety houses, locals standing on the roadsides waved their hands and shouted, "Bravo! Bravo! Thank you! Gracias!" We then silently thanked Master for bringing a ray of happiness and comfort to our brothers and sisters in this faraway country.
The next morning, again with trucks fully loaded, our group and several NCD members headed directly to the second village on our itinerary. On the way, we met with the community's mayor, who warned us of hazardous road conditions ahead. But we were undeterred, and assured him that it was precisely because of the difficult travel conditions experienced by the locals that we had to continue on our rescue mission. The mayor then wished us a safe journey and we were on our way. Due to the damaged roads in the region, the relief teams were limited to traveling in one truck. The muddy road to the village wound through many sugarcane fields that had been damaged by the hurricane. At times, low tree branches and electrical wires posed a danger to those who sat on top of the truck, and heavy rainfall caused everyone to become soaking wet, adding more perils to the already treacherous journey. Moreover, the truck continuously got stuck in the mud, but Master arranged everything smoothly so that a local farmer voluntarily led us to the village on his tractor. Each time our truck became trapped in the mud, he used a chain to pull us out. Then, after two hours on the muddy road, we finally arrived at our destination.
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Since no government or private agency had been able to reach this area, the residents were overjoyed to see Master's relief team. The villagers had gone without food for many days and had been drinking muddy water to quench their thirst! This time with more experience, we divided the relief items into four groups. The first contained crackers and fruit, which were distributed to everyone, young and old alike. The second and third groups of items were for the men and women, who lined up separately to receive family necessities such as rice, beans, sugar, cooking oil, soap, bleach and cleaning implements. The fourth group of materials was for the children, and included clothing, books and toys. An additional small area was designated for distributing diapers to families with small babies. This distribution procedure worked out very nicely and half of the supplies on the truck were distributed at this stop. Then, after learning that there was an isolated village of Haitian settlers nearby that was in great need of relief supplies, and despite the fact that darkness was falling and we felt fatigued, we proceeded with joyful hearts to continue the rescue work.
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Guided by the light of an almost full moon, we arrived at the new location, about an hour's drive from the last village. It was quite impressive that despite the looming darkness and their enormous needs, the local villagers lined up patiently and waited their turn for the materials, neither pushing one another nor demanding anything. This village was so poor that even children four or five years of age lacked adequate clothing to cover their bodies. Although the villagers' feet were submerged in the mud, the smiles on their faces were radiant and innocent, reminding us of pure lotus blossoms emitting a sweet fragrance in a stale, muddy pond. It was about midnight when the distribution process was completed, and we returned to our hotel with light, happy hearts, silently thanking Master, Who had blessed us with a successful day of relief work.
The next day, September 24, we inquired at the NCD about other damaged regions, and a staff member said that two more affected villages lay about 90 kilometers northeast of San Pedro de Macoris, but the road was blocked by a collapsed bridge. The NCD staff asked whether we knew of any way to help, and as we silently prayed to the inner Master we told them that if everyone worked together we could get there. The workers were quite pleased at this response and offered their assistance in whatever we needed. So once again we went with them to purchase relief goods, prepared all the necessary items and planned to start another relief expedition the next day.
This time, considering the increasing number of victims who needed help, we figured out a more economical way to buy grain; namely, in bulk instead of in smaller pre-packaged bags as we had done before. The bulk rice was then efficiently divided into smaller packages by NCD staff members. While we were paying for the goods and preparing other items, the NCD crew was already transporting them back to their center to begin the re-packaging process. And by the time we returned to the NCD center, all the materials had already been divided and loaded onto the two trucks.
It was early evening when the trucks began rolling out of the NCD center, and around 9:00 PM we finally arrived at the farthest village that the truck was able to reach. After hearing us explain what we planned to do, the village chief advised us that the best approach would be to leave the relief supplies behind and allow him to supervise their distribution later because of the collapsed bridge. However, after we told him that despite any difficulties we sincerely wanted to personally distribute the materials, and with God's blessing and the help of those involved, we wished to see the process through, the chief relented and offered to accompany us.
Our truck then came to the collapsed bridge, and despite a rushing current in the midst of an immense, dark jungle we remained hopeful. Next, while looking toward the other side of the bridge, we spotted a young man on a motorcycle who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and were thus happy to know that Master had arranged everything. Shouting from one side of the stream to the other, we cheerfully told the young man our intentions, and when he realized that we were bringing food to his people, he quickly returned to the village to report the good news to his leader.
As the bright moonlight guided us from above, we used fallen tree branches to make a temporary bridge across the shallow water and moved the relief goods from one side of the stream to the other. It was touching to see that the chief of the first village, who initially doubted our sincerity, had ended up being one of the hardest working members in our group; he also stood in the strongest, swiftest part of the current as we moved the relief supplies across the stream. While the materials were carried to the other shore, the chief of the second village, who had received the notice from the young man, arrived with a truck to upload the relief supplies for distribution to his people.
After working with the relief team through the night, the first village chief was then able to introduce Master to the villagers, speaking about Her with great sincerity, conviction and respect as if he had known Her for a long time. His speech was a touching and uplifting moment for everyone present. After we finished the distribution in this area, the second village leader informed us that there was yet another village that needed help, but we had to cross another collapsed bridge to get there! It was almost two o'clock in the morning, but we all felt extremely blissful and this sentiment continued to sustain us. So once again, we moved relief goods across another makeshift bridge into the hands of more disaster victims who desperately needed them. After the work was finished, it was high noon by the time we arrived back at our hotel.
That afternoon, the NCD officials invited us back to their center and expressed their gratitude to Master, Who had loved and helped the homeless disaster victims of their country. The NCD staff also presented us with a proclamation to express their respect for Master. We in turn presented the organization with a large photograph of Master and some of Her books and audio and video tapes so that whoever had affinity with Her could learn from Her teachings.
During the September 2004 disaster relief project in the Dominican Republic, Master's blessings and arrangements were discernible every step of the way and in every minor detail, as the Los Angeles initiates worked together with the kind, enthusiastic and helpful locals to bring relief to the hurricane victims of their country. Thank You, Master, for giving us this precious learning opportunity.
