Tzu Chi's Aid in Nepal
An Evolving Humanitarian Presence
Written By Ida Eva Zielinska
Published #77 | Summer 2025 Issue
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Since 2015, Tzu Chi’s presence in Nepal has steadily expanded. What began as emergency disaster relief in 1993 and 2015 has gradually evolved into long-term, multi-sector humanitarian engagement that blends practical assistance with spiritual and emotional care rooted in Buddhist values. These efforts are further strengthened through close collaboration with local government agencies and partner organizations to deliver global resources to those most in need.
When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, Nepal suspended international air travel and closed its land borders for several months. Once the lockdown eased in 2021, Tzu Chi volunteers entered Nepal and, with the support of local charity partners, worked diligently to provide relief.
“We chartered nine units of airplanes loaded with COVID-19 medical devices, including N95 and surgical masks. We delivered these medical aid provisions to medical institutions,” said Piyu Lin, Vice President of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation in Taiwan. “We provided medical aid to rural villages in the mountains. Because there were no roads, we used donkeys and horses to carry medical supplies up to the mountaintops.”
Tzu Chi was also distributing care packages containing soap and essential food staples in Kathmandu and nearby mountain communities. The recipients included older and disabled individuals, disadvantaged families, and children living in care homes. Residents in Lumbini Province also received food relief. “With the pandemic, I have no work and no food. It is a great relief to receive this food now. It is a gift from the Buddha. Thank you,” one of the recipients said. “This food will keep my family fed for at least one to two months,” another shared.
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These and other activities, particularly in Lumbini, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site commemorating the Buddha’s birthplace, and in the Kathmandu Valley, gradually led to a series of key developments. On August 18, 2022, Tzu Chi opened an office in Lumbini, just a 14-minute walk from the Maya Devi Temple, which honors the Buddha’s mother and designates the precise spot where she gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama beneath a sal tree – a location now indicated by a marker stone within the temple. Then, on July 3, 2023, with its official registration as an international NGO in Nepal, Tzu Chi opened a second office in Kathmandu.
By that time, Tzu Chi volunteers – most from Malaysia and Singapore since the start of aid in Nepal – were working with government agencies, community organizations, Buddhist groups, schools, and businesses to improve lives across the country, from urban centers to remote villages. Their initiatives span charity, medical care, education, women’s empowerment, volunteer training, and spiritual support rooted in Buddhist teachings.
