Tzu Chi's Aid in Nepal
Heartfelt Charity Care
Written By Ida Eva Zielinska
Published #77 | Summer 2025 Issue
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Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tzu Chi has offered a variety of charitable services in Nepal, especially in Lumbini Province. Activities include winter care distributions, eco-blanket and rice giveaways, hot meal programs, and the donation of school supplies such as stationery, backpacks, and jackets for students.
The Lumbini office also designated the first Saturday of each month as Charity Distribution Day, when volunteers visit homes to deliver rice and assess ongoing needs. Their kindness has inspired many care recipients who, despite their own hardships, have joined Tzu Chi’s Rice Piggy Bank initiative by setting aside a handful of donated rice daily to help others. The practice fosters a spirit of giving, awakens compassion, and reflects Master Cheng Yen’s teaching: “Eat eight-tenths full, and use two-tenths to help others.”
At regular intervals, villagers bring their rice banks to the Tzu Chi office to donate the contents. Others participate through schools that receive Tzu Chi’s charity support. “It’s okay for our lives to be a little difficult, but we should have a kind heart,” one villager reflected. “We can save a little bit while having our meals, and use the savings to help many people. I also encourage my friends to do the same.”
Giving is not a privilege of the wealthy, but rather the choice of those who have a heart.
House Rebuilding and Construction Projects
Another benefit of home visits is that volunteers can identify households in need of more extensive assistance. That’s how several home repair and rebuilding projects have come to fruition.
During home visits in 2023, the team arrived at a humble, doorless house with earthen walls and a low ceiling, where 11-year-old Srijana Kahar lived with her grandparents. The little girl had lost her mother early in life, and her father had remarried and moved away. The family survived on her grandfather’s modest income from harvesting wheat and mustard greens, with no means to fix their deteriorating home.
As she showed the volunteers around, Kahar’s grandmother pointed to the roof and said, “Whenever it rains during the monsoon season, the roof leaks and we can’t cook.” Moved by the family’s situation, Tzu Chi stepped in to replace the worn roof with zinc sheeting, raising its height to improve safety and comfort just before the rains. They also installed solar lighting inside, allowing Kahar to study at night without a flashlight.
Another case was that of Bhavachi Kurmi, a 60-year-old widow living in extreme poverty in a crumbling mud hut with a canvas tarp for a roof. Without an ID or access to social welfare, she relied on neighbors who shared what little food they had. In July 2023, Tzu Chi volunteers demolished the unsafe structure and built a modest, secure new home in just a few days, making sure it was to the lady’s specifications.
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Tzu Chi has also rebuilt homes for others living in unsafe or unstable conditions, taking on each project on a case-by-case basis according to the family’s circumstances. Whether to protect children, support the elderly, or restore a sense of dignity and security, each home is a symbol of renewed hope and compassionate action.
Individual Care That Changes Lives
Sometimes, Tzu Chi volunteers come across charity cases in unexpected ways. Such was the case in 2023, when volunteers from Singapore and Malaysia, staying in Lumbini for an extended period, met 19-year-old Kabita at the Aloka Hotel, where she worked. Observing her diligence day after day, they grew curious about her story and asked.
They learned that when her father passed away, Kabita had to leave school after Grade 10 to support her impoverished family, including her injured mother and younger brother. Yet deep down, she yearned to return to school and become a teacher. “Whenever I’m washing dishes, I can’t help but think about how wonderful it would be if I could go to school, find a good job in society, and become a productive individual, rather than washing plates at a hotel,” she said, her voice tinged with sadness.
The volunteers identified her as a candidate for charity assistance and a team visited her village home to better understand her circumstances. When they met Kabita’s mother, they saw her deep worry: If Kabita returned to school, the family would lose its only source of income.
The team proposed a solution: Tzu Chi would offer the family a living allowance, enabling Kabita to return to school. Hearing this, her mother relented, a turning point that brought Kabita to tears of relief, as her long-held dream suddenly became possible.
Then she asked, her voice hesitant, “Do I need to repay Tzu Chi?” “No need to repay,” came the reply, “but in the future, if you have the opportunity, help others like yourself,” said Tzu Chi volunteer Qizhen Wang from Malaysia.
Another life-changing case began in 2022, when a neighbor alerted Tzu Chi volunteers to the situation facing then 25-year-old Bechu Lodh, a bricklayer from the village of Gulariha in Lumbini Province. On December 26, 2021, Lodh had suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident. After spending four months in a coma, he awoke to find himself burdened by medical debt, unemployed, and facing a long road of rehabilitation. This devastating turn of events had dramatically reshaped the lives of his entire family, including his wife and their two children.
Tzu Chi volunteers stepped in to cover his medical expenses and also undertook essential home repairs, installing a corrugated iron roof to stop leaks during the rainy season. Later, they proposed a new idea: Lodh could open a small grocery store in front of his home, a venture that could restore his confidence and promote long-term self-reliance.
The volunteers purchased inventory, built and painted shelves, and trained Lodh in pricing and business management. Through everyone’s persistent efforts, the shop opened in July 2023, paving the way for a brighter, more sustainable future for his family. This case illustrates Tzu Chi’s holistic approach to charity care, one that can truly transform lives.
Infrastructure Support
In 2023, Tzu Chi volunteers addressed a dire need for clean water in Lumbini, particularly at the Aama Sanitation Station near the Indian border. Since the station is staffed with qualified medical personnel, 50 to 60 patients, including expectant mothers, come daily from nearby villages and even from India. However, the facility lacked access to safe drinking water and relied on a deteriorating 40-meter well. “That water is absolutely undrinkable; it could be deadly,” said Rajis, head of the station.
Undeterred by scorching heat, equipment breakdowns, and difficult terrain, the engineering team persevered, digging a 500-meter-deep well. In May 2023, they struck clean, abundant water. The supply was tested and confirmed safe, providing a reliable source of drinking water for the village and all who visit the clinic.
Beside the well stands a stone inscribed with the words: “Water is the essence of life; cherish water like gold.” Everyone here surely does. “I am deeply grateful, not only on my own behalf but also on behalf of my team and the villagers here. We are all filled with immense gratitude,” Rajis said.
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Disaster Relief
When disaster strikes, Tzu Chi volunteers are always ready to respond, as they were following the magnitude 5.6 earthquake in western Nepal on November 3, 2023. Echoing their actions after the 2015 earthquake, Tzu Chi once again constructed semi-permanent classrooms for displaced students, erecting 30 classrooms across five damaged schools.
More recently, after consecutive days of heavy rainfall at the end of September 2024 caused rivers to overflow, catastrophic flooding and landslides struck the Kathmandu Valley. Tzu Chi volunteers delivered blankets and supplies to shelters housing evacuees, carrying items by hand where damaged roads made vehicle access impossible.
