Tzu Chi Foundation honors mothers
It’s a good feeling, something different this time because we invited the patients.
Tzu Chi Foundation on 10 May, celebrated its 50th anniversary, along with Buddha Day and Mother’s Day.
Also included in the celebration was cleansing the feet of mothers and elders who lined up as patients at the Tzu Chi Eye Center.
In Buddhism, clean water mixed with sandalwood to clean the feat is one of the eight typical offerings.
In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Tzu Chi Foundation CEO Michael Siao said he noticed that during the feet cleansing, led by Tzu Chi volunteers, doctors, and members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), many elders were touched, with some seen hugging those who washed their feet.
“It’s a good feeling, something different this time because we invited the patients. To commemorate Mother’s Day, our doctors who were regularly providing services for the patients, they humbled themselves, they themselves washed the patients’ feet,” Siao said.
“You will notice from the patients, many were touched. So this celebration, this is our happiest for us that the best way to be grateful, to show gratitude to the master is by physical practice,” he added.
First non-profit clinic
Opened in 2016, Tzu Chi Foundation’s Eye Center, located in Sta. Mesa, is the first non-profit organization-owned medical center in the Philippines.
According to the foundation’s website, it has a state-of-theart medical facility which contains the most advanced optical technology where surgeries for cataracts and various eye illnesses are provided by an expert team of eye specialists, all for free for indigent patients.