The 25th Tzu Chi Anniversary: The Feeling as One Family

Santriwati from Nurul Iman Islamic Boarding School also livened up the 25^th Anniversary of Tzu Chi Indonesia by singing One Family's sign language. Siti Hamidah (center) tried to give the best performance by practicing diligently beforehand.

The santriwati (female students) of Al-Ashriyyah Nurul Iman Islamic Boarding School, students from Cinta Kasih Tzu Chi School, as well as Tzu Chi Pademangan volunteers (the location of Tzu Chi Village Restoration Program) participated in the 25th Anniversary of Tzu Chi Indonesia by demonstrating One Family sign language sung by Sastani Dewantara, accompanied by Twilite Orchestra.

The sincerity of santriwati from Nurul Iman Islamic Boarding School was very evident in demonstrating one of Tzu Chi's humanistic cultures. They were practicing diligently long in advance so that they did not forget the gestures and could perform them smoothly. They felt that they had to be able to perform optimally in every Tzu Chi event. As stated by Siti Hamidah, one of the santriwati.

"I was moved and content to be able to sing and demonstrate the One Family sign language because of the warmth meeting with Tzu Chi volunteers. This song has also taught me that there are no such thing as difference in race, ethnicity, and religion among us humans."

In this Tzu Chi's Anniversary, Hamidah hoped that Tzu Chi Indonesia could continue to move forward and grow, and its attention towards Nurul Iman Islamic Boarding School could also continue.

Ria (center), a Tzu Chi volunteer from Pademangan felt happy to able to join in the community of Tzu Chi Indonesia volunteer.

The same thing was conveyed by Ria, a Tzu Chi volunteer from Pademangan, North Jakarta. "I feel very happy to be able to join Tzu Chi volunteers’ community. Hopefully Tzu Chi Indonesia will keep on progressing so that the number of volunteers will increase and become successful in developing the mission and vision taught by Master Cheng Yen," said Ria.

Humanitarian Songs

After DAAi Night in 2014, this was the second time which Dewantara had appeared in Tzu Chi program. She was very impressed and seemed to enjoy the humanist atmosphere in Tzu Chi environment.

"The ambience I got at Tzu Chi is very positive, full of compassion, and we are comfortable because the people are kind and friendly. I am also delighted because they pay great attention to every detail here,” said the singer from the Island of the Gods, Bali.

The melodious voice of Sastrani amazed the audience throughout the six songs that she sang. The song she liked the most is One Family. "This song is really nice, I love every of its lyrics, from I feel happy when I hear your laughter. It sounds very humane; togetherness, empathy, compassion, it’s all there. So we as one family in need of each other and trust each other, as humans are social beings, not individual. The lyrics are wonderful for me and the arrangement is also nice, so I am comfortable singing it," she said.

Sastrani Dewantara was in the middle of practicing with the santriwati from Nurul Iman Islamic Boarding School.

The melodious voice of Sastrani astounded the audience with the six songs that she sang.

Same as the singer, Addie MS, the leader of Twilite Orchestra, also sensed a strong kinship in Tzu Chi. "I don’t see any expression of sadness, gloom on their face; everyone looks friendly, kind. So I’m fond of the culture, polite and loving. That's what I like,” said Addie.

At first Addie thought that Tzu Chi activities were only for Buddhists. “But after seeing this, there are lot of surprising things, it is much more than not limited by religions, but the point is to spread love and to help each other without looking at their religion, ethnicity, or race. This is what I like, even more, after knowing more of Tzu Chi’s culture,” said Addie.

The Support of Out-of-Town Tzu Chi Volunteers

The 25th Anniversary of Tzu Chi Indonesia’s celebration was also attended by Tzu Chi volunteers from outside of Jakarta, such as Bandung, Biak, Pekanbaru, Batam, and others. John Andrew or who is also known as Hong Thay, the head of Tzu Chi Pekanbaru, was present along with his vice chairwoman, Tisye. “Personally, my bond with Tzu Chi is what pushes me to travel all the way from Pekanbaru to attend this celebration, and of course, the most important thing is 25 years of Tzu Chi's journey until now,” said Hong Thay.

Addie MS, the leader of Twilite Orchestra, felt a strong sense of kinship in Tzu Chi.

According to Hong Thay, this journey is not short. There is a lot of things that can be learnt from the history of Tzu Chi Indonesia in order to improve inspiration and motivation, especially for Tzu Chi volunteers in Pekanbaru. Being a part of Tzu Chi, this has naturally evoked a personal sense of pride when recalling Tzu Chi’s growth from the beginning until now.

“However, I still hope and pray that Tzu Chi can continue progressing in the future. With our cooperation as the people of Tzu Chi, we can build Tzu Chi for the better and stride on the path of Bodhisatva together, building wisdom inside each of us as well as contributing more in the society,” said Hong Thay.

According to Hong Thay, Head of Tzu Chi Pekanbaru, this 25-year journey of Tzu Chi Indonesia is not short; there is a lot to be learned from the history of Tzu Chi Indonesia to increase inspiration and motivation, especially for Tzu Chi volunteers in Pekanbaru.

Head of Tzu Chi Bandung, Herman Widjaja was also present along with the other 15 volunteers of Tzu Chi Bandung. “Time really passes by so quickly. Unconsciously, it has been 25 years since Tzu Chi was first established and in Bandung alone, Tzu Chi has been around for 14 years. I feel incredibly proud of Tzu Chi’s growth, especially with our contribution benefitting the society,” said Herman. On this joyful day, Herman hoped that Tzu Chi volunteers would increase in number so that Tzu Chi's love could continue to spread throughout the archipelago.

On this happy day, Herman Widjaja, Head of Tzu Chi Bandung hoped that Tzu Chi volunteers would continue to increase so that Tzu Chi's love could keep on spreading throughout the archipelago.

From east of Indonesia, Tzu Chi volunteers from Biak, Papua were also present to give encouragement towards Tzu Chi Indonesia. Along with other 10 volunteers of Tzu Chi Biak, Yenny The came to Jakarta to enliven the 25^th Anniversary of Tzu Chi. She looked very enthusiastic and happy that she could celebrate Tzu Chi’s journey until now with the other volunteers.

“I feel extremely pleased and grateful to able to join in Tzu Chi community. With the cooperation of every people in Tzu Chi, I can see the world changing for the better. However, there are still a lot of things that we have to learn more and this progress has to be continued, especially in Papua with a quite remote location. We must keep on spreading love in the society,” said Yenny The, representing the head of Tzu Chi Biak.

 Translated by Stefanny

Edited by Ilena Sevalona