DDMSWCF offers financial aid to 420 economically disadvantaged students from central Taiwan
On the morning of September 19, 2009, Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation (DDMSWCF) hosted a ceremony at the Zhongxin Hall in Nantou County of central Taiwan to give financial aid to 420 economically disadvantaged students from the Nantou, Chushan, Taichung, Fongyuan, Dongshi and Miaoli districts.
Around 100 volunteers and guest officials from Nantou County Government, as well as relatives of the recipients, all attended the ceremony to offer their warmest blessings.
The ceremony began with a Dharma ritual led by the director of DDMSWCF, Venerable Guo Qi with the crowd piously chanting the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva to pray for the survivors and for those who lost their lives in the 88 Flood and the 921 Earthquake, as well as to transfer the merits from the chanting to the deceased, hoping that they would rest in peace.
The ceremony was also held in conjunction with other activities in memory of the deceased in the 921 Earthquake occurred in Nantou a decade ago to help arouse people’s awareness on the value of life.
Venerable Guo Qi reminded the students that the financial aid they received came from people’s generous donations, an expression of their compassion for those affected in the disaster, and therefore he urged the students to work hard so they can give back to society in the future, and so that the love could be extended further to more places in our world.
(translated by Jin Yang/edited by Lisa Tu)
