Echo of Compassion

As Tzu Chi prepared for the construction, a sudden phone call brought everything to a halt—the site had been rezoned for military use. The grave news left Master Cheng Yen sleepless. As she continued searching for new location, she had decided to return all the donations to its donors if the project fails to proceed.

Sister Lin Pi-Yu, the current vice CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation, had been preoccupied with locating an ideal site for the hospital since the project was announced. As depress-ing as the setback was, she managed to acquire a new piece of land for the Hospital, which was considerably better in terms of size, location, and neighboring environment than any of the previous candidates. That land she acquired is where Hualien Tzu Chi General Hospital stands today.

The pleasant news came with a not so pleasant one—the estimated budget for the first phase of the construction was further raised to 800 million TWD. Although the Founda-tion had only managed to raise a discouraging sum of 30 million TWD, the Tzu Chi commissioners did not falter in their effort. They walk the city streets, sharing the altru-istic ideals behind the hospital with all those who would listen. Not long after, dona-tions began pouring in from nationwide and overseas, from all levels of social strata. By inauguration day, the Hospital had raised a total of 707 million TWD.

Every piece of brick, every grain of sand of this Hospital are the manifestation of love and compassion from the generous souls worldwide.