July 30, 2025
Tzu Chi extends typhoon relief to scholars, medical assistance beneficiaries
By Joy Rojas
Stories of Tzu Chi beneficiaries receiving help beyond what they asked for is all in a day’s work for the foundation’s volunteers and staff. To them, it is simply putting Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s words into practice: Speak kind words, think good thoughts, do good deeds. Give without expectation and give with gratitude.
When many parts of Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces were submerged in floodwater from the recent spate of typhoons (Crising, Dante, Empong) and unrelenting monsoon rains, Tzu Chi volunteers didn’t think twice about extending relief to individuals who by now have become more than beneficiaries. They are family.
Every storm season, 21-year-old Tzu Chi scholar Karl Andrew Bonabon expects some flooding at the back and bedrooms of his home in Tondo, Manila. The water dumped by the last three typhoons and monsoon rain was no exception. As flood began pooling on their floors, all Bonabon and his family could do was place their belongings atop tables and chairs.
He learned about Tzu Chi’s offer to assist its scholars and medical assistance beneficiaries through his assigned social worker, who was conducting a survey on the effects of non-stop rains on their homes. “Severe flooding,” “roof leaks,” “blown-off roofs,” “weakened structures,” and “parts of their homes being damaged by strong winds” were among the common answers.
Tzu Chi volunteers responded to his call for help by providing him with three galvanized iron (GI) sheets and two pieces of plywood, which were used to fix the source of flooding in their home. The scholar also claimed provisions to tide his family over in inclement weather: one 10-kg sack of rice and assorted cooking, cleaning, and personal care items.
This isn’t the first time Bonabon had received relief for a disaster from Tzu Chi. In distribution efforts for a previous typhoon, he claimed grocery items and other essentials.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for Tzu Chi Foundation,” says the fourth year Unibersidad de Manila student taking BS in Physical Therapy. “They were instrumental in helping me with my education—actually, with my everyday life. I hope you can extend help to more people. We can also be your instruments to helping others.”
When Tzu Chi volunteers came upon 79-year-old Reynalda Francisco and her daughter Imelda Reyes in their home in Samson Road, Caloocan, they were huddled in a corner of their cramped space.
Days of continuous rains led to multiple leaks from a patched-up ceiling with damp portions and gaping holes. Francisco remedied the situation by placing pails directly under the leaks.
A medical assistance beneficiary since 2018, Francisco receives medicines for heart and kidney disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes; Reyes is a Person with Disability who her mother describes as “slow.”
Given their respective health challenges, mother and daughter stayed put during the rain, stretching their supply of quarterly rice from Tzu Chi as far as it can go. Occasionally, compassionate neighbors will share food with them. For the most part, they are on their own.
Reluctant as she was to ask Tzu Chi for help, Francisco took advantage of the foundation’s offer to assist storm victims. She told them about the damages in her home and how she hesitated to approach them “because they had given me so much already,” she says in near tears.
Nevertheless, and despite the ongoing downpour, volunteers and staff showed up with a 10-kg sack of rice, various grocery items, and GI sheets for her roof. As always, Tzu Chi did not fail Francisco.
“I’d like to thank Master Cheng Yen, the Tzu Chi Foundation, and its volunteers,” she says. “We have nowhere to go for food. If I get sick, nobody will give me medicines. If I wait for assistance from government, it will take months. That’s why I’m so grateful for all the help that Tzu Chi has given us. They help so many people all over the Philippines.”
A total of 41 beneficiaries and local volunteers responded to Tzu Chi’s survey regarding their need for aid following torrential rains: 19 scholars from the Educational Assistance Program, 11 from the Technical-Vocational Program, three from the Medical Assistance Program, and eight local volunteers.
Tzu Chi staffers squeeze into a dark and narrow alley in Samson Road, Caloocan, to deliver GI sheets and other provisions to medical assistance beneficiary Reynalda Francisco.
Flanked by Tzu Chi volunteer Rudy Ong (first from left) and registered social worker Lyka Tigas, (first from right), medical assistance beneficiary Reynalda Francisco and her daughter Imelda Reyes (second and third from left) are grateful to receive provisions amid continuous monsoon rains.
With multiple leaks from the ceiling of their home, mother and daughter Reynalda Francisco and Imelda Reyes huddled in a dry corner of their cramped space.
Gaping holes and perennially wet portions of a patched-up ceiling produced multiple leaks in Reynalda Francisco’s home.
In Tondo, Manila, Tzu Chi scholar Karl Andrew Bonabon helps load GI sheets from Tzu Chi volunteers atop a tricycle.
The GI sheets and other construction materials from Tzu Chi claimed by Karl Andrew Bonabon will be used to fortify the ceiling and roof of his home.
Responding to a survey about the effects of non-stop rains as conducted by his social worker, Tzu Chi scholar Karl Andrew Bonabon (second from left) received rice, assorted groceries, and construction materials. I hope you can extend help to more people,” says the fourth year Unibersidad de Manila student taking BS in Physical Therapy. “We can also be your instruments to helping others.”