June 13, 2024
Taking steps to provide well-rounded education
By Joy Rojas
Even before they cross the finish line of Tzu Chi’s Charity Run for Education on Sunday, July 21 at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, participants of the event’s 1K, 3K, 5K, and 10K categories are already considered winners.
By joining the run, they contribute to Tzu Chi’s Educational Assistance Program. Since it was established in 1995, the initiative has awarded more than 13,000 scholarships to disadvantaged elementary, high school, and college youth in Zamboanga, Davao, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, Iloilo, Pampanga, Bicol, and the National Capital Region.
Academics, values, and more
While most scholarships shoulder the costs to cover the academic needs of a student, a scholarship from the Tzu Chi Foundation goes a step further by molding a youth’s character.
In addition to taking care of a student’s tuition and various allowances, a Tzu Chi scholarship includes monthly Humanity classes that inculcate timeless, universal values advocated by Tzu Chi founder, Buddhist nun Dharma Master Cheng Yen. Practical, interactive talks conducted by Tzu Chi volunteers and guest speakers range from environmental protection and mental health issues to gratitude and filial piety or respect for parents.
When they aren’t attending talks, they’re putting the lessons they learned into practice. Tzu Chi scholars have visited orphanages and homes for the elderly, participated in tree-planting and recycling programs, and assisted Tzu Chi volunteers in relief distributions for victims of community fires and beneficiaries of the foundation’s medical assistance program.
Lessons to last a lifetime
Humanity classes take a few hours, but their impact lasts a lifetime. Now a senior finance manager, Jhoy Sarmiento, a Tzu Chi scholar from 2006 to 2009, continues to give back to the organization that changed the course of her life. The daughter of a carpenter, she and her sister moved from their home in Bataan to Manila to apply for scholarships. Through a Tzu Chi scholarship, Sarmiento successfully completed her degree in BS Accountancy from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
“Aside from the monetary help, the most important help that I got from Tzu Chi was the development of self, my confidence,” says Sarmiento, a regular resource person of Tzu Chi’s mock interviews for its graduating college seniors.
“I wouldn’t be here without Tzu Chi. Helping in any way I can is my way of saying ‘thank you’ and telling the volunteers and the donors that they didn’t make a mistake in choosing to support me.”
The mission of education
Education is one of four main missions of the foundation established by Master Cheng Yen in her native Taiwan in 1966. In the Philippines as well as in the 68 Tzu Chi chapters around the world, volunteers have extended compassion and relief in charity, medicine, education, and humanistic culture to over 136 countries. International relief, bone marrow donation, environmental protection, and community volunteerism are Tzu Chi’s other advocacies.
Let your run on July 21 make a difference in a scholar’s life. Run for kindness. Support Tzu Chi’s scholars. Register NOW!
Register here:
https://raceroster.com/events/2024/88678/tzu-chi-charity-run
NOTE: Processing and admin fees apply.
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Working together. Scholars get to engage in group activities that encourage interaction and camaraderie.
Compassion in action. Tzu Chi is known for accompanying its songs with actions, making for a more expressive interpretation.
Showing gratitude. Scholars participate in the annual Buddha Bathing Ceremony, a solemn ritual of reflection, repentance, and renewal.
Cultivating well-rounded individuals. Scholars share their thoughts in Humanities classes, a monthly gathering aimed at inculcating timeless, universal values.
Giving back. Years after completing her accountancy degree from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Jhoy Sarmiento makes time to reciprocate Tzu Chi's generosity by participating in events like its scholars' mock interview.