by the Singapore News Group (originally in English)

On December 26, 2003 a pre-dawn earthquake rocked the city of Bam in Iran¡¦s southeastern Kerman Province, resulting in extensive destruction, numerous casualties and thousands of homeless victims. So the merciful Supreme Master Ching Hai immediately instructed that an emergency aid effort be conducted in the region. So on January 1, 2004, a relief team comprised of initiates from Singapore and Iran arrived in Tehran to organize the distribution of needed supplies.

To ensure that the work proceeded smoothly, the team was divided into three groups; one remained in Tehran and the other two went to Kerman. Then, from the Kerman airport, one of the teams proceeded by car to Bam.

Upon their arrival in Bam, the team members immediately went about assessing the situation in the quake-stricken area, but even with maps in hand, moving around was difficult because the tremor had flattened most of the city¡¦s predominantly mud-brick buildings. A piece of equipment featuring Global Positioning System (GPS) technology came in handy as it expedited the job of navigating and charting the regions where the distribution was to occur.

The relief workers learned that Bam had been divided into several zones, each under different management, giving them a clearer picture of the situation, and enabling them to better identify and assess the areas where people were in greatest need of Master¡¦s comfort and aid.

Next the team traveled to various locations to visit survivors living in tents, many of whom had not only lost their homes, but also their immediate family members and other relatives. With the help of an

Iranian sister, the initiates spoke with the victims and enquired about their most urgent needs. These visits yielded a list of over a dozen commonly requested relief provisions such as personal hygiene items, undergarments, slippers, toys and ultra heat-treated milk.

Upon receiving the list, team members in Kerman quickly went about acquiring the items. In fact, the initiates had already been busy with relief work since their arrival in the city, approaching shop owners in bazaars and neighborhoods to determine whether aid materials were available in large quantities, and enquiring about renting trucks with which to transport the supplies to Bam.

Team members from Tehran went to Kerman to help with the buying and packing of the relief items, and soon all the necessary supplies were obtained in local shops. The shop owners, knowing that the goods would be distributed to their countrymen in Bam, were tremendously helpful. For example, one owner who had sold slippers to the relief team offered his warehouse as a place to store the supplies. Though the place was relatively small, the workers managed to create space to store the provisions and pack everything into gift packages on the night of January 7, 2004. Financial aid placed in envelopes was also included in each package.

On the following afternoon, two trucks were loaded with the supplies amidst a light drizzle, which local residents rejoiced at considering no rain had fallen in the area for some time. While transporting the goods to Bam, the relief team experienced a heavy downpour, which stopped upon their arrival in the city. The aid packages were then unloaded into an apartment belonging to an Iranian sister¡¦s family friend.

The apartment had an open courtyard where team members prepared more gift packs for distribution. Fortunately, the apartment was also in a special economic zone protected by security guards. The relief team is grateful to Master for this caring arrangement.

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