Skip to content The role of education is to provide the right guidance to students. Otherwise, if a person strays from the right path in life, it will take a lot more effort to put him back on track. Hence, in educating children, we must start with character-building. If the young are not guided in the right direction, they will be ill-disciplined, like scattered branches. Tzu Chi’s Mission of Education, which starts from pre-school all the way to university, aims to nurture and grow children into adulthood through an education imbued with love.”
When Tzu Chi Hospital opened in 1986 in Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan it was very difficult to recruit nurses. At that time and in that place indigenous girls from poor families were often sold into involuntary servitude. To solve both problems at the same time, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, the founder of Tzu Chi, set up a nursing college in 1989. It provided free nursing education to indigenous girls. Tzu Chi then set up kindergartens, elementary schools, secondary schools, and a university in Taiwan. By 2000 we had created an educational system from preschool to doctorate programs.
Tzu Chi also reaches out to other parts of the world including impoverished areas in China, Iran (after the 2003 Bam earthquake), and Sri Lanka (following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami). It is disaster or poverty that brings Tzu Chi volunteers to a new place. However, as they carry out relief, they also look for opportunities to provide educational resources for children. They know deep in their hearts that the hope of a country lies in children, and the hope of children lies in education.
In the light of this, Tzu Chi Foundation founded El Menahil International School in 2015, in which instruction is in Arabic, the native language of these Syrian refugee children.
El Menahil gives hope to displaced Syrian refugees through education and support for all family members. With the incredible and selfless dedication of Tzu Chi volunteers, these survivors of conflict and war have a chance for a better future.
Master Cheng Yen says education is a lifeitme mission, so it’s very important to support children on their path to a wholesome and promising future.
To the ill-informed, it may seem that Tzu Chi set up schools to nurture medical professionals for its hospital in Hualien. However, as a spiritual leader, Master Cheng Yen’s vision is far greater than that. To the Master it is far more important to instill moral values and character in children, and to help them develop unbiased views and proper conduct. To this end, the motto of all Tzu Chi’s schools — loving-kindness, compassion, joy and selfless giving — is mindfully woven into the academic and extracurricular activities of all students. Through this approach, we anticipate that students will learn to cultivate character over talent.
Tzu Chi Academy was first established in Richmond, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario in 1997 with a unique focus on teaching students the Chinese language and culture and the practice of joyous giving by showing sincere compassion.
