Tzu Chi Houses (Villages)

(Translated by Joy Hsiao)

Chinese version

Tzu Chi Houses or Tzu Chi Villages are houses and villages built by the Tzu Chi Foundation to relieve victims of natural disasters or assist impoverished people.

In 1967, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association spent NT$ 4,000 [then US$100] to build the first house for a destitute old man. In 1991 the first Tzu Chi Village was built for flood victims in Anhui Province, China, and in 1994 the first Tzu Chi Village in Taiwan was built in Nantou County. Since then, many Tzu Chi Houses and Tzu Chi Villages have been built around the world to assist victims of natural disasters and people living in poverty. Since Tzu Chi Houses and Tzu Chi Villages are filled with the love of Tzu Chi volunteers, they are also called "Great Love Houses."