Supporters and volunteers of the international humanitarian organization Tzu Chi Foundation’s Ormoc, Leyte chapter looked back at a compassion-filled 2024 and set sight on another year of spreading its founder Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s Great Love in 2025 during the annual year-end blessing ceremony held in Liloan town last 19 January.

The event also celebrated Tzu Chi’s 59th anniversary with the theme “Be Diligent in Learning and Attaining Enlightenment to Fill the World with Great Love.”

Alfredo Li, Tzu Chi Philippines deputy CEO and Tzu Chi Ormoc lead coordinator, underscored the Foundation’s continuous commitment to spreading compassion and inspiring hope through mindful actions and collective community efforts during the event.

“I reiterated today the five instructions of Master Cheng Yen (when we started Tzu Chi here in Ormoc): To take care of the people’s shelter, to take care of their health, to take care of their spirituality, to take care of their livelihood and to take care of their children’s education. I want to say that we had fulfilled the instructions of Master Cheng Yen to the people of Ormoc,” Li said.

The importance of spiritual cultivation and perseverance in navigating life’s challenges, especially in the face of adversity echoed throughout the vast open event site as Tzu Chi Foundation enters its 12th year of humanitarian service to Ormoc City.

Red packets, a token of blessing from Dharma Master Cheng Yen, were shared to 670 Tzu Chi donors, volunteers, youths, scholars, beneficiaries and Tzu Chi Great Love villagers at the event.

A centerpiece of the ceremony was the interpretive dance, solemn chants and vivid storytelling of 85 Tzu Chi Youth and scholars of Ormoc, to show the sufferings from typhoon and pandemic disasters, as well as the resilience and compassion that arise in their aftermath.

A donation drive was held for victims of the ongoing wildfires in parts of Los Angeles in California, United States. The fires have gutted hundreds of houses and claimed several lives.

The ceremony served not only as a moment of reflection but also as a call to action, encouraging everyone to embody Tzu Chi’s values in their daily lives. As Ormoc continues to recover from past challenges and embrace future opportunities, the Tzu Chi Foundation remains a pillar of support, inspiring individuals and especially the Great Love villagers to walk the Bodhisattva path with diligence and compassion. By this, Tzu Chi can create ripples of change that will uplift humanity in the City of Ormoc.