Tzu Chi Campus in Lumbini Set to Open; Includes Hospital, Training Center, Community Hall

Lumbini — The international volunteer organization Tzu Chi Foundation has announced that preparations are complete for the operation of the “Tzu Chi Lumbini Campus” in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. The organization stated that this effort aims to connect with the Lumbini community through education, health, communication, and community service.

The foundation claims that its organization operates in 139 countries around the world, guided by compassion, mercy, and human service as propounded by Gautam Buddha, and that Lumbini was chosen as part of this mission. During an interaction with the local community in Lumbini on Saturday, the foundation announced that the Tzu Chi Lumbini Campus Garden will be inaugurated on Baisakh 20 (May 3). The campus premises will include a hospital, skill training center, communication facility, and community building to provide various services to the local community.

Foundation Vice President Lin stated that the objective is to deeply establish a spirit of mutual cooperation with the Nepali community in Buddha’s land for generations to come through acts of compassion, mercy, and humanitarian aid.

Tzu Chi Foundation had provided housing construction support to 1,800 families left homeless by the devastating earthquake of 2015 (2072 BS) and brought foreign doctors to provide medical treatment. During COVID-19, it chartered 10 aircraft to provide medicine and health supplies. Since 2022, the foundation has been operating programs in education, health, support for underprivileged communities, skill development, and community service in areas including Lumbini, Kapilvastu, and Kathmandu through its volunteers.

Under the Tzu Chi Lumbini Campus Garden, the Lumbini Buddhist Tzu Chi School has already begun its first academic session from kindergarten to grade 2. Foundation volunteer Rakesh Tripathi said there are plans to gradually expand the school up to grade 12, with long-term goals of establishing a technical institute and a university.

Dr. Nirdesh Shakya, who oversees Nepal’s health services through the foundation, informed that along with the start of a health clinic in Lumbini, there are plans to operate a 300-bed hospital.

The foundation was founded in 1966 by a Taiwanese Buddhist nun, Cheng Yen, who began by collecting 50 cents daily in Taiwan and gradually expanded the organization globally to work in the fields of charity, health, education, and humanitarian culture.