“Under the Big Tree” – BLIA World Headquarters Honorary President, Venerable Master Hsing Yun believes that educating children who cannot go to school is far more important than giving them money. Hence, BLIA established the “Seeds of Hope Project” to bring education back to India. In 2014, FGS Institute of Buddhist Studies in India started the “Under the Big Tree” program for underprivileged children in the villages, with a current enrollment of 50 students. Following conditions, the program teaches children coming from different family backgrounds to practice the “three acts of goodness,” providing them with different options and helping them to turn their lives around.
Since the first “Cloud and Water Mobile Library” in 2007, BLIA has been making regular tours to remote regions and underprivileged areas in the hopes of helping children there to widen their horizons and to change their lives through reading. In 2016, the “Cloud and Water Mobile Library” service has spread to China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. A total of 53 mobile libraries had provided 665,975 volumes of books and covered 801,250 miles of touring different regions. Checked out 242,135 books and through reading, childrens learn and gain happiness in the process of their development.
Every summer vacation, BLIA chapters in more than 60 countries and regions in the world will conduct the “Three Acts of Goodness Children’s Summer Camp and Life Camp.” The programs of these camps are the collaborative efforts of BLIA YAD members, teaching the children the spirit of “do good deeds, speak good words, and think good thoughts.” In 2016, a total of 300 camps were conducted for 38,000 children, who came together in sharing, learning, and having fun for a happy vacation.
Please see below video for better illustration