Loving Care for Flood Disasters in Southeast Asia: DDM Social Welfare and Charity Foundation Brings Relief to Sumatra

Since the beginning of winter in 2025, severe flooding across Southeast Asia has caused heavy casualties, with more than a thousand people reported deceased in Sumatra, Indonesia. Venerable Guo Huei (果暉法師), Abbot President of Dharma Drum Mountain, has called upon monastics and lay followers to offer prayers together. In response, the Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation, on behalf of the Sangha, traveled to countries such as Thailand and Indonesia to provide disaster relief and loving care. On December 13, the Foundation first distributed more than 300 sets of emergency and daily necessities in Koto Tangah, Balai Gadan, Nanggalo, and Pauh, bringing warmth from Taiwan to local disaster-affected residents.

After successfully completing flood relief efforts in southern Thailand on December 12, a delegation led by Venerable Chang Xing (常惺法師), Secretary General of the Foundation, immediately flew to Padang, Indonesia. This relief mission was made possible through the support of the local Putra Sampoerna Foundation, as well as the assistance of more than 20 volunteers from Wihara Buddha Warman, who worked together to pack relief supplies. Venerable Chang Xing stated, "Although we hope that major floods will never occur again, that is impossible. We must learn from the experiences brought on by disasters such as floods and earthquakes, to strengthen disaster prevention and preparedness, and ultimately to coexist peacefully with nature."

Earlier, on December 11, the Foundation volunteers arrived in advance at Wihara Buddha Warman and learned that local residents were in urgent need of household items such as cooking pots, buckets, basins, hoes, shovels, sleeping mats, and blankets. In addition, Sabihisma Secondary School in Dadok Tunggul Hitam was in need of stationery supplies. The team immediately procured the required items and conducted disaster assessments in nearby areas on the same day. Along the roads, traces of the receding floodwaters were still evident: yellow silt covered the ground, drainage ditches were filled with mud, narrow paths were thick with sludge, rice fields remained submerged, and some houses had collapsed into riverbeds. Severe devastation caused by the floods could be seen everywhere.

Local residents recounted with lingering fear that on the day of the disaster, the river not only swelled but also changed its course, sweeping away many homes on both banks. Confronted with the overwhelming destructive power of nature, Venerable Chang Xing led the volunteers in chanting the Heart Sutra with joined palms, dedicating the merit and offering prayers for peace for all beings. Regardless of their religious backgrounds, everyone came together to pray for the safety and well-being of all.






Original text in Chinese: 張錦德、傅莉嫻
Photos: Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation
Translation: Patricia Yang 
Editing: Keith Brown