Help fight the coronavirus

Through the Singapore Resilience Fund, the Blue Cross Charitable Institution donated 50,000 yuan to help fight the coronavirus

Lin Xidi, chairman of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution, said in an interview that he hoped that this small act of kindness by the Blue Cross Charitable Institution would serve as a model to encourage more people to work together for the coronavirus.

Chen Mingzong, executive director of The Majurity Trust, said that the Singapore Resilience Fund currently has 10 donors, and the Blue Cross Association is the first organization to take the initiative to donate. He said: "It is very rare that the Blue Cross Association took the initiative to find us. I am very grateful for their active and enthusiastic donation. This charity has another important meaning, that is, through the strength and support of all sectors of the society, Singapore can become stronger.

This is not the first time that the Blue Cross Association has lent a hand to major disasters. The Blue Cross Association donated money to the 7.6-magnitude Hualien earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 and the 9.3-magnitude Sumatra earthquake in 2004; the Association also actively assisted in disaster relief during the Wenchuan earthquake in China and the Myanmar earthquake.

Yang Xunzhong, general affairs manager of the Blue Cross Association, said that the Association and its member charity halls have received generous donations from believers and members for many years, so they can continue to promote various charitable undertakings.

Dedicated to emergency relief during the Japanese occupation

The Blue Cross Charitable Institution was established in 1942 during the Japanese occupation. At that time, food and medicine were scarce, and the bodies of the sick and dead people were lying on the streets without anyone to collect them. The ancestors of the charity hall then asked the then "Syonan Special City Welfare Department" for permission to carry out general rescue, moral cultivation, The five charity halls of Tongjing, Tongfeng and Nan'an established the Blue Cross Charitable Institution, which was responsible for burying corpses, providing medical care and medicine, and emergency treatment. After the surrender of the Japanese army, the other five charity halls of Tongde, Baode, Nanfeng, Zhonghong and Chongfeng also joined the Blue Cross Charitable Institution.

The reason why the general association is called "Blue Cross " is that "the red cross symbolizes relief and assistance, and the black cross represents the collection and burial of corpses. The overlapping of the two crosses is "Blue Cross", which means that both kinds of charity are taken care of.

The Blue Cross Charitable Institution and its member charity organizations are generally divided into two parts: the "Relief Department" is responsible for providing medical care and medicine, providing coffins and burials, helping the poor and the elderly, and charity schools; the "Jingsheng Department" is responsible for worshiping Buddha, chanting scriptures, and saving lonely souls.

In 1998, the Blue Cross Charitable Institution held a prayer meeting and memorial service for the victims of the Shengan air crash.

With the development of the times, the functions of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution have also changed. Member charities are located in different corners of Singapore, providing various social services in accordance with community needs, including setting up columbariums, nursing homes, childcare centres and dialysis centres. For example, Tong Jing Shan Tang Cheng Shan Society established a care centre and two senior citizen centres in 1995, and founded Tong Jing Huai Ren Yuan in 2002 to provide accommodation and day care for the mentally handicapped. It also spent more than $2 million to expand the back of the hall and set aside the ground floor as a place for the urns of Jing Xian Hall.

Another charitable organization, Zhong Hong Shan Tang, has cooperated with charitable organizations to open several free clinics. In 2013, it set up a funeral service enquiry office to accept the entrustment of elderly people living alone to handle funeral affairs. In 2014, it set up a recreation centre in Jalan Ubi to provide outdoor activities and courses for seniors over 65 years old. The Blue Cross Association itself also took over the Rainbow Nursing Home in Buangkok Green in 2002 and assumed the management of this adult mental health nursing home.