Mapping the right badges according the TIMA registration list, like trying to find a needle in a haystack, is heavily loading for the eyes of volunteer Xiao Hui Ling.
Photographed by Liao Jia Nan
Written by: Lu Qiao-Mei
Photographed by: Liao Jia-Nan
Translated by: Jeff Lu
Proofread by: Charlotte Lin
With 2016 TIMA annual convention starting imminently, volunteers of the Documentary Team finally have twenty-eight kinds of handout material completed within one month’s preparation time. Among all, there are more than 2,000 sets of badges have to be made. As most of the volunteers are still working, they can only contribute into the making of artistic Chinese knots after office hours. All the volunteers cherished the golden opportunity to make good affinity with homing TIMA members from every corner of the world.
Passing on good affinity attentively
One of the brilliant features of the 2016 badge is the connecting sling. The laminated parts are replaced by a name plate inlaid in an acrylic plate connected by a sling which is an artistically designed Chinese knot. The elegant badges are ecologically long-lasting with a graceful touch.
Zhou Jia Wei, the leader of the badge making team, told us that there are in-depth meanings in the Chinese artistic knots. The PING knot (ordinary knot) stands for pacifying safety, while six consecutive PING knots stand for the million practices in the six Buddha paths to enlightenment, and the spirit of Tzu Chi humanity is implanted. The Chinese character inside the round bead stands for good affinity, giving season’s greeting to all the TIMA members, who came back to the spiritual home.
Another feature of the 2016 handout materials is the CI for this year, this uniquely-designed CI appears on badges, slings or the presentation papers by the lecturers. This CI with a stethoscope and a heart fused in the earth gives out the love of TIMA .
As the core value of TIMA is to accommodate the global village with great love, thus, the CI with a stethoscope and a heart representing the good wishes from doctors and nurses, the concept is also easily understood, according to Brother Zeng Fang Rong who crafted the design. The embedded world map vividly features the globally reaching of TIMA.
Greeting cards are also artistically designed with a four-line poem was written on a bodhi leaf, which lays in front of 3D Jing Si Abode background.
Literally, the four lines of Chinese poem comprehend:
TIMA to the world with love;
Medical people commissioned for great love;
All to guard people’s health;
Lighting up symbolized for mission passed on.
Each Chinese character of the 4-line poem combining together also embedded the meaning of “TIMA Lights up the World”, the greeting card shows respect to all the TIMA members.
Paring a 3D Jing Si Abode greeting card with a bodhi leaf bearing a welcoming poem to all the TIMA members, volunteers wished to make it right on target.
For over one month, the workshop on the eighth floor of the Zhong Shan branch office in Taipei has been packed by volunteers of the Documentary Team. Other than the Chinese artistic knots which can be made at home, all other various processes of printing, punching, combining, embedding, cutting acrylic plates, sorting and putting into bags are all done in the workshop. The volunteers collaborated with each other and formed a conveying belt where no mistakes were allowed.
Volunteer Luo Chuo Mei who was putting sheets of soft thin papers bearing the names of the TIMA members into the plastic bags, murmured that thicker papers have to be employed next time! Volunteer Zeng Rong Fang carefully checked if the right side of the paper bearing the names while inlaying them into the acrylic tags. “We have to be careful, as it won’t be tightly sealed if wrong sides are put together”, said Zeng.
Mapping the right name and its according badges from the mountain of badges was like finding a needle in a haystack. Once found, volunteer Xiao Hui Ling would crack a smile with a sigh of achievement. The careful dedication of the volunteers could be found on all the details.
"As each handout item was artistically designed, we ourselves are satisfying with all of it, and we believe TIMA members would be amazed too”, said volunteer Zeng Fang Rong, who also shared that as all volunteers were doing it with joy. They didn't feel the slightest sense of tiredness.
Volunteer Zhou Jia Wei originally thought that all the handout items were out-sourced. Not until she joined the team then she found that actually all the tasks were accomplished by the volunteers. She was deeply impressed by the devotion of the senior volunteer; she is determined to carry the torch on.
