![On December 17, 2022, volunteers were dispatched to provide care and distribute consolation money at Selayang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, and Manipal Hospital Klang. [Photo by Leong Chian Yee]](/images/Articles/CS/2022/KL20221217_lqy01_006.jpg "On December 17, 2022, volunteers were dispatched to provide care and distribute consolation money at Selayang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, and Manipal Hospital Klang. [Photo by Leong Chian Yee]")
“During the time when I was at the hospital, alone and not knowing the fate of my wife, the visits from Tzu Chi volunteers brought me peace and strength,” said a grateful survivor.
On December 16, 2022, around 3 a.m., a landslide buried a camping site at Batang Kali, resulting in 31 deaths and eight hospitalisations. Volunteers from Tzu Chi KL & Selangor chapter mobilised immediately and arrived on site before 11 a.m. the same morning to assess the disaster situation and provide emotional care to shocked and distraught survivors and family members.
As survivors and deceased were sent to different hospitals, volunteers were also dispatched to provide care for the injured and family members. The same evening, Tzu Chi further set up a care centre with snacks and drinks at Sungai Buloh Hospital, where the majority of family members were gathered, and started providing hot meals for affected and hospital staff.
Tzu Chi volunteer Tan Chee Wei said, “Some families are too distraught and do not know what to do. We accompany the families and try to guide them through the process to hopefully make it easier for them.”
Through December 20, volunteers continued comforting survivors and those who had lost family members, and accompanying family members in their agonising wait to learn the fate of their loved ones, as well as providing hot meals. Volunteers also began providing cash relief to the injured and families of the deceased.
Alen Choo Wai Lun, who was himself injured in the landslide and whose wife was among the deceased, expressed, “During the time when I was at the hospital, alone and not knowing the fate of my wife, the visits from Tzu Chi volunteers brought me peace and strength.”
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After December 20, volunteers remain standing by to assist as the need for emotional and financial support arises. As of December 26, Tzu Chi has provided financial support to 37 affected individuals and families.
