Engaged Buddhism: Tzu Chi Volunteers Offer Free Dental Care for Displaced Gaza Families in Jordan

Volunteers for the Taiwan-headquartered global Buddhist charity and humanitarian organization Tzu Chi Charity Foundation recently provided dental services and emergency medical assistance in Amman, Jordan, to vulnerable families displaced by the war in Gaza. Tzu Chi volunteers and medical professionals provided much-needed dental services and emergency medical assistance for families and their cancer-stricken children on 16 October.

“The initiative began on 15 September 2025, when the Palestinian Medical Aid Organization (MAP) alerted Tzu Chi Jordan about 127 families (which grew to 142 families, totaling 380 individuals by 16 October) temporarily residing at the Al Fanar Hotel in Amman, all in urgent need of dental care,” Tzu Chi reported. “Each of these families had traveled from Gaza to Amman because they had a child suffering from cancer and had been transported to Jordan to receive cancer treatment.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)

These vulnerable families had been given refuge in 12 hotels, with their medical and living expenses sponsored by various international organizations. Tzu Chi noted that a key supporter for children with cancer was the US-based medical aid organization St. Jude Global, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF USA.

Traumatized by bombings in Gaza, four-year-old Hisham was reluctant to have his mouth examined, despite suffering six months of toothache. From global.tzuchi.org

Tzu Chi volunteers set up a mobile dental clinic on 15 October, with 10 dentists and Tzu Chi volunteers arriving the following day to serve the Gaza families. Although 93 patients were registered to attend the clinic, 107 patients eventually received treatment, of whom 80 patients required follow-up treatment. These included three special-needs children requiring general anesthesia for their procedures.

“Among the children needing care was Hisham, a four-year-old boy who suffered severe burns from a bombing before leaving Gaza,” Tzu Chi observed. “He is now reluctant to show his face to strangers or open his mouth for examination, despite enduring six months of toothache that causes him to cry every night, his mother described. Another child, Huriya, an eight-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, also requires general anesthesia for her dental treatment.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)

Jordanian dentist Zaid Hamdan, 26, emphasized the great suffering experienced by the people of Gaza over the past two years, adding that Jordanian medical professionals were eager to provide humanitarian aid. “Today, as a Tzu Chi volunteer, I am privileged to treat cancer patients from Gaza and their families,” Hamdan remarked. “We offer various dental services: extractions, fillings, fluoride treatment, and scaling. I am grateful to Tzu Chi for creating this opportunity, and I hope it continues for a long time. We will be with you.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)

Shaima Zaarab relates her family’s harrowing experience of fleeing Gaza and her daughter’s battle with leukemia. From global.tzuchi.org

Shahinaz Kaskin expresses her gratitude to Tzu Chi volunteers for supporting her emergency surgery. From global.tzuchi.org

Among those who were able to attend the dental clinic, Tzu Chi described how 29-year-old mother of six, Shaima Zaarab, had arrived in Jordan eight months pregnant, with her eldest daughter, 13, suffering from leukemia. Lacking transportation, Shaima had pushed her daughter on a tricycle in search of medical treatment, traveling south to escape airstrikes with her husband, who had lost an arm and a leg in a previous airstrike.

“After reaching the south, they lived on the beach in makeshift tents made of blankets, quilts, and plastic sheets,” said Tzu Chi. “For six months, they washed with seawater, and for three months, they did not see a single piece of bread. They endured winter rains and summer temperatures of 40º Celsius. When they were finally able to return home, they found their house reduced to rubble. In May 2025, Gaza’s last cancer treatment hospital was destroyed.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)

Another recipient of emergency aid was Shahinaz Kaskin, a 43-year-old mother.

“Her daughter, Rahaf, was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 10, coinciding with the outbreak of war,” Tzu Chi shared. “Shahinaz explained that they discovered the tumor after applying to the Ministry of Health for overseas treatment. They traveled to Egypt for tumor removal surgery, stayed for two months, and then came to the King Hussein Cancer Center in Jordan for continued treatment.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)

“Thanks to Allah, the tumor is stable, but she has lost her sight,” Shahinaz said. (Tzu Chi Foundation)

“Her other children remained in Gaza, including her youngest daughter, who was one year and eight months old when Shahinaz left,” Tzu Chi noted. (Tzu Chi Foundation)

Dental volunteers not only provided dental treatment, but also took time to interact and play with the children. From global.tzuchi.org

Tzu Chi has offered poverty relief and humanitarian assistance in Jordan for more than 25 years, including supporting a sizable refugee population. Although the nation has a population of just 11 million people, Jordan serves as a refuge for people fleeing conflict and persecution in nearby countries, including Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Many of these refugees, who now number around three million, are housed in huge camps some 150 kilometers from the capital Amman.*

Among other initiatives supported by Tzu Chi in the country, the foundation has sponsored the education of 155 Syrian school children and 30 Syrian and 30 Jordanian university students over the past six years. The organization is also supporting a community education center that promotes recycling and the use of recyclables in arts and handicrafts, such as making furniture out of used pallets or turning used clothes into paintings. Such activities are not only aimed at teaching the children to value the Earth’s finite resources, but also to provide training in cooperation and teamwork.

The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Republic of China, more widely known as the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, was founded in Taiwan in 1966 by the Buddhist nun and Dharma teacher Master Cheng Yen. With a focus on “putting compassion into action,” the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation is a UN-accredited NGO with some 10 million supporters and 432 offices worldwide across 51 countries, undertaking regular activities in the fields of humanitarian aid, medical care, education, and environmental sustainability.

As a global icon of socially engaged Buddhism, Master Cheng Yen has expressed a deeply held belief that all people are capable of manifesting the same great compassion as the Buddha. She has noted that true compassion is not simply feeling sympathy for the suffering of others, but is found in reaching out to relieve suffering with concrete action.

Master Cheng Yen is popularly known in Taiwan as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Buddhism, the others being: Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain; Master Hsing Yun, founder of Fo Guang Shan; and Master Wei Chueh, founder of Chung Tai Shan. These four global Buddhist orders, correspondingly known as the “Four Great Mountains,” have grown to become among the most influential Chinese Buddhist organizations in the world.

Master Cheng Yen. From tzuchi.com.tw

* Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Marks 25 Years of Poverty Relief and Refugee Aid in Jordan (BDG) and Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation’s Dental Outreach Earns Smiles in Jordan (BDG)

Tzu Chi Foundation
Tzu Chi USA
Gaza Survivors in Jordan Find Medical Relief (Tzu Chi Foundation)

Engaged Buddhism: Tzu Chi Volunteers Offer Free Dental Care for Displaced Gaza Families in Jordan

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