Tzu Ching Adelaide

Adelaide Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth Association (Tzu Ching Adelaide)

At a homework table, a child from a refugee family pushes their exercise book across. The person opposite is still at university themselves. Most of what Tzu Ching Adelaide learns happens from that seat: not by being taught, but by understanding something in the middle of explaining it to someone else.

The Reason Tzu Ching Adelaide was formed in 2012

Tzu Ching (Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth) was officially established in Adelaide, South Australia, in 2012. As the children of Tzu Chi volunteers reached university age, an increasing number of international students began arriving in Adelaide to pursue their studies. It became evident that there was a need for cultural connection, community support, and a foundation in humanistic values. Tzu Ching Adelaide was created as a nurturing platform where young people could feel at home, receive support, and continue to grow. By 2025, there were 30 Tzu Ching members in Adelaide who actively contributed to the community.

Learning through doing

Tzu Ching works on the principle that service is not only giving but a way of learning and absorbing what one gives.

Over the years members have contributed to a wide range of activities, including distributions for refugee families, bushfire relief support, and charity case visits alongside senior volunteers, where the example set matters as much as the instruction. They also assist in major community events such as the Buddha Bathing Ceremony and the Year-End Blessing Ceremony, tutoring programmes for children from refugee backgrounds, visit aged care facilities to bring companionship to the elderly, and support engagement activities during winter distributions and Mid-Autumn celebrations.

A university student who has just guided a child through a maths problem gains something far more meaningful than a mark on their own paper.

Rooted locally, connected globally

Tzu Ching Adelaide sets its pace according to the rhythm of local community needs, with activities ranging from fortnightly programmes—such as community breakfasts—to major annual events like Buddha Day.

While most activities are locally based, the group remains connected to the broader national and global Tzu Chi youth network, gaining access to online resources and opportunities to participate in Australia wide and international youth camps and leadership programs.

Serving others, and finding yourself in it

"Give joyfully, and grow through giving." — Jing Si Aphorisms

This aphorism is less of an instruction and more of a description of the transformative process that occurs. By acting for someone else, young people become aware of the needs of others and, in doing so, discover their own capacity to help. In supporting others, they also build themselves.

Students graduate, but Tzu Ching continues. Every year, new individuals join, and each year, those from the previous cohort share what they learned with the newcomers sitting across the table.