When a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on 28 March last year, killing 5,400 people, your support helped our local partners get urgent help to communities hit the hardest.
A year on the needs remain enormous - but your donations continue to help families rebuild their lives. Here are three stories of how you’ve helped.
Nyein in front of her new house
Rebuilding hope
Nyein lives with her family of eight. At 72, and battling health issues, she is unable to work, but her children and grandchildren have rallied round to support her. By fishing and taking on manual labour jobs, the family was able to earn a living – not a lot, but enough to get by.
But then the earthquake hit. The family home was severely damaged. It was no longer safe to live in. But what choice did they have?
And they weren’t alone: 40,000 homes were destroyed. Thousands were left with nowhere safe to live.
What people truly long for is a safe place to rest. This home has given me that
With your support, our partners hit the ground, assessing the damage and making plans for repairs. They visited Nyein, saw the damage to her home, and immediately got to work. They helped build a new bamboo house, strong and resilient, and with added flexibility to resist future quakes.
“What people truly long for is a safe place to rest,” Nyein said, standing on the landing of her new home. “This home has given me that.”
Rosaline was displaced after the earthquake along with her elderly mother
Finding the strength to go on
Rosaline, 45, had already lost her home once, when it was destroyed by heavy artillery in 2022.
When the earthquake hit, she relived that terrible experience all over again. Helping her elderly mother, she escaped with nothing but whatever small belongings she could grab.
“I felt like I had lost everything, even myself,” she said.
I am happy because I can do the things I love again
Our partners reached out to Rosaline. They provided her with basic food and cash to buy what she needed for herself and her mother. But more than that, they recognised that after such a traumatic experience, what she needed most was someone to talk to. Someone who cared.
They arranged for a counsellor to meet with Rosaline. She told them of everything she had been through, her pain, her exhaustion, and the feeling of having no one to turn to. And, with each session, she began to express her great relief to be able to talk these things through.
“After counselling I felt lighter,” she said, “as if someone had lifted a burden I had carried for too long.”
With renewed courage, Rosaline opened a small snack shop and rediscovered her passion for tailoring. With the money she made, she rented a home for herself and her mother, where she enjoys relaxing and listening to hymns after work.
She told our partners: “I am happy because I can do the things I love again.”
Letting water flow again
The village of Pinn Su is home to nearly 700 people. When the earthquake hit and destroyed the pipes that brought clean water to the community, every family in the village found themselves in a dire situation. From the end of the rainy season, the water point was the only source of water for drinking, washing and cooking.
Your support helped our partners quickly respond, building a 2,400-gallon elevated water tank to store water for use in the dry season. Not only did this help the community survive until the pipes to their usual water point could be repaired, but the raised position of the new tank means the water can flow further and reach places that previously had no access.
Now, the village has reliable access to water, and a water committee has been formed to ensure the sustainability of the system. The committee oversees the maintenance of the overhead tank and monitors water usage, helping the system remain functional for the long term.
“Even though our village was affected by the earthquake, we hardly suffered from water shortages because the projects were implemented quickly, with good quality, and without any gaps,” said village leader U Nyunt Win. “We are deeply grateful.”
Families still need support to rebuild - you can help
The scale of the disaster was vast, and thousands of families continue to need help to rebuild their homes and get access to clean water and stable sources of food and income.
