Christians in Myanmar Receive Aid Following Devastating Earthquake

Earlier this year, a devastating earthquake struck Myanmar.

With a magnitude of 7.7, it was the deadliest earthquake in nearly 100 years, killing more than 5,000 people in Myanmar, injuring more than 11,000, and leaving hundreds more missing. But due to heavy government censorship and difficulties communicating caused by damaged infrastructure, the true toll is unknown. 

“After the massive earthquake hit our region, all kinds of infrastructure stopped functioning,” says Kyaw, a Christian who lives in Myanmar. “The mobile networks also were out of service and the electricity and water supply were cut off. So all affected communities were feeling discouraged and didn’t know what to do by looking at the destruction of things around our town.”

Due to the extensive destruction across the Sagaing Region of Myanmar, many survivors had nowhere to turn – especially those who were already impoverished due to an ongoing civil war. Myanmar faced a shortage of clean water and medicine as hospitals became overwhelmed. Temperatures climbed past 100°F, yet many people were forced to camp outside. 

“The immediate aid deliveries prioritized other places,” Kyaw says. “We were left without any assistance.”

With your help, Global Christian Relief’s (GCR) partners on the ground went into action preparing relief kits for those in need in the months after the earthquake, when aid was still desperately required.

GCR’s partners worked with local community groups to find those most in need. Altogether, 350 families – believers and non-believers alike – received relief kits distributed through a local church. These kits contained rice, cooking oil, onion, potatoes, salt, and bottled water, as well as a blanket, a mosquito net, and a small monetary gift.

The people of Myanmar are overwhelmingly Buddhist, and Christians make up only 6% of the population. This opportunity to distribute aid allowed the local church to provide gifts to and engage with its non-Christian neighbors. But it also reminded believers like Kyaw of God’s providence and of the love the international Church has for its Christian brothers and sisters in need.

“I would want to share my immense joy and deep heartfelt thanks to the people who provided for our most urgent needs,” Kyaw says. “I deeply thank God with tears and with a great joy in my heart. This is a sign of new hope for my family and communities who lost their hope.”