Providing Shelter for Earthquake-Affected Families in Myanmar

On March 28, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake devastated central Myanmar, damaging infrastructure and destroying nearly 52,000 homes. Communities who were affected by the country’s ongoing civil war were already struggling to meet basic needs before the disaster, which has only compounded the issue. One of the most critical needs is shelter. More than 18,000 earthquake survivors are still living in evacuation centers. 

Peace Winds dispatched a disaster medical team to treat survivors, which ran an emergency clinic in hard-hit Sagaing until April 17 when it handed off responsibilities to another group.  Since then, Peace Winds has teamed up with local partners to distribute food, blankets, hygiene products, mosquito nets and other supplies to meet other crucial needs. Currently, we are working with local partners to provide shelter kits to 730 families in the hardest-hit communities in the Mandalay area. Kits include bamboo poles and other locally-sourced building materials that survivors use to build basic, traditional-style shelters.

Needs in earthquake-stricken areas of Myanmar are vastly outpacing the humanitarian aid that is getting into hard hit communities, so Peace Winds plans to continue to provide support over the long-term. This includes ‘soft’ components such as psychosocial care alongside the ‘hard’ components of shelter materials and other supplies. Teams are collaborating with local partners as well as survivors themselves to regularly assess the situation, ensuring that they provide what is really needed. Donations to our work in Myanmar will help us continue to save lives through this work.