Presbyterian Disaster Assistance aids response to Myanmar earthquakes
Grant recipients helping survivors following massive destruction and the loss of thousands of lives
LOUISVILLE -- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has issued grants to Community World Service Asia and the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar to help people in earthquake-stricken Myanmar, where at least 3,600 people have lost their lives since disaster struck in late March.
Community World Service Asia, a PDA partner and member of ACT Alliance, will use the grant to address acute needs, including food, first-aid supplies and hygiene kits, in the area, which was rocked by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28 and a subsequent 6.6 magnitude-tremor.
“For decades, the peace-loving people of Myanmar have been suffering from natural disasters, poverty and conflict,” said Marvin Parvez, regional director of Community World Service Asia, in a statement to PDA. “The recent powerful earthquake took away what little they had to survive on the margins. Infrastructure is destroyed and fields have been devastated; this will cause food security challenges for years to come. Thousands of families are still sleeping in the open, without clean drinking water, food and shelter.”
The disaster was felt nationwide and in other areas, such as Bangkok, Thailand, where a skyscraper collapsed. In addition to the fatalities, almost 5,000 people have been injured and more than 140 remain missing, according to an April 14 report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“During this current emergency, Community World Service Asia is assessing the needs and urgently sending emergency staff to provide support,” Program Coordinator Hina Gul Roy said in correspondence with PDA. “Our intervention is focused on lifesaving actions, ensuring that immediate help is provided to the affected communities to help them recover from the devastating effects of the earthquake.”
Emergency assistance from Community World Service Asia includes the distribution of necessities including tents, tarpaulins, sleeping bags and blankets, as well as non-perishable food items and ready-to-eat meals.
Other needs to be addressed by the group include hygiene kits, bottled water and water purification tablets, and psycho-social and community support.
“As the harsh summer season approaches, extended displacement stands to heighten health hazards for communities already facing vulnerability,” the program coordinator said. “The impoverished conditions, coupled with restricted availability of essential food items and clean water, are likely to result in a surge in both the frequency and gravity of infectious diseases. Affected people are in dire need of immediate humanitarian and emergency assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake and continuing aftershocks.”
To help, PDA also is partnering with the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar, which is working alongside local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and volunteers to assist internally displaced persons. PCM’s efforts include providing housing, offering psychosocial support to those affected, delivering water and sanitation services, and supplying food and other essential necessities.
“We are planning to focus on two high-urgency categories such as providing lifesaving aids to earthquake-affected people in the remote villages through partner NGOs and reinforcing earthquake weakened structures of PCM’s Centre in Mandalay to be used as shelter for displaced people,” the Rev. Pek Muan Cuang, PCM’s general secretary, stated to PDA.
Humanitarian efforts are complicated by fighting in the region that has continued despite temporary ceasefires, making it difficult to reach some severely impacted communities, according to the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner.
“I urge a halt to all military operations, and for the focus to be on assisting those impacted by the quake, as well as ensuring unhindered access to humanitarian organizations that are ready to support,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said recently. “I hope this terrible tragedy can be a turning point for the country towards an inclusive political solution.”
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Interim Unified Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). To assist with recovery efforts in Myanmar, you can make a donation here, using code DR000198.
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