Myanmar: HI's vital support for earthquake survivors

'We escaped miraculously'

"I was with my three grandchildren, we were about to have lunch when the earth started shaking," says Daw Myint Myint Than, 58, a resident of Mandalay. 

"We escaped miraculously, but once outside the second tremor propelled me to the ground. My head hit a tuk-tuk. I felt a terrible pain in my leg and arm."

Daw Myint Myint Mu, 53, was on her way to work when a building collapsed on top of her. She lost consciousness and was rushed to a monastery that had been transformed into an improvised reception camp. In the absence of appropriate care, her condition rapidly deteriorated. Since then, she has been immobilized because of a badly treated fracture and a serious infection in her foot. Her house was razed to the ground by the earthquake.  

Challenges at improvised shelters

Both found refuge in the Nan Oo monastery, recognized as an important center of Buddhist teaching in the region. Since the earthquake, it has become an improvised shelter for more than 280 people.  

Despite efforts to make do and help one another, living conditions remain extremely precarious.

"There are only five 'squat toilets' for everyone. And with my broken leg, I can't use the squat toilet," laments Daw Myint Myint Than.  

With injuries to her leg and arm, Daw Myint Myint Than can no longer walk or wash by herself.  

"I can only move if my daughter helps me to sit up. My arm can't move and my leg is in a cast. I'm completely dependent.

Vital support from HI

HI teams have been mobilized to respond to this major humanitarian crisis. Our rehabilitation and psychosocial support specialists are visiting these makeshift reception camps to assist the injured.

They provide initial rehabilitation and psychosocial support to restore some dignity and autonomy to the survivors. HI also distributes mobility aids such as crutches and wheelchairs, trains the injured in essential exercises and identifies specific needs in the camps.

"HI gave me a wheelchair and, above all, they taught me to stand up on my own. Thanks to the exercises they taught me, I feel I'm making progress, even though it's difficult," Daw Myint Myint Than explains.

An uncertain future

Deprived of housing, income and access to basic necessities such as water and food, the two women share the extreme fragility of their daily lives since the disaster.  

"Our house is destroyed, as is our workshop. We don't know when we'll be able to get back to work. For the moment, we're just thinking about surviving," says Daw Myint Myint Than.