Updates from Myanmar

Myanmar. A few days after the very strong earthquake che that struck Myanmar and Thailand on 28 March 2025, the number of victims has risen to more than 3,000, while more than 4,700 are injured and still many are missing. Electricity is cut off; water and basic necessities are missing; sanitation conditions are becoming critical; and the tremors continue with varying degrees of magnitude around 2-5 degrees in different locations.

On 3 April 2025, the Vicar of  Maria Our Help Province (CMY), Sister Julie Kwie Kwie, sent updates about the Houses and Communities of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Myanmar:

“We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the Sisters from different Provinces and to our kind benefactors who remain attentive to the realities of our country and our needs.

A brief update on our Sisters and the girls of  Bl. Laura Vicuña Community of Chantangone affected by the recent earthquake: currently, the community has three Sisters and five girls, while two more Sisters have been transferred to another community. With the blessing of God, all the Sisters and girls are in good condition and, fortunately, no one has been hurt.

However, both buildings of the facility have suffered significant damage. The first is an older, one-story building, comprising two bedrooms, a laundry room, a refectory, and two storage rooms. The second building is a two-story structure comprising a Vocational Training Center for Girls, which offers a two-year secretarial course, a dormitory for boarders, the refectory, laundry, classrooms for teaching and study, a library, a pastoral room, and eight rooms for the Sisters and guests, as well as a community Chapel. Unfortunately, both buildings today are threatened by numerous cracks, some of them deep, which can also be found at the joints and corners of the pillars.

The three FMAs and some young people are working to move some furniture from the damaged buildings to the open gym at the nursery. From the dormitory, they are transferring the beds and several small and large cabinets still in good condition.

Just today, the Engineer of the Myanmar Engineering Council visited our damaged parish church to assess its structural condition. He also examined our buildings. Based on the observations and evaluations, he reported his considerations.

In the two-story building, the walls in most of the rooms are badly damaged, showing deep cracks due to which the brick and concrete lining are falling down and some sections have collapsed. The joint angles of the pillars are in critical condition; some are almost disconnected and some are already separated. Many of the pillar feet show signs of ground level damage. There are deep cracks and the detachment revealed the iron inside the pillars, which has already warped (bent). There are some cracks in the foundation as well, but they are not deep and there are no signs of serious sagging. The floors are in good condition. Many parts of the ceiling of the building are destroyed.

According to the assessment of the Engineer, the building is dangerous and no longer habitable. As earthquakes continue to occur intermittently, even a small 2-degree earthquake lasting up to 2 minutes could lead to the complete collapse of the building. The repair costs would be very high and would not guarantee the original structural safety. Ideally, the damaged building should be demolished and a new one built. Other hypotheses are being considered, and in the meantime, attempts are being made to recover what is still usable.

The old one-story building has a significantly damaged front wall, showing deep cracks that have caused empty areas to open. In addition, the wall has slightly curved towards the front by 5 mm. The back of the building shows no significant signs of damage. The conclusion is that the front wall can be demolished and rebuilt, allowing the building to remain usable.

The FMA have recently purchased another building: a one-story apartment previously used as a restaurant. This building consists of six rooms, a large hall, a kitchen, and three bathrooms. However, the building was not built with adequate concrete.

All the fences have almost completely collapsed, only some parts are still standing.

Currently, the buildings have no electricity. The FMA rely on a solar energy system, which by the grace of God, works. Every night, the Sisters and girls sleep on the flat ground of the complex, while we continue preparations for the new apartment (the old restaurant), which was used for the kindergarten, and will be converted into habitable areas for the Sisters, with bedrooms, refectory, and chapel. A partition will be added in the open gym to accommodate five girls. The open room will be transformed into a storage area for all the furniture. We plan to create divisions using bamboo panels.

At this time, with the help of our Pastor, we protected the walls with plastic sheets that we had used for the greenhouse. However, since the sheets are thin and transparent, the inside of the house can be seen from the highway. For this reason, we are designing a temporary fence with bamboo panels.

Regarding the Chantagone Parish, the Church has been damaged and daily Mass is celebrated in the open gym. The three-story pastoral center of the parish, located near our complex, has been occupied by more than 200 families of internally displaced persons from various places in the country. This building was also hit by the earthquake and as a result, all the families still currently live in the parish complex, but under trees and tents built in a sketchy manner, and therefore not suitable as shelters. The parish priest is starting to build temporary tents for them, as a storm with heavy rains is expected soon in Myanmar.

On 2 April, the Sisters distributed food to all the families.

In the City of Mandalay, Various large buildings have collapsed and many others are badly damaged. As a result, conditions are so critical that people cannot continue to live in these facilities. Many families now reside along the sidewalk of the Mandalay Palace, which is located in the center of the city. The military has provided temporary tents for some of these displaced families. In addition, many solidarity volunteers regularly come to distribute food and water. However, the main challenges they face are the lack of facilities for washing and adequate sanitation.

The Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians continues to offer concrete support to the population and counts on the generosity and solidarity of all. Contributions and offerings can be submitted as indicated on the Website of the FMA Istitute, designating in the motive: Emergency earthquake Myanmar.

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