Naw Htoo Baw, 49, is an English teacher in Myanmar who sacrificed getting married and having a family to devote her life to taking care of her parents. When a 7.7 earthquake, followed closely by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, rocked Myanmar on March 28, her first thought was of her parents’ safety.

“I was in school when the earthquake struck,” shares Naw. “I hurriedly ran to our house thinking of my 85-year-old paralyzed father and my 75-year-old mother. From a distance, I saw our two-story house reduced to a one-story house. I was frantically shouting, calling my parents’ names, but I could not hear any response, and I could not find them.”

Naw’s story is not unique. For days following the earthquakes, people went in search of missing loved ones, endangering their lives while looking through severely damaged structures and piles of rubble that were once homes. For some, their search would end in heartbreak, but others are still waiting and hoping for news about family members.

While some families are focused on the missing, others sit in makeshift shelters thinking about rebuilding their homes. Because of ongoing civil unrest in Myanmar, the humanitarian workers who typically step in to help after this kind of disaster have not arrived with excavation equipment, so survivors use whatever tools they have at their disposal—sometimes their bare hands—to dig through the rubble and move blocks of mortar. Rebuilding will be a long and tedious process. In the interim, people sleep under tents or in the streets with no protection from the elements.

Naw’s parents were lucky. “As I kept on shouting, crying and looking for them, our neighbors came and told me that they carried my father and assisted my mother to a safe place,” Naw says with tears of gratitude running down her cheeks. “With much anticipation, I ran to our neighbor’s house and saw my parents shaking and crying. We embraced and started to thank God for saving their fragile lives.”

But the family is now living in a makeshift shelter, which is not ideal—especially for Naw’s father, who is recovering from a stroke and has to use a wheelchair to get around. Naw is the sole breadwinner, and she worries about how she will provide for her elderly parents. The family needs food, hygiene items, and medicine. They need to rebuild their home.

World Renew’s local church partner has been working to share God’s hope in Myanmar—one of just a few organizations able to do so amid the ongoing conflict in the country. Naw’s family is one of the 200 households severely affected by the earthquake who received food packs, hygiene kits, and a water filter from our partner.

Naw and her parents are grateful for this support. Naw’s father, Albert Soe Lwin, sitting in his wheelchair, says over and over, “Thank you, thank you, I am alive.” Naw is also thankful to the church volunteers who supported her family in demolishing their house and clearing the debris and rubble. She hopes she can save enough money to build a decent house.

It is now three months since the two earthquakes shook Myanmar, claiming over 5,000 lives, leaving hundreds injured, and displacing thousands. World Renew Asia staff members have been on the ground in Myanmar and witnessed the effects of heartbreak and trauma on the faces of survivors. “As we roamed around Mandalay, we saw buildings that are still leaning and tilting and buildings that are still undemolished and posing major hazard,” shares Mordi*. “We visited camps—tents built on the sidewalks and near the railroads. During our visit, the temperature reached almost 40°C (104°F). People do not sit in their tents but take comfort under the trees.”

Mordi’s heart is heavy as he shares the stories and all that he has witnessed. “How long will these people endure these very challenging conditions?” he asks. “Please share your blessings. If you cannot help them financially, at least pray for them.”

At World Renew, we are accustomed to being there in the aftermath of a disaster when the media moves on and only humanitarian organizations remain. But in Myanmar, there is limited access for humanitarian organizations. World Renew is grateful we have on-the-ground church partners who are able to work, often risking their lives to deliver food, essentials, and hope to people like Naw.

Your support will help continue this work. Your gifts will help us reach more people and extend Christ’s hope through food boxes, hygiene kits, and other essentials. Please give generously to help Myanmar recover and rebuild.

*Name changed to protect identity