A Timely Gift
In the early hours of March 31, 2025, central Myanmar was rocked by a devastating earthquake that shattered homes, cracked bridges, and sent waves of fear through already-vulnerable communities. Amid the wreckage, families were separated, communication lines were cut, and entire neighborhoods were left in a state of confusion and trauma.
Our local team, who themselves narrowly escaped injury, immediately turned their attention toward helping others. Even as bridges were blocked and banks shuttered, they began organizing a grassroots relief mission, drawing from a recent donation we had sent to support nunneries and monasteries in Sagaing Region.
It turned out to be kāla dāna, the kind of help that comes exactly when it’s needed most.
Food for the Hills
Just days after the quake, our partners traveled through damaged roads to reach the outskirts of Sagaing Hills. Many of the nunneries nestled between Shin Phyu Shin Hla Pagoda and Wachet Village had suffered serious structural damage. Some nuns were now living in shared quarters or sleeping in walkways. At several sites, buildings were uninhabitable.
That same day, they also reached 60 lay families who had set up temporary shelters in the schoolyard of Zay Yar New Quarter. These families, displaced from damaged homes or living in fear of nearby collapses, were sleeping under tarps and makeshift tents.
Into the Epicenter: Mingun
A few days later, the team made their way toward one of the most severely affected and overlooked areas: Mingun. The villages here had not only endured the brunt of the earthquake, but were still reeling from recent military clashes.
The road to Mingun was risky. Entire stretches were eerily quiet. Burned-out vehicles and charred homes lined the route. Local monks helped coordinate travel and led the convoy through militia checkpoints.
What the team found was heartbreaking. Whole communities had vanished into the forest, hiding from both conflict and quake damage. At one monastery, nuns shared the devastating story of three novices who had been killed when the walls collapsed on top of them.
And yet, when the aid convoy arrived, people came. Families emerged from the hills. Monks from remote monasteries appeared to receive food and support. Together, they turned a shattered place into a moment of shared strength.
“It felt like a ghost village,” one of our local team members said. “But even in silence, there was hope.”
What was delivered:
5 Pyi (10 kg) of rice and 50,000 kyats (~$15) per family for 20 displaced households
Chickpeas for over 1,100 monastics and laypeople
Emergency rations for Mingun’s elderly care home
The donations you made traveled through cracked roads and silent villages. They arrived in a monastery where the walls had collapsed. In a schoolyard where families now sleep under tarps. In a ghost village near Mingun, where survivors came out of hiding only because they heard someone had come to help.
Thank you for being part of this timely gift.
