Offering help in aftermath of earthquake

For most, news that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused widespread devastation to central Myanmar was an abstraction, a story of tragedy a world away.

But for Dr. James Humphries and his wife Hkaw Win, news of the quake felt very close to home indeed.

Already reeling from civil war between the junta, which seized power in the 2021 coup, and ethnic militias and resistance forces, the quake exacerbated an already bad situation, with fighting ongoing and aid being blocked by the military.

Hkaw Win is from Myanmar and James spent close to 20 years administering Project LAMBS, an evangelism, discipleship and missions’ program in the country.

“It’s not easy because they are people,” Hkaw Win said of the estimated 3,550 deaths and 5,000 injuries.

James said often situations like this are considered “us and them” even in Christians circles.

“For this situation it’s us and us,” he said. “People I’ve taught, people I’ve walked with, stores that I bought food in, churches that I’ve preached in are just no more and I don’t know how to cope with that.”

Slightly bigger than the province of Alberta and with a population of 60 million, Myanmar borders China, India, Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand and is flanked by the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.

The Humphries spent the first few days after the earthquake trying to forge connections with friends and relatives.

And while their relatives are safe, they quickly became aware of the extent of the damage.

Lack of power and unsafe homes have forced people onto the boulevards and streets, living under mosquito nets while the military tells them to move on.

Making things worse, James said the military continued their bombing campaign after the earthquake and has actively prevented aid from reaching those who need it. He said rescue teams from countries like Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand have been turned away while others have been restricted as to where they can help.

Aligned with Russia and China, Myanmar depends on those countries for military hardware and in return offers up resources including natural gas, oil, jade, gold and rare earth minerals.

The earthquake also had a profound effect on the Muslim population who were gathered in mosques for Friday prayers when it hit and Buddhists in temples and monasteries who were celebrating Full Moon Day.

Because hospitals have been shut down under the military, and heavy equipment is difficult to obtain, people have been reduced to conducting rescue efforts by hand and treating each other without medical help.

Hkaw Win said they want people to realize the government is not taking care of the people.

“People need to know the military regime is still controlling,” she said. “It’s not that people don’t want to help.”

And while they’re doing all they can to help, James and Hkaw Win say the most important thing is to let people know what’s happening.

“We need to let people know and pray,” Hkaw Win said.

The country is facing an increasing risk of disease as thousands of bodies remain under debris, clean water sources are difficult to secure, and homes are unavailable.

James said it’s heartbreaking because this is just one thing on top of another.

“We’ve been going there for 20 years,” he said. “We’ve seen pastors beaten, we’ve seen people put in prison.”

Prayer is important to the couple.

“Through prayer many things can change,” Hkaw Win said. “Maybe this army government will change, and they will think more for the country.”

James agreed and said this could bring people hope.

“When you write your article, I will take a picture and I will send it to some of them back there and they will start to weep because, ‘Do they care for us,’ and I will say, ‘Yes they do,’ he said. “And that means more than any money.”

Those who want to give can donate through Project LAMBS, located at Clearspring Centre in Steinbach.

For more information email projectlambs@gmail.com.