On Friday, March 28, 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar. The aftershocks were felt across Southeast Asia. The death toll has reached 2,056, with 270 individuals missing and 3,900 injured. Authorities are still assessing numbers which continue to be a challenge as major infrastructure has completely collapsed, cutting off access for rescue teams. Experts warn there could be thousands of deaths and injuries as people continue to be trapped under the rubble without electricity or reliable communications.
We reached out to our colleagues around the world with excellent connections in the region, and they have offered suggestions for organisations working in the heart of the quake zone. Please get in touch if you would like to offer support to one of these highly reputable organisations.
Partners Asia
Our colleagues at Move92 recommend the work of Partners Asia. The Gift Trust has a relationship with this long established organisation, so we join Move92 in encouraging our donors to support this incredible group of connectors. They have opened a fund giving 100% of donations to groups working in the quake impacted area.
Partners Asia work with grassroots organisations and community leaders working on the frontlines in Myanmar and Thailand, addressing urgent needs and supporting vulnerable communities. Due to the current crisis and ongoing risks in the region, they are very protective of their identities. This is essential to ensure their safety and security, as many of them operate in extremely sensitive and volatile environments.
Their team, which includes members from the region who deeply understand the local context (and are fluent in 7 of the local languages), works closely with Partners Asia’s advisory council to ensure they are partnering only with credible and reliable local actors. This approach helps them maximize the impact of their support while safeguarding the people who make it possible.
As their fund approached US$120k, Partners Asia gave the following message:
“We’ve managed to keep pace with urgent requests for support, already transferring over $62,000 in small grants to our partners for essentials like water, shelter, medical care, and mosquito nets. More is on the way.
Our partners persevere with fierce determination. Rescue efforts continue despite the increasingly tragic reality that in temperatures over 100°F, many people who were trapped in the rubble may not have survived. Even with the junta blocking access and media coverage, stories are coming in about the injustices on the ground. We have been told that excavation equipment is not permitted into many affected areas without military approval. International aid that is channeled through the regime is strictly monitored and controlled, and cargo planes of supplies have reportedly been seen being unloaded by soldiers. There are even reports that the prices of body bags, a grim and heartbreaking necessity, are skyrocketing as some vendors exploit the crisis for financial gain.
On Wednesday night, the junta agreed to a 20-day ceasefire, but by Thursday morning, the military had already carried out heavy airstrikes in Sagaing Region and Kachin State, northern Myanmar. According to locals, junta forces dropped over 100 bombs on at least two towns and two villages in the region. The regime’s record of historically and repeatedly violating ceasefires suggests that the military’s attacks on the country’s own people will tragically continue despite declarations otherwise. We will watch closely, stay in touch with our partners, and continue to ensure that our support reaches those who need it most and is not co-opted or weaponized by the junta.”
We’ve created a donation page for NZ donors to support Partners Asia – click here to donate, or if you’re a Gift Account holder, get in touch to set up a gift.
World Central Kitchen
Our partners at Myriad Canada have recommended this excellent and innovative charity that is in Myanmar, providing food and water to those who need it.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a nonprofit organization that is first to the frontlines, providing fresh meals in response to crises. Founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, their model of taking quick action, leveraging local resources, and adapting in real time has enabled WCK to serve more than 450 million nourishing, chef-prepared meals around the world. World Central Kitchen are:
- Delivering culturally appropriate, nourishing meals, food kits, and fresh water to people experiencing hunger caused by the March 28 earthquake;
- Partnering with local community leaders and organizations to identify unmet food needs and overcome challenges;
- Putting resources back into local economies by purchasing local ingredients, working with local food suppliers, vendors, distributors, and restaurants, and hiring local workers to support ongoing operations.
Medical Action Myanmar
Our partners at Myriad USA have recommended a charity established in Myanmar who are providing free medical care in the wake of the earthquake.
Medical Action Myanmar (MAM) is a medical INGO focused on providing large-scale access to free, quality healthcare for the marginalized in Myanmar. Since 2009, MAM has implemented activities in 20 clinics across the country. They are registered in the Netherlands to remain operational, transparent, and independent in the work that they do in Myanmar.
Aligned with its mission, MAM is providing critical medical aid to the most vulnerable communities affected by the force of the earthquake through:
- Emergency surgery and blood transfusions
- Elective surgery in the following days/weeks
- Support to rebuild their huts/houses, water wells, and other damaged belongings
- Other support for specific situations (e.g., dam collapse, flooding, loss of breadwinner, etc.)
Médecins Sans Frontières
Our colleagues at Médecins Sans Frontières have sent us an update of their current work in the recovery in Myanmar.
The full scale of damage is still unknown, but with early reports showing that hundreds have been killed, and thousands injured, numbers that are expected to rise as more information becomes available.
“The situation is very complicated because there are significant communication blackouts in some of the hardest hit areas, and this is due to the ongoing conflict. This is making it incredibly challenging, not just to get information, but also to physically reach people who are urgently in need of help.”
Federica Franco – Head of Mission, MSF in Myanmar
MSF has two teams in Myanmar conducting initial assessments of the earthquake affected areas close to Mandalay, to determine if and how MSF can assist in the zone. This quick response is facilitated by our teams located in Yangon, Myanmar, 600km south of the epicenter.
“The ability to deploy assessment teams and, ideally, surgical capacity, are critical in the first hours and days after any earthquake if we hope to respond with life and limb-saving surgical care for people injured.”
Paul Brockmann – MSF’s operations manager for Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Malaysia
MSF has been working in Myanmar since 1992, with a focus on providing HIV and tuberculosis care, emergency responses to national disasters and conflict, as well as support to the persecuted Rohingya people in Rakhine state.
BEAM Educational Foundation
Our colleagues at Move92 also recommend that donors consider giving to BEAM, an organisation one of our donors supports regularly.
BEAM is an organisation that works closely with the migrant community inside Thailand but also has dozens of connections to get aid inside Myanmar, which can be quite tricky. Move92 has been working with Beam for 20 years. They are running a specific earthquake appeal.
Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, BEAM is a registered non-profit educational foundation. The emergence of BEAM was in response to the rising educational needs of marginalized people, migrants, and refugee youth living in Thailand, most of whom are from Myanmar.
In January of 2017, BEAM, with the support of EBTM (Education Burma Thailand Myanmar), initiated a program called “Village Corps” to support passionate BEAM alumni who aspire to establish community based development projects in their villages in Myanmar.
BEAM Education Foundation provides a technical, financial and development network to BEAM alumni who have aspirations for community development in their own communities. These former students wish to become leaders in their community to move the development process forward. Sustainability and community participation are important values to ensure in each project.
