One Week After Myanmar Earthquake, Children Grieve For Lost Parents While Needs, Including Water & Shelter, Remain High

One week on from the powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit central Myanmar, children are grieving for loved ones lost in the disaster while immediate needs such as water, food and shelter remain high, Save the Children said.

With local partners, Save the Children is delivering emergency health care and first aid medical services to children and their families, including psychosocial support to children who are experiencing fear, shock and loss after the earthquake.

Myat Nyein-, 15, lives in a village on Myanmar’s iconic Inle Lake in Shan State, where houses and farms are built on the water.

When the earthquake struck, Myat Nyein, along with his younger brother and father, were out fishing near their village. They survived by jumping into the lake as the earthquake hit but when they returned, they found their village in ruins.

Myat Nyein said:

"The houses, which were all built on the water, were gone - all flattened. My heart pounded as we rushed toward our home, only to find it destroyed. My mother was nowhere to be seen.

Then, my uncle came running toward us. "Your mother is at the hospital," he said.

We didn’t even stop to change our wet clothes. When we arrived, the scene before us shattered our hearts-our mother’s lifeless body - the bruises covering her, the stitches on her head, the wound on her neck.

"My grandmother told us that until her last breath, my mother was asking for us."

"I will never forget the moment I pulled my younger brother into the water, the sight of our fallen village, or my mother’s broken body. These memories will stay with me forever."

Similar scenes have unfolded across Myanmar which has declared a state of emergency across six regions that are home to over 28 million people, including an estimated 6.7 million children.

Kyaing Thin-, 41, who is the mother of two children aged 13 and 15, and lives in Mandalay:

"Right after the earthquake, my sister called me, crying. Her house had collapsed, and my niece was injured. She was hysterical with fear and begged me to come and take my niece, as their place was no longer safe. Despite the continuing aftershocks, I didn’t think about my own safety-I just drove to her house.

On the way, I saw many injured people, bleeding, lying on the ground-some conscious, some unconscious-all begging for help."

Homes and critical infrastructure have collapsed, and many families are still seeking shelter in monasteries, football fields, and open spaces over fears of aftershocks. Many children and their families have no electricity or running water and with the country entering its peak summer season, and soaring temperatures earlier this week , children also risk heat stroke or exhaustion.

Jeremy Stoner, interim Asia Regional Director, Save the Children, said:

"One week on from this hugely traumatic event for the children of Myanmar, they will still be feeling scared and many children in the affected areas will have lost both homes and loved ones. They may even have witnessed the death of loved ones and need specialist support to overcome this.

Where homes have been destroyed, they will need immediate shelter and emergency relief items which Save the Children and our local partners are providing."

Conflict and climate fueled disasters have left 6.3 million children among the 19.9 million people - or more than one third of the population - already in need of humanitarian support in Myanmar before the earthquake. [1]

Save the Children’s teams are responding in affected areas alongside local partners to ensure children get the support they need. We’re distributing food and water and working to provide personal hygiene kits and child friendly recreational materials.

Save the Children has been /working in Myanmar since 1995, providing life-saving healthcare, food and nutrition, education and child protection programmes.

In New Zealand, Save the Children has launched an emergency appeal. To donate, go to: Myanmar-Thailand Earthquake Emergency - Save the Children NZ.

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