Jesuit Mission Australia is urgently appealing for more support for families in Myanmar who continue to be crippled by war and natural disasters.
Since war broke out on 1 February 2021, women, men, and children on the frontiers have endured hunger, disease, escalating violence, a deadly typhoon, and the displacement of over 3.5 million people. Four years of relentless conflict have left the country in ruins.
And that was before a 7.7 magnitude earthquake devastated Myanmar on 28 March.
Throughout these compounding disasters, Jesuit Mission Australia has activated its Emergency Action Fund to provide life-saving aid for families trapped on the frontiers of this crisis.
Through existing church networks, donations from Jesuit Mission Australia bring relief to many families that other organisations struggle to reach.
“We are providing food, clean water, shelter, medicine, and educational support,” said Helen Forde, CEO of Jesuit Mission Australia. “With millions of lives at risk, we need to do more right now.”
“Guided by our Ignatian mission to walk with the excluded and respond to the cry of the vulnerable, we must act with compassion and courage,” she said.
A Jesuit on the ground shared:
“We were air-bombed (I was 100 feet away from the bombing spot). Four people died, and seven others were seriously injured. More than 20 houses were destroyed. On that same night, all the villagers of a nearby district and its surrounding villages fled and now take refuge in the nearby mountains and forests,” said a Jesuit on the ground.
“If we continue to live out here, we will have problems with food shortages and, of course, healthy water. Some are already falling ill due to the poor weather conditions. Medicine is a challenge for us. . .. There are no doctors in the village. Only two nurses are there.”
Currently nearly 20 million people, many of them children, are in desperate need of emergency assistance in Myanmar.
A donation today could help deliver crucial emergency support to our sisters and brothers in war-torn Myanmar and other crises around the world. To donate, please click here.
