Taiwan Church News
3815 Edition
April 7 ~ 13, 2025
Weekly Topical
After a Devastating M7.7 Earthquake Swept Across Myanmar, Taiwan Frontier Association Rushes to Deliver First-Aid
Reported by Chiu Kuo-rong
On March 28, an extremely shallow earthquake erupted in Myanmar yet with a powerful magnitude of M7.7. Utterly damaged of a building, named the Heart of Mandalay, where the education center of Taiwan Frontier Association is located. Fortunately, all teachers and students are safe, and they are temporarily relocated to the home of the missionary couple, Rev Guang Fu and Rev Wey Ei. At present, their garage is used as an assembly space to worship.
Brother Lin Bor-hsiu, secretary of Taiwan Frontier Association, said that Rev Guang Fu and Rev Wei Ei witnessed the horrific tumbling down of many buildings all of a sudden during the strong earthquake. Because most of the local houses in Myanmar are made of bricks or cement without a safe quake-resisting foundation, almost all buildings cannot withstand any medium scale earthquake, some residents are therefore trapped inside buildings and unable to escape. There were obvious damages and cracks on the exterior walls of the building of the Heart of Mandalay. Although there is no immediate risk of collapse, the building of education center was no longer safe to accommodate people.
As Myanmar’s military junta is constantly in conflict with insurgencies, Brother Lin said, the government’s efficiency of resources allocation and its capability to deal the calamities after earthquake are obviously unqualified. Myanmar people in the devastated-hit areas can only reliant on themselves, and the living conditions are deteriorated day by day.
Pastors of the neighboring Chinese church in Mandalay visit the severely damaged areas, share foods, vegetables and drinking water with the needy, and bring in great encouragement to the missionary co-workers. “Except carrying on to stand by teachers and students here,” Rev Guang Fu and Rev Wei Ei also think how to continue clean-up, first-aid rescue and ministries of mental support to local Myanmar preachers and Chinese pastors.
In an interview on April 5, Brother Lin Bor-Hsiu says that after massive earthquakes occurred in Myanmar, the devastated scenarios are more wide spread and deteriorated. Rev Guang Fu and Rev Wei Ei led their students and colleagues at education center to start disaster relief services from April 1. They go deep into Mandalay city and some adjacent impacted areas, send supplies to residents in the most hit areas who are severely inflicted and short of daily living materials, and march toward the territories at earthquake epicenter, Sagaing Province, where the most devastated destructions swept across Myanmar on April 3. The missionary team from Mandalay take care of the victims with prayers and convey the hope with comforts from Jesus.
Due to the wide spread swing on swathes of buildings, many shops and restaurants are also damaged and closed, making people very difficult to obtain daily supplies. Many people were displaced or forced to sleep on the street or set up temporary tents outdoors. The post-quake scenarios was sadly desolate which desperately needs emergency supports from outside world.
According to Rev Guang Fu, his mission of leading the students of the Heart of Mandalay education center to participate in first-aid rescue is planed to set up a model of faith in actions, so that students can practice caring and companionship, and recognize the truth of Christian faith. In the early morning on April 3, a convoy of seven vehicle full of supplies set off in the name of the Heart of Mandalay education center, crossed the Irrowady River and went to Sagaing Province.
As the earthquake damages the old bridge, Rev Guang Fu’s rescue convoy was forced to bypass via the new bridge but blocked by a serious traffic jam later. The building structure in Sagaing province is much more fragile, almost utterly tumbled down when the powerful quake occurred. Many residents there could only clean up their house rubbles with bare hands and wait for foreign aids.
Brother Lin Bor-hsiu points out that the rescue operation on April 3to April 4 has come to an end indeed. But after a short break, he says, some support and resources will carry on to arrive at site, and the contents of supplies depend on demands of each site’s situations. Meanwhile, Rev Guang Fu also works closely with local preachers, hoping to develop a special post-quake care ministry. Facing the increasingly serious short supply of materials, Taiwan Frontier Association raises an emergency fund, calling on local churches and all walks of lives in Taiwan to deliver their support and donation to reach out to Myanmar.
Brother Lin Bor-Hsiu says that as local material supply is very difficult in Myanmar, a direct rescue from Taiwan is now also an option offered. Brother Lin says, “if there is any brother or sister, who is interested to donate or support the post-quake rescue in Myanmar, you can visit the official website of Taiwan Frontier Association, its Facebook page or directly contact its Taipei HQ office via telephone +886-2-2837-8232.”
Translated by Peter Wolfe
