Yadanar Yu Hlaing Kyuu, a 30-year-old single mother of one, recalls the event of 28 March 2025 vividly. She and her family were having lunch in the outdoor, palm-roofed kitchen next to their home in Shwe Lunn Village, Mandalay, when the tremors began.
At first, it felt like a minor shake. But soon, the ground shook violently. Yadanar instinctively hid her son under a table in the kitchen and shielded him with her body. Moments later, concrete buildings within their compound began to fall, and their house came crashing down.
Yadanar, her son, and other family members were lucky to survive with no injuries.
In the aftermath, she joined her neighbors in searching for survivors. At the same time, she frantically tried to reach her co-workers at a popular coffee shop in Mandalay to find out whether they were okay.
Once telephone lines were restored, and she was able to speak with one of her co-workers, Yadanar learnt that the shop had collapsed. While she was lucky to have survived, it hit her that she had lost both her home and her job.
One hundred days after this life-changing disaster, the memories are still fresh for many like Yadanar who lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones due to the quake. But many here also remember the bravery and solidarity of people like Yadanar, who immediately joined neighbors in searching for survivors and helping people get through those first terrible days.
Support from the Myanmar Red Cross, and the IFRC network (which launched an emergency appeal and allocated 2 million Swiss francs from the Disaster Response Emergency Fund), has also helped people meet basic nutritional, health, water and shelter needs since the quake (see below for statistics on relief already delivered).
Looking ahead to the next 100 days, continued local, national and international solidarity will be critical as the Myanmar Red Cross helps even more people such as Yadanar rebuild homes, livelihoods, support their families while preparing for potential future shocks.
For this reason, the IFRC is calling for even greater support of its Myanmar Earthquake Emergency Appeal. Helping people to move back to earthquake resilient shelters and rebuilding livelihoods, takes more time and a larger investment than providing immediate relief after a disaster. Still, the IFRC’s international emergency appeal has received only 22 per cent of the funds needed to help the Myanmar Red Cross meet its earthquake response goals.
Earthquake survivor Yadanar Yu Hlaing Kyuu copes with the trauma of losing her home, her job and many loved ones by volunteering to help in the camp where she and 126 other families have been living since the quake struck in March 2025.
Photo: San Wati/IFRC
From survivor to volunteer
Meanwhile, in Yadanar’s community, solidarity between neighbors is what has helped them to survive day to day. It started from the moment the shaking stopped.
As soon as the earth stopped trembling, Yadanar recalls, her family called out for help, a neighbor came and guided them to safety. Looking back, they saw that their home had been completely destroyed.
Fearing more tremors, Yadanar’s mother urged everyone to run to a nearby field. While they were running, a second powerful quake struck. Temples and nearby buildings collapsed before their eyes.
In the chaos, Yadanar didn’t hesitate to help. She joined efforts to rescue children trapped beneath rubble, using her bare hands to move heavy bricks and debris. With roads blocked and emergency vehicles unable to reach them, injured residents had to be taken to hospitals on motorcycles.
For nearly 15 days, families slept in the open field, too afraid to return to their damaged homes as aftershocks continued.
When Red Cross volunteers arrived to assess the damage, they visited each household and added Yadanar’s destroyed home to their list. Then, they returned with much-needed aid — tarpaulins for shelter, clean drinking water, and basic shelter toolkits.
Impact with dignity
For Yadanar, the dignity kit provided by the Myanmar Red Cross was especially meaningful. At that point, she and her family didn’t even have spare clothes. The dignity kit included essential items for women, giving her comfort and a sense of dignity during a very difficult time.
“The personal items and shelter materials helped us stay protected while we had no proper house,” she said. “We were so happy to receive these things, especially because it’s not easy to go out and buy anything after a disaster like this.”
Yadanar says she is deeply grateful to the Myanmar Red Cross team and the donors who supported their recovery. She remembers how the volunteers walked from house to house under the hot sun to make sure families like hers were not forgotten.
“Their support made a big difference in our lives,” she said. “I pray that all the donor families stay healthy and never have to face something like this.”
Just a year before the earthquake, Yadanar went through a personal crisis and even attempted to take her own life. It was her father who saved her. Surviving the earthquake and seeing her son and family safe gave her a new sense of purpose and strength.
Today, Yadanar serves as a volunteer camp committee leader at the earthquake relief camp where 126 families are currently staying near her home. She helps collect the names of people in need, organizes lists of homes that require rebuilding, and supports the distribution of relief items.
The camp committee prioritizes families that are very poor or unable to rebuild on their own. She also contributes to building temporary shelters. Though she cannot give money, she gives her time and energy to help others in need.
“If I can help others in this life, then maybe in the next life, I’ll be in a better place,” she said. “I hope my son will grow up in a happy family, with both a mother and a father.”
Yadanar’s greatest hope now is to build a small earthquake-resilient house made of wood – a safe place where her family can live together again.
In the meantime, her son is her biggest source of strength. After a long day of volunteering, he runs to her and calls out, “Mommy!” His love and pride push her to keep going. Her mother also encourages her.
“My mother says she’s proud of me,” says Yadanar. “And people tell my mother, ‘Your daughter is amazing,’ and that means a lot … And for my son, people say, ‘Your mother is helping others.’ I want him to be proud of me.”
Learn more about the IFRC and Myanmar Red Cross response:
As of 30 June 2025, with support of the IFRC Emergency Appeal and other International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners, as well as other donors, the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) has reached almost 200,000 people. This includes:
• More than 86,000 people have received health care
• More than 1.3 million liters of drinking water have been distributed.
• Sanitation and hygiene services have benefitted thousands of people through the construction of latrines, distribution of hygiene kits, and hygiene awareness.
• More than 156,000 people have received household items such as shelter kits, mosquito nets, and kitchen sets.
• More than 100,000 people have received complementary cash assistance.
• 19,000 people have been reached with gender- and age-specific items such as dignity kits, infant kits, and delivery kits.