Temporary Shelters built in Sagaing Division

In our podcast interview a couple months ago with Kyun Pin Sayadaw, he shared how the military had been terrorizing his meditation center as well as the surrounding villages, which included burning many homes to the ground and displacing residents. Following the podcast episode’s release, we informed our audience about the Saṅgha coalition he was building to support vulnerable populations in the wider Sagaing area, which include the growing numbers of IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] who found themselves without shelter and having lost all possessions.

Donors responded generously, and we have allocated those funds to the group overseeing this aid work. Due to safety considerations, it took some time for them to finally access the funds, but when they did, they were immediately put to use. Here is the report they have sent back:

Last month, we shared that the donations were used to build temporary shelters for refugees. Now, we would like to share the difficulties (and successes) of getting the temporary shelters built.

“First, we had to search for suitable places to construct the temporary shelters. We had to avoid any sites that held the danger of soldiers being nearby, because they have planted many landmines and they are dangerous. And then we had to ascertain who either had a critical need, or were elderly, children or disabled.

After that, we acquired the building materials. However, this was delayed because we first had to make sure the money was received securely. This is because the military council carefully scrutinizes not only people and their belongings, but also mobile phone photos and messages; people can get in a lot of trouble if they are seen to be involved in humanitarian projects. Suspects are usually arrested and beaten up, so we had to be very careful in how the funds were sent and received. Even then, once funds are finally acquired, the coup has made transportation generally much more difficult. It took about ten days to transport the materials, as roads had been destroyed and pits dug, and spotters had to be placed along the route to ensure a safe delivery.  A villager told us: "Their violence is like systematic destruction with shovels and spades. If the road cannot be destroyed, they dig and plant mines."

Finally, once the materials arrived, the work went quickly.  Fortunately, there was no need for expert carpenters or builders, as the women and men who live in the villages are already skilled in building thatched and bamboo houses, as you can see from this video.

Thank you to all donors who made this support possible!”