Care for the Kachin

In July 2011 civil war broke out in the Kachin state of Myanmar. The fighting escalated in November causing many people to move to safer areas. Most of these internally displaced people (IDP’s) lost everything when soldiers came into their villages. The Global Diaconate connected with an organization that was near to nine camps housing approximately 26,000 displaced Kachin people. 

The people in the camps were mostly women, children and the elderly.  They were being fed rice, but they were severely lacking warm clothes, warm bedding, and other food. The local church did a large amount to help in the situation. Local church leaders, who were helping from their own resources, supervised most of the camps.  Bethlehem was able to send some help through friends who are working there to provide blankets and food.  Here is a report from a visitor to one of the camps:

 “This camp had 6,000 IDP’s, almost all Kachin. They had built their own camp in a bamboo forest, so all of the buildings (including a church) were hand-made out of bamboo. They made large sleeping quarters, with one bamboo bed per family and no partitions between families. Many of the children had no clothes. Some of the people had fled their villages so urgently that they brought nothing other than a single cooking pot. A Kachin pastor is overseeing the camp. This pastor and our staff first made a survey of the camp, and then handed over 200 winter quilts and boxes of food and cooking oil to the local pastor for distribution. Then 3,000 refugees gathered that evening in their bamboo church to celebrate Christmas with the visitors. The pastor his colleagues, and our staff all had opportunities to share during that celebration.

We are very grateful for the help that you gave to support this work. Hundreds of Kachin have deeply benefited through the provision of clothing, quilts, and food, as well as the spiritual encouragement that came through brothers and sisters coming to their rescue when they were in their greatest need.”