Image: Born on the day of the earthquake on May 28, 2025, 11-day-old Thurein Lin sleeps in a temporary shelter at a displacement camp for earthquake survivors in Amarapura, Myanmar. (Kaung Myat/CPI)
On March 28, Thiri gave birth to her second child, just before the ground beneath her split open.
The 25-year-old mother from Amarapura, near Mandalay, Myanmar, had prepared for a scheduled C-section after doctors warned her that natural labor would be too dangerous. What she couldn’t prepare for was what happened next.
“I gave birth to my son in the morning,” she recalls. “Soon after, I was back on the ward, still dizzy from the anesthetic.”
As nurses introduced her to her newborn, the hospital began to shake violently. Thiri remembers the terror vividly.
“I looked around and saw everything moving. Debris was falling. I thought I was going to die.”
Her mother clung to her, shielding her from falling debris. “I begged her to let go and protect herself, but she kept holding me. I was scared for my children – my newborn son and my daughter. I tried to stand up and pull out the IV tubes, but the staff stopped me.”
When another tremor hit, her mother and husband carried her out of the hospital, which had partially collapsed. Outside, chaos continued. “I was bleeding. The doctors were overwhelmed and couldn’t help me.”
There was no bed, no privacy, no pain relief. Just open ground. For three days, they lived in a makeshift tent. The safety was fragile, and the discomfort constant.
“I had to lie there. I couldn’t eat much. I drank Ovaltine and ate bread.”
“The heat was unbearable. My baby couldn’t sleep. The tent wasn’t safe when it rained or the wind picked up.”
The bleeding continued for days. “Each time the ground shook, the bleeding started. I couldn’t breastfeed. I had to give my baby formula for three days.”
“People might think I would lose my mind, but I am still alive.”
After a few days, Thiri’s mother moved her to a displacement camp on the grounds of a monastery where she continues to shelter with her children.
While more substantial than the tent, the new shelter offers little protection from the scorching heat or the looming monsoon storms.
“We added another layer to the roof. If it gets too hot, we move to the shade.”
Before the earthquake, Thiri planned to return to work selling goods. Now, she lives in fear of more disasters.
“There were rumors of another big earthquake. I’m scared every day. I wonder if our shelter will hold in the wind or the rain.”
Despite everything, she refuses to ask for much. “We have enough clothes. For medicine, I just want what I need. Let others have the rest.”
Thiri’s four-year-old daughter, May Thiri Lin, hasn’t yet started school. “I wanted her to have a sibling because I grew up alone. Now she does.”
Her newborn son is healthy—she plans to name him Thurein Lin, to match his sister’s name. “He doesn’t cry much. He’s doing well.”
Thiri continues to visit a small clinic in the camp set up by the monastery. There, she receives follow-up care and medical checkups for her son.
How does she stay strong?
“As a mother, I must,” she says. “I pray to Buddha every day that no more disasters will come. I worry a lot – especially for my son, who is still so small.”
Despite the trauma, pain, and uncertainty of what tomorrow holds, Thiri is still standing. Still loving. Still fighting.
“I’m proud,” she says softly. “I gave birth to him despite everything.”
Myanmar’s catastrophic earthquake shattered communities and lives, killing more than 3,700 people and displacing nearly 200,000.
Community Partners International’s teams and partners on the ground in quake-affected areas of Myanmar are providing emergency relief to earthquake survivors, including health care, safe water, food, and other essential support.
To help Thiri’s family and others like them survive, recover, and rebuild, donate today.
Interviews have been edited for clarity, brevity, and flow.
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