Share:
On March 28, Central Myanmar was struck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake – its worst in over a century – just outside of the country’s second largest city of Mandalay. The earthquake and aftershocks have caused widespread destruction including loss of life (3,700 killed), homes (40,000 damaged or destroyed) and livelihoods for an estimated 17 million people.
According to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), strong aftershocks continue to shake the area almost daily, increasing fear and uncertainty, disrupting response efforts and straining already limited resources and services. This is especially overwhelming for a country and populace already suffering from ongoing civil unrest, displacement and a collapsed economy while still trying to recover from last year’s typhoons.
But amidst the devastation, Girl Determined is a bright spot. The 2017 Beyond Sport Global Award winner has been working with girls and women in Central Myanmar for the past 15 years, integrating sport and play in their work.
They provide direct sport leadership programming to adolescent girls in an effort to change the way girls are viewed. In a region where girls can become isolated, pressured to marry and responsible for household duties and income contribution when they hit puberty, Girl Determined highlights children and young people’s assets and strengths – both as individuals and as a group. Their programming increases girls’ confidence, self-awareness and knowledge, enabling them advocate for their rights and goals.
We spoke to Program Quality and Communications Officer, Aleta Phelps, about the current situation, how they are using sport for recovery and relief and how girls are helping lead the way.
What has the situation been like in the weeks since the earthquake?
We’re on the ground and already within communities that truly need urgent help – in villages, towns and Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. People are scared and they aren’t receiving help from the military authorities to clean up and get services. And big international groups are having difficulty accessing affected communities.
Several of our Mandalay colleagues lost their homes. Like others, they are sleeping under tarps and mosquito nets on the streets with no electricity, sanitation or running water. And with the deaths and disarray, we also know that some children have been separated from their families and need help re-connecting.
What are the most urgent needs you’re seeing for girls and young women?
We’re currently working in 38 impacted communities, supporting the physical and emotional health and safety of around 4,000 teenage girls and young women. Currently, our biggest concerns are:
• Safety and security for kids, especially girls: in temporary or makeshift housing camps, unaccompanied children, violence and exploitation, risky migration, early marriage/pressured unions and recruitment into armed groups.
• Physical and mental wellbeing: inadequate healthcare with services already curtailed, emotional trauma and exposure to daily heat (over 100 F/ 38 C) with the rainy season also approaching.
• Nutrition, education and income will become more dire as time passes and the initial emergency relief efforts wear off.
Why do you feel sport, and play in particular, can be powerful recovery tools for youth?
We don’t just feel this way—we know from 15 years of experience working with girls and our own research that sport and play are important tools in healing, recovery and growth, especially for young people. One of our teens, 17-year-old Ja Hkam, shared how playing together is helping with her mental distress, which she and her friends have a lot of at this time.
Over and over again, we hear girls say that they love playing sport and that they want to play more. Play-based activities help girls speak more freely, make them feel more confident in themselves and enable them to manage their emotions better.
In addition to humanitarian relief through girls and women leaders, we’re planning creative, play-based activities for children led by teenage girls and young women trained in psychological first aid and healing-centered coaching.
Our 15-year-old Nilar explains it well: “When I face difficulties, I remind myself that I need to do what is good for me. I can’t stay inactive. I need to keep my spirit high and not let stressful thoughts in… by playing sports, my body gets stronger and I know I can defend myself if someone tries to harass or harm me. This also makes my mind strong, so I won’t be easily discouraged.”
What else is motivating you right now?
One thing that is encouraging us is that in 2024, we engaged thousands of teenage girls in emergency preparedness. We played games about what to include in your “go-bag”; girls developed skits about leading in emergencies and we shared various types of safety plans. Just a few days after the quakes, we started getting calls from girls who used those skills. They told us, “Big sister, I stayed calm and I guided my brothers and sisters out safely.” And “I showed my mom the emergency ‘go-bag’ and we got it ready last year after I learned about it. We had enough basic food and goods to help us manage for three or four days after having to leave our broken-down house.”
It’s so inspiring that teenage girls and young women are leading efforts. Why is their leadership important in this landscape?
Teen girls and young women are taking action in their communities. Like many places, a lot of community work gets done by young people in Myanmar. Because of the military draft and financial realities over the past few years, many young men have left their villages seeking safety and jobs abroad. Girls and young women who want to lead can step up now. There is room for their leadership and they are ready. They can change people’s attitudes about what girls can do.
Critically, girls and young women’s involvement in the recovery will ensure that their needs are incorporated into decisions that will affect them. For example, decisions about the placement of the water well or lighting for new toilets at school.
What message do you hope this work — and these girls — send to the world?
Even in crises, or perhaps especially in crises, there are opportunities for girls and young women to lead. They are assets not vulnerabilities. Girls and young women are often minimized, but to meet the challenges of today we all need them—their viewpoints, their way of leading and the creativity they can bring to problem solving in support of everyone around them. When girls are safe and centered, everyone around them is strengthened.
As another of our girls, 15-year-old Merry Naw, explains, “We need to be good leaders for more brave girls to emerge. I learned I must have faith in myself first.”
What is your hope for you and your girls in the coming months?
It is hard to imagine how things will look. But we envision girls and young women knowing that they are safe and more stable. They will have been involved in many of the relief and recovery processes— different from a typical “victim” approach to emergency response— and will have learned skills that can benefit them in whatever pathway they choose.
At this moment, just weeks after this disaster, the risks for girls and ALL children are intense. Progress means movement towards more safety and support, whether that is physical or mental safety, food security or safe shelters. Because our work involves direct support and innovative process, we look at a broad set of improvements.
How can our readers support your efforts?
For those feeling moved to help, more information and the chance to contribute can be found on our emergency response page on our website. And anyone can contact us directly to discuss ways to support by emailing [email protected].
Share:
