Samaritan’s Purse Canada medical teams are performing life-saving surgeries for survivors of the deadly earthquake in Myanmar.
Samaritan’s Purse deployed our Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) immediately after a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, killing more than 3,500 people and injuring thousands of others.
The Samaritan's Purse DC-8 aircraft and a 747 cargo plane delivered over 100 tons of relief supplies, including water filtration units, emergency shelter material, and an Emergency Field Hospital—the first ever deployed from Canada. This multi-tent medical facility housed an emergency room, 60 patient beds, a pharmacy, laboratory, and two operating rooms to assist the local healthcare system in the capital of Naypyidaw. We also had a third operating room set up in a converted shipping container. Local treatment centers were overrun with earthquake-related cases. Our doctors and nurses performed surgeries on broken bones and other urgent orthopedic cases.
Some of the Emergency Field Hospital patients received care for conditions that predated the earthquake. One child named Myat* had a pot of boiling water spill on him when he was a year and a half old. This accident burned his right hand so badly that the skin on his fingers fused together, prohibiting him from moving them. Myat’s family waited years to find a hospital that could help him regain use of his hand. “It’s been a long wait,” Myat said. “But today, under this bandage, my thumb is moving.”
“We wanted every patient to know that God loves them and they are not alone. Please pray for everyone affected.”-Franklin Graham, President, Samaritan’s Purse
Our disaster response specialists also installed a filtration system at a Buddhist temple in a rural area that previously had to boil their inadequate supply of water. They trained members of the monastic community on how to maintain the system and prayed for them before they left. A DART member said, “After I prayed in Jesus’ Name, the deputy abbot was filled with gratitude and kept saying, ‘Thank you, thank you.’”
*Name changed for security
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Our teams are often first on the ground in crises with a mission to reduce suffering, save lives, and share the hope of the Gospel where it’s needed most.
We serve in over 100 countries, partnering with local churches to meet urgent needs, including food, safe water, protection, and medical care in Jesus’ Name.
Wherever we go, we thank God for the opportunities to share the hope of the Gospel. Our ministry is all about Jesus—first, last, and always.
The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God’s desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, “Go and do likewise.” For over 50 years, Samaritan’s Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ’s command by going to the aid of the world’s poor, sick, and suffering. Partners like you make it possible to bring critical food, water, medicine, and other assistance, including Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, in the Name of Jesus Christ.
As you partner with Samaritan's Purse to work in crisis areas worldwide, people often ask, “Why did you come?” The answer is always the same: “We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our ministry is all about Jesus—first, last, and always. We thank God for the opportunities He gives to share the hope of the Gospel wherever we go.
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Samaritan's Purse Canada is audited annually by an independent public accounting firm, and our financial statement is available upon request. Occasionally we receive more contributions for a given project than can wisely be applied to that project. When this happens, we use these funds to meet a similar pressing need as directed by our Board. Please visit our Annual Report and Financial Accountability page to learn more.
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If you're not in Canada, you can give through one of our worldwide offices. Each office works toward the same goal of taking the love of Jesus Christ to victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, and disease.
Help Samaritan's Purse respond to the urgent needs of families devastated by earthquakes, typhoons, and other disasters that ravage southeast Asia. We come alongside hurting people to bring emergency relief and practical help in the Name of Jesus Christ.
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