In a world often overwhelmed by disaster and conflict, it’s easy for stories to slip from view. But behind every headline are real people still trying to recover, survive, and be remembered. This update offers a closer look at our recent relief efforts in Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine, along with the continued training of Chazak Academy’s Cadets. These aren’t just passing headlines. They are lives still unfolding.

Myanmar Earthquake Response

On 28 March 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake ripped through central Myanmar (Burma), a territory already ravaged by the world’s longest-running civil war. The earthquake flattened villages and trapped families under rubble. Within days, our team flew into one of the worst-hit areas alongside Mission To Myanmar, entering as one of the first international aid organizations on the ground. 

Our First Responders stepped into a scene of devastation—collapsed homes, shock and confusion on survivors’ faces. The official “golden hour” for saving those buried in the rubble had passed, so our mission shifted immediately to the pressing need: handing out water and food, and assisting with treating the injured.

Our team distributed essentials, affecting over 2,600 families with rice, noodles, cooking oil, and clean water, as well as supplying medical aid wherever they saw the need. 

Mothers held their babies close as they thanked us, and little children carried large bags of rice home for the family. Each simple act – sharing a bag of rice, cleaning a wound, praying for people standing on the rubble of their home, etc., reminded us that we were not just delivering aid, but caring for real people in their darkest hours.

“It’s only been two weeks since I left Myanmar and already I find myself forgetting about what the people there are facing. Destruction from the earthquake, compounded with years of political unrest, and the sudden onset of Monsoon season. Most of us don’t even know what it’s like to experience one of these things much less everything at once. And just like any other world news story it begins to get buried and becomes ‘old news.’ Here’s to remembering. Remembering the mom who lost her son when her house collapsed, remembering the village that gave us bags and bags of peanuts as a thank you for bringing them rice and water, remembering the father and son who worked hard for years to build their homes on adjoining properties only to lose everything instantly and without the ability to rebuild, remembering the young girl who was playing in her backyard when the earthquake hit and watched her home collapse, remembering that our God is El Roi—the God who sees. People of Myanmar I have not forgotten you, but most of all Jesus has not forgotten you. I pray you feel seen today!”
—Ryan, Chazak Rescue

Sudan: A Crisis Continuing to Unfold

Sudan continues facing what is considered to be the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis due to ongoing violent civil war. Hospitals are closed, millions lack critical medical care, and displaced families face severe threats like human trafficking and starvation.

Our team has already deployed two basic medical field clinics in Sudan (see blog post from March), treating over 450 patients as well as providing essential food supplies. But the work isn’t done.

In a few days, our team will deploy into Sudan to launch three more medical clinics alongside partner organizations in a region devastated due to the war, which is currently effectively under siege with no healthcare and no outside aid.

Thanks to early support, our logistics team has already secured and transported critical medical supplies. 

However, urgent funding is still needed to provide food and clean water for these unreached villages and cover our team’s travel expenses. The full budget for this phase of Project Sandman is $50,000, but with just $19,000, we can deploy and begin operations immediately on arrival. The need is real in Sudan, and the opportunity is now. Partner with us—your prayers and financial support will directly equip us to bring hope, healing, and survival to people caught in the middle of conflict. Click here to give to the people of Sudan now. 

Ukraine: Training in the War Zone

During April, Chazak – alongside another organization, was able to help support an AEMT (Advanced Emergency Medical Technician) sent into several cities in Ukraine for the purpose of conducting trainings for locals in this war-torn country.

“In my time in Ukraine, I was able to train over 100 civilians in first aid. This wasn’t just a basic first-aid training. It was Stop the Bleed on steroids. There were a lot of hands-on, realistic scenarios where the students had to respond to unexpected simulated bombings and locate patients, find and stop major bleeding from realistic wounds squirting fake blood, move them to safety, and continue stabilizing them using the priorities of the M.A.R.C.H. algorithm developed by the US military to stabilize battlefield injuries, all while keeping in mind their own safety from further threats.

"But these were not soldiers, nor are their patients. These were moms, teens, young fathers, grandmas, school administrators, and people from many walks of life. Most of them have seen loved ones and neighbors suffer from the near daily bombing in their city. In fact, we had bombs strike within a close radius of us on four different occasions during the days I was conducting the trainings, one leveling a family’s house, and another hitting an apartment complex (at least two people were seriously injured). The students were very grateful for this highly relevant training, and for the IFAKs (Individual First Aid Kits) for treating battlefield injuries we were able to give them.

"I was also able to give a more advanced multi-day training in Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) to a team of a dozen church volunteers serving as chaplains to communities and soldiers on the front lines. They shared the difficulty of how whenever they come back to a community to minister, there are always familiar faces missing who were killed in the days they were gone.

"I was able to conduct some informal trauma debriefing for a few of them, though the burden of constant death and suffering still weighs massively on their hearts and souls. I look forward to being able to come back and strengthen these dear brothers and sisters and continue serving their communities in a few short months. They would love to see Chazak come and assist not only with training, but with evacuating people from high-risk areas and providing medical care to the wounded.”
—David M., Chazak Rescue

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Chazak Academy Update

Class 4 continues in their 1.4 training, a segment where most of their coursework is being completed through at-home studies, periodically reuniting for in-person trainings and segment portions. One such portion was when the team assembled and read the entire Bible in one week as part of their training.

“The Bible read-through was an incredible experience for me. I learned to see the Bible as one story, and that will change the way I read the Bible from now on. Previously I had not been able to see the prophets and kings as part of one big story, but now I can turn to a part in the Bible and see it was one story. I really came to understand the heart of God as a storyteller, weaving our stories perfectly with every little detail in mind. I feel more connected to the word of the Lord than ever!”
—Cadet Sebastian

The team also gathered for their DISC personality assessments and training, as well as The Heart of Sonship, a Class taught by Chazak Staff, and held at Camp Andrews in Pennsylvania.

In early May, the team is traveling toward Vermont to train for their Ropes Rescue Operator and Technician certifications. They’ll be training for real-world rescue – learning to navigate high-angle environments, rig systems, and perform technical rope operations with precision and safety. When they return, they’ll be certified, capable, and prepared for SAR scenarios in the upcoming segment 1.5 Alpha Training.

Stay tuned for more content coming on social media during this training.

In Conclusion
The work is far from finished. In every region we touch – from the ruins of Myanmar to the front lines of Ukraine, from Sudan’s shattered healthcare system to the rope training grounds in Vermont, Chazak Rescue continues to step into the hard places. Because in those places, we find people who need to know they are not forgotten. Thank you for standing with us, praying with us, and being part of this mission.

Did you know our Q1 Field Report is now available? Just click here to see what we’ve been up to during the first quarter of 2025!

If you’d like to partner with us, and have a direct impact in crisis areas around the globe, visit https://chazak.kindful.com.