Report from Phaung Daw Oo - 3 April 2025
To the Alumni, Colleagues, and Donors of Phaung Daw Oo Monastic School
Earthquake Damage and Current Situation at Phaung Daw Oo MEHS (In front of Mandalay Palace)
1. Phaung Daw Oo sustained no major structural damage.
2. Nearly all gables and ceilings of adjacent brick-nogging buildings, including the Sayadaw Gyi Residence, collapsed.
3. Reinforced concrete structures—such as the Sangha Dormatery, School Buildings, Girl Dormatery, Guest House, Main Hall, and Alms House—suffered cracked pillars and walls, broken windows, and damaged furniture. (Engineers are assessing structural integrity.)
4. Injuries Reported: Five monks and four female guests sustained minor injuries, including a skull fracture, contusions, and a broken finger. Water shortages have also led to cases of diarrhea.
5. Over 1,200 monks, teachers, students, and staffs faced power outages and severe water shortages following the earthquake.
6. On April 1, concerned people—despite their own hardships—donated drinking water, food, and medicine. Alumni and colleagues, both local and abroad, also contributed generously. (A donor list will be published.)
7. Electricity and Municipal water have since been restored Nanshe Area, alleviating the drinking water crisis for the community.
8. After addressing our school’s basic needs (excluding temporary housing), we have paused educational operations to assist harder-hit areas like Sagaing, Tada U, Innwa, and Amarapura. (Many still sleep outdoors due to unsafe dormitories and incomplete temporary shelters, raising health risks for children and elderly staffs.)
We extend our deepest gratitude to all supporters and donors and wish them health and happiness.
Phaung Daw Oo School is located in Mandalay, near the epicenter of the devastating March 28, 2025 earthquake that killed more than 1,600 people and severely damaged or destroyed the homes of hundreds of thousands of people.
Several Phaung Daw Oo novice monk students were injured and thankfully there were no deaths. There was some damage to buildings and structural integrity is being assessed.
At present, the greatest need is support for food, water, medical assistance, and immediate temporary housing for students, faculty, staff and their families.
Please consider making a gift to Phaung Daw Oo through our US fiscal sponsor, Friends of Pariaman, All donations are tax deductible for US taxpayers.
Updated March 30, 2025