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2020-PresentDisaster ReliefOthers Project

Rising from Earthquake Ruins

Rising from Earthquake Ruins

Oxfam Hong Kong, Hong Kong

On 28 March 2025, a catastrophic 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, claiming at least 3,800 lives, injuring over 5,100, and leaving 116 missing.  The disaster impacted 17 million people across 58 townships, with 9 million enduring the quake’s most violent tremors.  Homes, schools, and vital infrastructure were reduced to rubble, and vast agricultural lands were damaged deepening food insecurity and economic hardship.  Families are struggling to survive in makeshift shelters, facing acute shortages of clean water, food, and medical care.

Oxfam’s rapid assessment with local partners revealed dire gaps in the emergency response.  With the monsoon season looming, access to safe drinking water and sanitation is critical to prevent outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and dengue.  Families lack proper shelters and basic household essentials, while rising food insecurity threatens their survival.  Mental health and protection services particularly for women and children are vital to provide stability during the crisis.

With the support from ZeShan Foundation, Oxfam and its partners are delivering life-saving aid to approximately 8,385 earthquake survivors in Southern Shan State.  Our work is transforming despair into hope through:

  • Safe Water and Sanitation: Conducting water quality testing, distributing aqua tabs for clean drinking water, and constructing emergency latrines for individuals and communities.
  • Essential Supplies: Distributing hygiene kits, household kits, kitchen kits, emergency shelter kits and essential non-food items to support dignified living.
  • Food Security: Offering cash assistance to help families secure food and meet urgent need.
  • Emergency Shelters: Building bamboo shelters in floating villages at Inle Lake, designed with community input for immediate protection.
  • School Support: Installing WASH facilities and latrines in schools to create safe, supportive environment for children

After the earthquake struck, 20 villages around Inle Lake began rebuilding with unyielding community spirit.  Through assessments and consultations, local families shaped bamboo shelter designs that meet their needs.  Skilled carpenters and bamboo experts collaborated to craft durable shelters validated by engineering institutes for lasting safety.  With materials delivered swiftly and prototypes refining the process, construction now surges forward, supported by Oxfam’s engineering expertise, a powerful display of resilience, offering protection and hope to communities in crisis.

 

Oxfam Hong Kong

Damaged houses in Inle lake
Community assessment and consultation in the village
Hygiene kit distribution
Quality check on emergency latrine construction

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Damaged houses in Inle lake
Community assessment and consultation in the village
Hygiene kit distribution
Quality check on emergency latrine construction

PlayPause
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
 

On 28 March 2025, a catastrophic 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, claiming at least 3,800 lives, injuring over 5,100, and leaving 116 missing.  The disaster impacted 17 million people across 58 townships, with 9 million enduring the quake’s most violent tremors.  Homes, schools, and vital infrastructure were reduced to rubble, and vast agricultural lands were damaged deepening food insecurity and economic hardship.  Families are struggling to survive in makeshift shelters, facing acute shortages of clean water, food, and medical care.

Oxfam’s rapid assessment with local partners revealed dire gaps in the emergency response.  With the monsoon season looming, access to safe drinking water and sanitation is critical to prevent outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and dengue.  Families lack proper shelters and basic household essentials, while rising food insecurity threatens their survival.  Mental health and protection services particularly for women and children are vital to provide stability during the crisis.

With the support from ZeShan Foundation, Oxfam and its partners are delivering life-saving aid to approximately 8,385 earthquake survivors in Southern Shan State.  Our work is transforming despair into hope through:

  • Safe Water and Sanitation: Conducting water quality testing, distributing aqua tabs for clean drinking water, and constructing emergency latrines for individuals and communities.
  • Essential Supplies: Distributing hygiene kits, household kits, kitchen kits, emergency shelter kits and essential non-food items to support dignified living.
  • Food Security: Offering cash assistance to help families secure food and meet urgent need.
  • Emergency Shelters: Building bamboo shelters in floating villages at Inle Lake, designed with community input for immediate protection.
  • School Support: Installing WASH facilities and latrines in schools to create safe, supportive environment for children

After the earthquake struck, 20 villages around Inle Lake began rebuilding with unyielding community spirit.  Through assessments and consultations, local families shaped bamboo shelter designs that meet their needs.  Skilled carpenters and bamboo experts collaborated to craft durable shelters validated by engineering institutes for lasting safety.  With materials delivered swiftly and prototypes refining the process, construction now surges forward, supported by Oxfam’s engineering expertise, a powerful display of resilience, offering protection and hope to communities in crisis.

 

Oxfam Hong Kong

Related Link

Oxfam Hong Kong

 

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2020-Present2020-PresentDisaster ReliefEnvironmentOthers Project

Water-Secure Future in Nepal

Water-Secure Future in Nepal

Hong Kong Red Cross , Hong Kong

In the remote villages of Okhaldhunga, Nepal, accessing clean water has become a daily struggle.  Due to climate change and unplanned development, dwindling water sources have left many households without reliable access to safe drinking water.  Women and children often have to walk every day to fetch water, placing a heavy burden on their health and livelihoods.

But the Hong Kong Red Cross, together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Nepal Red Cross Society, is taking a community-driven and participatory approach to address this urgent crisis through the Nepal Sustainable and Inclusive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project.

At the heart of this initiative is a deep commitment to engaging local communities as active partners in the design and implementation of sustainable water solutions.   With the support of ZeShan Foundation, the project team is working closely with communities to understand their unique needs and priorities, leveraging their valuable local knowledge and perspectives.

Beyond just building new infrastructure, the 15-month disaster mitigation project will empower communities to take ownership of their water resources.  This includes providing training and support for the construction and maintenance of community-managed water supply schemes, as well as promoting behavioural changes around hygiene and sanitation practices.

This project will also incorporate nature-based solutions where feasible, recognizing that restoring and protecting local ecosystems can play a crucial role in enhancing water security.   However, the primary focus will be on amplifying the voices and agency of the communities themselves.

Ultimately, it aims to ensure long-term access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for more than 700 villagers in three communities when it is completed in July 2025.   More importantly, it seeks to cultivate a sense of self-reliance and resilience within these communities – equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and collective power to secure their water future for generations to come.

Join us in empowering communities to build a water-secure future in Nepal.

Hong Kong Red Cross

Villagers discussing the design of their own drinking water scheme.
Villagers measuring and estimating the works for their drinking water scheme.

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Villagers discussing the design of their own drinking water scheme.
Villagers measuring and estimating the works for their drinking water scheme.

PlayPause
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
 

In the remote villages of Okhaldhunga, Nepal, accessing clean water has become a daily struggle.  Due to climate change and unplanned development, dwindling water sources have left many households without reliable access to safe drinking water.  Women and children often have to walk every day to fetch water, placing a heavy burden on their health and livelihoods.

But the Hong Kong Red Cross, together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Nepal Red Cross Society, is taking a community-driven and participatory approach to address this urgent crisis through the Nepal Sustainable and Inclusive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project.

At the heart of this initiative is a deep commitment to engaging local communities as active partners in the design and implementation of sustainable water solutions.   With the support of ZeShan Foundation, the project team is working closely with communities to understand their unique needs and priorities, leveraging their valuable local knowledge and perspectives.

Beyond just building new infrastructure, the 15-month disaster mitigation project will empower communities to take ownership of their water resources.  This includes providing training and support for the construction and maintenance of community-managed water supply schemes, as well as promoting behavioural changes around hygiene and sanitation practices.

This project will also incorporate nature-based solutions where feasible, recognizing that restoring and protecting local ecosystems can play a crucial role in enhancing water security.   However, the primary focus will be on amplifying the voices and agency of the communities themselves.

Ultimately, it aims to ensure long-term access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for more than 700 villagers in three communities when it is completed in July 2025.   More importantly, it seeks to cultivate a sense of self-reliance and resilience within these communities – equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and collective power to secure their water future for generations to come.

Join us in empowering communities to build a water-secure future in Nepal.

Hong Kong Red Cross

Related Links

Hong Kong Rec Cross

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2020-PresentDisaster ReliefOthers Project

Safeguarding Vulnerable Children in Myanmar

The escalating conflicts in Myanmar have led to widespread displacement, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis among vulnerable groups, especially children. Numerous families have been forced into precarious living conditions in camps or host communities where basic necessities and essential safeguards are scarce. This displacement has severely disrupted children's education, exposing them to various forms of exploitation and increasing their vulnerabilities to violence. Indiscriminate shelling, airstrikes, and the presence of unexploded ordnances have not only caused physical harm but also instilled a pervasive sense of insecurity and fear, hampering daily activities and economic recovery.

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2020-Present2020-PresentDisaster ReliefOthers ProjectRefugee & Asylum SeekersVulnerable Groups

More Sustainable Source of Resilience and Recovery

More Sustainable Source of Resilience and Recovery

In disaster management, the framework of participatory capacities and vulnerabilities analysis (namely “PCVA”) has been widely adopted for needs assessment over the past three decades in different countries.  This lens was also referenced by ZeShan team to understand not only the impact of the ongoing 5th wave of COVID pandemic on vulnerable people but also the systemic drivers behind such impact.   These often touch upon issues related to social inclusion, public governance, health equity, equal access to public resources and even policy issues.

PCVA is rooted in two proven social development methodologies.  First, of course, it stems from the traditional tool of CVA which enables frontline workers to design and plan relief projects, based on capacities and vulnerabilities of a community.  It recognizes vulnerable people have capacities to cope with adversity and can take actions to improve and rebuild their lives, before, during and/or after a disaster.  Second, PCVA has originated from the belief that empowering communities to participate in program design, planning and/or management would lead to increased ownership, accountability, and impact.  This is therefore the best way to bring about recovery or even changes.

This framework indeed aligns very much with ZeShan’s core approach of community empowerment in all program planning.   We believe, in every community, people have resources and capacities, but often unnoticed and then under-utilized.  In the process of disaster relief and recovery, it is therefore very important to identify these resources and capacities, and then empower people at all levels, including the so-called victims.  This process is always a more sustainable way to help people help themselves and others, and rebuild their own life and community.

In the past three months, through this lens, we discussed with peer foundations, project partners and people in Hong Kong.  We have identified the pressing needs of the most vulnerable ones as well as some of their precious but unnoticed resources and capacities.   With more than 10 new relief grants, ZeShan has focused on those marginalized or excluded under the existing policy frameworks and mainstream service provision or subsidy schemes.  These include grassroots families, ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum seekers, small businesses and social enterprises struggling with unsold food stock and poor cashflows.   Designing each of our relief programs, we have tried hard to mobilize their own untapped labour and unused materials inside our hard-hit communities, with a view to preparing themselves better and stronger in the forthcoming process of economic recovery.

For a charitable foundation, we consider it not difficult to hand out materials to the needy.  We are therefore trying hard to be more forward looking.  At this current relief stage, whenever possible, a more empowering process was consciously designed and executed in our relief projects.  For we believe, this will be a more effective and sustainable way to help them rebuild their own communities at the next rehabilitation phase.

Our recent relief grants:

Initiated by Project
Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation Wu Wu Cheng” Community Mutual Support Initiative”
Fullness Social Enterprises Society Limited Love Our Neighbour
Dialogue in the Dark (HK) Foundation
 WeCare (Emergent Emotional Support for Vulnerable Elderly)
Health In Action Emergency Relief to Cleaners and Deprived Families Working and/or Living in Kwai Chung
Run Hong Kong Covid Relief – Health and Essential Services
Covid Relief – Psychological Support
Christian Action – Centre for Refugees COVID-19 Fifth Wave Emergency Distribution
United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service COVID-19 Care for Ethnic Minorities
The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council Friendly Food Support Scheme
Hong Kong Unison 5th Wave (COVID-19) Ethnic Minority Emergency Relief Project

Irene SO
Executive Director
ZeShan Foundation

Staff and volunteers distributing relief packs to elderly (Dialogue in the Dark (HK) Foundation)

Staff and volunteers distributing relief packs to elderly (Dialogue in the Dark (HK) Foundation)

https://zeshanfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/wuwucheng-800600-640x480.jpeg

Volunteers distributing vouchers to beneficiaries
(“Wu Wu Cheng 2.0” Community Mutual Support Initiative/ Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation)

https://zeshanfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/FSES-LON-packing-640x480.jpeg

Social Enterprise (Angelchild) staff packing food packs
(Fullness Social Enterprises Society)

https://zeshanfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CRF-COVID-800600-640x480.jpeg

Staff distributing daily necessities to refugees and asylum seekers (Christian Action- Centre For Refugees)

https://zeshanfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/RUNHKCOVID-800600-2-640x480.jpeg

Fresh shop at RUN! Refugees and asylum seekers collecting fresh food, milk, cleaning supplies and toiletries every fortnight.
(RUN Hong Kong)

https://zeshanfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Volunteers-packing-Covid-Relief-Packs-640x480.jpg

Volunteers packing COVID relief packs
(Hong Kong Unison)

Staff and volunteers distributing relief packs to elderly (Dialogue in the Dark (HK) Foundation)

With help of volunteers, the COVID-19 Care Package were delivered to different districts
(United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service)

Staff visited cleaners’ workplaces to talk about the proper usage of PPE correctly and the use of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits, etc. (Health In Action)

Staff visited cleaners’ workplaces to talk about the proper usage of PPE correctly and the use of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits, etc.
(Health In Action)

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2020-PresentDisaster ReliefOthers Project

Haiti Earthquake Relief

Haiti Earthquake Relief

World Vision

Early in the morning of 14 August 2021, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti, causing hospitals, schools and homes to collapse, claiming over 2,200 lives and leaving communities in crisis. According to UNICEF, it has been estimated that about 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, have been affected by the powerful earthquake.

The disaster caused damages in mainly the departments (or provinces) of Sud, Nippes and Grand’ Anse which were 125km away from the capital city of Haiti. There were severe damages to infrastructure, including shelters built from previous storms, buildings like hospitals, schools and churches, roads which were necessary for the community to carry out relief services and to recover. Several hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, while those still operating are overloaded, with a serious shortage of personnel and medical supplies to address growing health needs.

Social challenges emerged as gangs’ violent activities spread over the country urged the need to support on protection or security alongside the intervention like health, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), shelter, food security, children protection and education to the damaged area.

Before this earthquake, Haiti was already the poorest country in the Western hemisphere; about 65% of its population live under the national poverty line. Political instability has hindered the economic and social development.

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, about 4.3 million people (44 percent of the population analyzed) were expected to be starving severely from September 2021 to February 2022. The worst situations were reported in Nord-Ouest, Centre (the Haut Plateau), Sud and Nippes, which are classified to be in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency). (Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Dated 12 Nov 2021)

ZeShan therefore made a relief grant to support World Vision’s relief work to address the pressing needs of health and nutrition, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as shelter.

Deworming activities are on-going in schools

Deworming activities are on-going in schools  ©World Vision

children friendly space

Children friendly space.   ©World Vision

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2020-PresentDisaster ReliefOthers Project

Forget Famine Not

Forget Famine Not

Oxfam, World Vision and Medecins Sans Frontieres

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A deadly mix of conflict, COVID‐19, insect attack and persistent droughts have pushed more than 7 million people across six countries in East Africa to the very edge of starvation. According to UN reports, approximately 108,000 people there were under catastrophic famine‐conditions, a phase marked by critical acute malnutrition, starvation, destitution and death. This phase is understood in the humanitarian sector as the highest and most urgent Integrated Food Insecurity Phase Classification (IPC) of level 5. Additionally, almost 7.8 million people are exposed to emergency phase (IPC4), and if things worsen are one step away from famine. As many as 26 million are classified at “crisis level” (IPC3), where action is needed now to stop them sliding into emergency.

The region has endured substantial and widespread breeding of desert locusts since late 2019, resulting in loss of pasture and crops. Added to this, from June to December 2020, rising conflicts has exacerbated the food insecurity situation in the region. The Climate Prediction and Application Centre and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization have both made predictions of dry conditions and worsening food insecurity situation in 2021. Coupled with economic impact of COVID‐19, lockdowns continue to destroy livelihoods and push millions into desperation.

This challenging period could erode human and economic development gains that have been made towards the global Sustainable Development Goals across the region. The rising food insecurity also increases the risks faced by women and girls, including gender‐based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse.

In view of these pressing emergency needs, ZeShan Foundation made in the summer of 2021 three major emergency grants to support the ongoing famine-related relief operations in South Sudan and Ethiopia by three INGOs, namely Oxfam, World Vision and Medecins Sans Frontieres.  The relief efforts include provision of food relief, clean water and sanitation, emergency healthcare and protection of vulnerable groups, especially children and women.

Hundreds of people in Shire’s University IDP site live in an unfinished building, where they sleep, cook and eat. Many don’t have mattresses or blankets. ©Claudia Blume/MSF

Hundreds of people in Shire’s University IDP site live in an unfinished building, where they sleep, cook and eat. Many don’t have mattresses or blankets. ©Claudia Blume/MSF

It is one of the camp sites in Tigray region. Oxfam is providing life-saving aids, including food, water and hygiene kits to displaced people in Tigray since Jan 2021. ©Oxfam

It is one of the camp sites in Tigray region. Oxfam is providing life-saving aids, including food, water and hygiene kits to displaced people in Tigray since Jan 2021. ©Oxfam

Caregivers preparing nutritious food. ©World Vision

Caregivers preparing nutritious food. ©World Vision

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2015-2019Disaster ReliefOthers Project

Disaster Relief in the Philippines

Disaster Relief in the Philippines

World Food Program & Oxfam Hong Kong, the Philippines

In November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and caused severe and extensive devastation, resulting in numerous casualties and hundreds of thousands homeless. 13 million people were affected by the typhoon, 3.5 million people displaced and over 23,000 injured.  A number of provinces in central Philippines had witnessed massive destruction and loss of life.
In response to the disaster, ZeShan Foundation donated HK$1 million to three leading international humanitarian organizations, namely Doctors without Borders (also known as Medecins sans Frontieres – MSF), the United Nation World Food Program (WFP), and Oxfam Hong Kong for their disaster relief efforts.  The donation will help to provide vital relief to families and also facilitate the rebuilding of their homes and communities in the affected regions.
[Feature photo source: AFP]

Photo credit: AFP

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2015-2019Disaster ReliefOthers Project

Disaster Relief in Nepal

Disaster Relief in Nepal

Habitat for Humanity, World Food Programme & MSF, Nepal

In response to the Nepal Earthquake in April 2015, ZeShan Foundation supported disaster relief organizations providing food, medical support and shelter.

Nepal, which remains one of the world’s poorest countries, was rocked by a 7.8-magnitute earthquake on April 25, 2015. Hundreds of aftershocks followed, including a 7.3-magnitude quake on May 12. The disaster killed some 9,000 people, injured more than 20,000, and displaced hundreds of thousands across the country. The quakes also caused widespread devastation, destroying some 800,000 houses.

The United Nation World Food Program: To provide food to survivors;

Médecins Sans Frontières: To fund medical and non-medical teams to set up surgical units, provide support to hospitals, run mobile clinics in remote areas, distribute essential relief items, and provide water and sanitation in Nepal.

Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong: To distribute temporary shelter kits, carry out rubble removal and debris clearance, as well as construct transitional housing and permanent homes in the longer term.

Photo credit: Habitat for Humanity HK

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2004-2009Disaster ReliefOthers Project

Building Disaster Response Capacity in Public Health

Building Disaster Response Capacity in Public Health

School of Public Health and Primary Care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

While Asia is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world, there is only limited region-specific research in relations to the role of public health and medicine in disaster response and management.

In order to improve preparedness for future disasters and mitigate the resulting adverse impact, the School of Public Health and Primary Care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong initiated a research project to develop case studies of public health issues resulting from major natural disasters. Modeled on the concept of case-teaching methods in the research and teaching of disasters and humanitarian studies, the project is led by Professor Sian Griffiths and Professor Emily Chan.

The study examines medical and public health responses to recent major disasters in Asia and their complex emergency situations. The results of the project, including a set of case studies, will be shared among academic, research and policy professionals, and are expected to contribute to the body of knowledge currently available and stimulate further discourse. They will enhance knowledge and understanding of key issues in disaster response and training in the region. The outcome is intended to be used for teaching and as academic references for future research and historical referencing purposes. Also in the plan is a series of public seminars at which public health professionals and academia will be invited to share their experiences in public health and medicine in disaster and humanitarian response.

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2004-2009Disaster ReliefOthers Project

BNU-HKU Initiative to Rebuild Community Leadership

Initiative to Rebuild Community Leadership

Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU)

The earthquake on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan, China, caused enormous damage to human lives and properties, paralyzing the local economy with a direct economic loss exceeding RMB100 billion in Mianzhu City alone. It also dealt a heavy blow to the local community leadership capacity: hundreds of local leaders lost their lives and many more were injured. Those who fortunately survived the disaster felt helpless and incapacitated.

Endorsed by China’s Central State Council, Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) jointly formed the Major Disaster Management Initiative, which aims to resolve a key “bottleneck” in post-disaster rebuilding by restoring local community leadership capacity, and cultivating new blood for grassroots NGO development.

The project selected the Hanwang Shelter in Mianzhu as its entry point to map out a strategy for rebuilding community leadership. The Hanwang Shelter, with over 50,000 residents, was the largest of the many which were hastily put up to accommodate thousands of survivors displaced by the earthquake.

The initiative, under the joint leadership of Professor Zhang Xiulan (BNU) and Professor Cecilia Chan (HKU), combined the strength of social work and community development with social research. While seeking to rebuild local leadership capacity, the project team organized workshops on stress management and work-skills training for community leaders and volunteers. Mutual respect between the project team and local government led to trust and collaboration, which evolved into a strong and ongoing partnership. One of the outcomes was the creation of locally-groomed NGOs that have received strong support from the government.

The strong research component of the initiative has led to comprehensive documentation of the reconstruction experience, which in turn provides useful information to both academia and government policymakers on post-disaster rehabilitation. Research results have been well-received at national and nternational conferences on disasters and community rebuilding. Today, the BNU-HKU initiative is a fixture in the local community’s tireless effort to rebuild and redevelop the disasterstricken region. The service center also serves as a training camp for aspiring social work students from both mainland and Hong Kong universities

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