Following the deadly March 28 earthquake that shook Myanmar, Thailand and China, Hawaiʻi-based organizations have begun to raise funds and offer aid for affected families. As of this week, more than 2,700 people have died, the Associated Press reported.
John and Gay Williams, directors of disaster relief ministries at Hawaiʻi Pacific Baptist Convention, recently shared on Instagram about how volunteers they trained in partnership with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and Send Relief were “working now to bring help and hope in response to the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Southeast Asia.”
Aloha State Daily spoke with the pair to learn more about the needs of our neighbors, as well as how the local community can help.
The Williams ʻohana is responsible for training volunteers statewide to serve in disasters across the nation and world. Of the six years they have lived in Hawaiʻi, three have been spent in this shared role.
Gay said in Myanmar, church and community volunteers on the ground have been giving out clean drinking water, in addition to providing food, supplies and temporary housing.
"Continue to support financially the organizations you know are out there doing good work, if you can," she said. "Even though the news cycle may switch, there are dedicated people still working and serving in all those areas."
John added. "My request is for people to continue to pray for the families in Myanmar, Thailand and China. ... The really long, hard work doesn’t start until it’s long forgotten about,"
Gay chimed in, "I mean we know that with Maui, right? People on the Mainland think by now Mauiʻs all rebuilt. It will be years. The news cycle goes on and people forget. In Thailand and Myanmar, theyʻre still waiting and searching for loved ones – theyʻre nowhere near cleanup yet."
John also noted that though there has been devastation in Bangkok, rural areas, farmland and people "living modest lives" are already feeling negative affects since the quake.
"Hawaiʻi Pacific Baptist Convention is active, involved and engaged," said John, who recently returned home to the Islands from Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades, where nearly 7,000 homes burned in January wildfires. He said, "there is still a lot of devastation."
The pair also spent four and a half months on Maui, following the 2023 Lahaina fire, which claimed more than 100 lives and destroyed thousands of buildings and homes.
"We've seen growth in our ministry since then and were able to help families sift through the ashes of their homes. We still follow-up with them today," said Gay, who is also a licensed mental health worker and chaplain. They've since deployed teams to go to Los Angeles, North Carolina, New Mexico, Guam and other parts of the Pacific.
The couple said they most enjoy the people, the warmth, the culture and outdoor activities available in Hawaiʻi.
According to John, Hawaiʻi Pacific Baptist Convention "survives off gifts from individuals."
"In a nutshell, the convention was organized in 1943. Baptist work began in 1926 when Charles J. McDonald, a layman, started work in the town of Wahiawa with a Sunday School, which eventually became the First Baptist Church of Wahiawa. We have grown and God has blessed the network with 128 churches and missions around the Pacific."
For more information and/or to send a monetary donation to various disasters, visit the following websites:
Hawaiʻi Pacific Baptist Convention: hpbaptist.net
Disaster Relief Ministries: hpbaptist.net/disaster-relief
Send Relief: sendrelief.org
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
