New Dawn relief

Since our last report we have been focused on raising sufficient funds to enable a complete re-stocking of all six food banks. Through generous donations towards our recent appeal, and grants from like-minded organisations, we have been able to raise enough funds to completely re-stock all food banks, provide food grants to particularly vulnerable households (people living with a disability or chronic illness, female headed households), offer some limited medical care and referral support for emergency medical cases. This is with a view to withdrawing active support of the Foodbanks during the course of 2025 as part of the strategic reduction in services provided by the New Dawn project.

The re-stocking of foodbanks and distribution of food grants will take place in the coming weeks and will be accompanied by a set of community nutrition and food security surveys to enable appropriate decision making through the year.  

The food banks have continued to be a source of much needed support for those displaced by the on-going conflict in Myanmar, as the following testimonial demonstrates:

“By establishing a Food bank, it really helped people like our family who have little income. Especially for a family like us who only earn once a month, selling food items from foodbank on credit is a real savings. Our family would like to express our special gratitude to the donors and Health & Hope organisation.” Mr Aung, 55.

 When the food banks have been fully re-stocked we will review the situation over the coming months. It is now nearly 4 years since this project started and we have changed from delivering emergency aid in the form of shelter, food and household essentials, to more sustainable food banks and a focus on education. As the food banks continue to operate and if stability in the camps improves, we may be able to reduce the New Dawn project activity over the coming months. This will be dependent on community food security and nutrition surveys.

Thank you to all those who have supported New Dawn through these stages of transition to provide for the many needs in the most appropriate ways.

Due to insufficient funds, there has been limited activity in the intervening months for the New Dawn Relief Project.

However, thanks to recent generous funding we will be able to re-stock all six food banks, in camps in the border areas, as well as pay a stipend to teachers under our New Dawn Education project.

We will also be launching a Christmas Appeal early in December which will focus on the re-stocking of the six food banks.

With some families skipping meals in order to feed their children, access to food continues to be a critical priority.

The Director of our Humanitarian relief department shares more about how vital the Food banks are as a lifeline to many:

“During a visit to camps with a mobile medical clinic in June, I witnessed first-hand the dire circumstances faced by many families, with some stating they only eat properly when aid from Health & Hope is provided. The lack of adequate nutrition has resulted in widespread malnourishment among children in these camps.  Therefore, we are committed to focusing more resources on these camps to provide whatever aid we can afford.”

Ba Haung, (name changed), shares how the Food Banks have made a difference to him and his family.”

“As a refugee, it was challenging to support my family due to the lack of stable income opportunities, including daily wage jobs. Fortunately, Health & Hope provided us with essential support, including food, shelter, household items, and medical care.

Thanks to God's grace, the food bank project for us has been incredibly helpful. Although it's not entirely free, we can purchase essential items at half price and even access credit facilities that allow us to pay later. God Bless Health & Hope.”