When the earthquake struck Myanmar in March 2025, it shattered more than buildings and roads. For families already living close to the edge, it wiped out the little they had to keep going. With EU funding, WFP provided multi-purpose cash assistance so they could keep their livelihoods afloat.
Under a large tree by a creek flowing across Mandalay City, the day begins long before sunrise. Very early in the morning, Myint Myint lights the fire and starts frying samosas and fritters as the city is still waking.
Altogether, she now sells around 700 pieces of different snacks a day – Indian-style fritters, Burmese traditional fritters, bean fritters and the crispy toppings often eaten with Myanmar’s national dish Mohinga. Before the earthquake, she used to produce more than 1,000.
A business built through loss
This small roadside stall has been more than a business. It has been a lifeline for Myint Myint and her 2 young sons.
‘I’ve been frying and selling these for over 10 years now ever since my husband passed away,’ Myint Myint explains. ‘I learned by watching others, starting small and just keeping at it until I eventually built up a few regulars here and there.’
Like many women supporting families on their own, she worked with little margin for error. Her stall brought in just enough to survive, but not enough to create a real safety net. Even before disaster struck, she was living in and out of debt, managing each day as it came.
When the earthquake took more than the ground
When the earthquake struck in March last year, Myint Myint lost her business assets and the small amount of seed money she relied on to buy ingredients and keep her stall running. Suddenly, she could no longer reopen her shop.
Cash assistance changed everything
Then came support that changed the course of her recovery. Through WFP’s earthquake response, funded by the European Union, Myint Myint received multi-purpose cash assistance. The cash ration of 360,000 Kyat (about €77) not only helped her cover immediate food needs, it also became the seed money she needed to restart her livelihood:
‘I thought, okay, I’m heading back to the market, Myint Myint exclaimed. ‘I was out selling again the very next day. It made me realise that my life wasn’t over just yet.’
Recovery is slow and fragile, 1 year later
A year after the earthquake, the business is running again - but slower than it used to be. Her customers are also struggling. The economic pressure is relentless. Inflation, weak demand and damaged roads all chip away at already narrow margins.
Survival, for many, is a daily cycle of borrowing, spending and trying again tomorrow.
Myint Myint’s experience mirrors that of many in earthquake-affected communities. In Sagaing and Mandalay, 1 in 6 households still face moderate to severe food insecurity, while about half are only marginally food secure — surviving on the edge and unable to absorb even a minor shock.
Myint Myint knows exactly how fragile her recovery is. She remains about 1.5 million kyats in debt (approx. USD 400) which is a crushing burden for a woman working day to day to stay afloat. Rent still comes due. Rain can still ruin business. Another shock, whether an illness or another price spike, could push her right back into crisis.
Why sustained support matters
Recovery for families like that of Myint Myint will remain fragile without continued support for resilience. WFP warns that earthquake survivors are part of a much wider food security crisis in Myanmar, where 12.4 million people — nearly one quarter of the population — are now facing acute hunger.
Without sufficient funding, Myanmar’s aid organisations will be forced to scale back recovery efforts that help families rebuild livelihoods and reduce long-term dependence on aid.
A quiet determination
For Myint Myint, the past year has been a story of hard-won survival — of finding just enough strength, just enough capital and just enough hope to begin again.
‘Life isn’t always a smooth ride,’ Myint Myint reflected. ‘You have to keep fighting so you can eventually stand on your own 2 feet.’
