Gallery 2 — Myanmar Jazz Club

Providing psychosocial support for the survivors of the Myanmar earthquake

Hello, dear friends. My name is Win Htut Thaw, but you can call me Itö. I am a musician, producer, and the director of the Myanmar Jazz Club (MJC) in Yangon, Myanmar. Music has been my lifelong passion and the heart of my community work. Today, I’m reaching out to you with that same heart, to help bring hope and healing to survivors of a devastating earthquake in my country.

In March 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, killing more than 1,600 people and leaving countless families homeless. I could not stand by. As soon as I could, I traveled to the hardest-hit regions to volunteer in the relief efforts. I led direct relief missions—collecting donations, delivering food, water, and medicine to isolated villages. Out team built makeshift camps for the recently displaced, sharing meals and stories under open skies. This became handy as the first few nights were ravaged with heavy rain.

When the camps were done, I saw that the people were already using music to help themselves. I witnessed survivors singing, playing instruments, and improvising with whatever they could find. It wasn’t just to pass the time—it was their way of self-soothing, of coping with the chaos around them. I realized that while we had raised money to meet immediate needs in Phase One, the next step had to focus on the sustainable psychosocial needs of these survivors.

That's where "Sounds of Hope" comes in—Phase Two of our relief efforts.

Our goal in Phase Two is to bring sustainable psychosocial support through music therapy to the survivors of the earthquake. While basic aid is vital, emotional and psychological support is just as important for the long-term recovery of these communities. We aim to create a lasting impact by training music leaders within the affected areas and in Yangon to use music as a tool for psychosocial support.

Why is this necessary? We understand that music can be a powerful tool to address trauma, help people regulate their emotions, and build resilience. However, in order to ensure that we are providing effective and safe therapeutic support, we need to train local music leaders who can then go into their communities and train other community leaders. This approach ensures that the impact of the program will extend beyond our team and become a lasting part of community support systems..

The training process will cost some money, but it’s a vital investment to ensure that our music facilitation team provides adequate psychosocial care, especially for vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. We want to ensure that the leaders we train are equipped with the knowledge and skills to make a meaningful, long-term difference.

After the basics are covered—food, water, shelter—the next step is to address the emotional and psychological needs of the survivors. Survivors of natural disasters like this earthquake face not just physical hardship, but also psychological trauma that can last for years. Music has the power to heal emotional wounds and give survivors a sense of community, purpose, and hope in a time when they feel completely isolated.

As Pope Francis shared in his final message to Myanmar just before his passing,

“During this time, let us not fail to assist the people of Myanmar, plagued by long years of armed conflict, who, with courage and patience, are dealing with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Sagaing, which caused the death of thousands and great suffering for the many survivors, including orphans and the elderly. We pray for the victims and their loved ones, and we heartily thank all the generous volunteers carrying out the relief operations. The announcement of a ceasefire by various actors in the country is a sign of hope for the whole of Myanmar."

By bringing music therapy to the survivors and training community leaders, we are offering a sustainable solution to the trauma caused by this disaster. We are giving the survivors the tools they need to heal, not just physically, but emotionally, allowing them to rebuild their lives from the inside out.