Yangon, Myanmar, 24 February 2020 – KBZ Bank has donated more than MMK 56 million to provide rescue boats which are critical to lessen the impact of natural disasters and humanitarian crises caused by flooding in various parts of Myanmar during periods of torrential monsoon rains. The donation, which was made in 2019 to the Department of Disaster Management under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS), means that 26 rescue boats are now available for deployment to support disaster response efforts in cities across five states and regions – Yangon, Mon, Kayin, Bago and Tanintharyi.
KBZ Bank’s donation, evaluated and recommended by the bank’s Social Purpose and Impact Partnerships Committee, is in line with one of the bank’s three social purpose pillars – Climate Change Mitigation through Education. MRCS evaluated the different types of rescue boats needed based on past rescue missions and used KBZ Bank’s donation to procure the boats through public tenders. Nine of the 26 boats were transferred to the Department of Disaster Management’s office in Yangon, with the remaining 17 boats transported to 14 cities.
When natural disasters strike, communities are often left vulnerable with the lack of access to life essentials such as food, clean water, shelter, and basic services. During such times, they not only deal with the tragic loss of human life and property but face uncertainty as their livelihoods are destroyed or severely affected.
Said Daw Nang Lang Kham, Deputy CEO of KBZ Bank, “As KBZ Bank continues to support response efforts during times of natural disasters in Myanmar, we are also investing resources to support disaster preparedness and mitigation. Following our discussions with the Disaster Management Department under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and MRCS, we contributed our donation to address the urgent need for boats which are critical for rescue efforts and to provide humanitarian assistance especially in disaster prone areas. We will continue to find ways to support the authorities and rescue teams to support those affected by natural disasters in the country.”
The donation by KBZ Bank to provide the rescue boats follows a previous donation of MMK 35 million to the Yangon Rescue Organization in August 2019 to support the people affected by the severe flooding and landslide in Mon State.
During occurence of natural disasters, the Red Cross Command Centre operated by MRCS gathers information from Red Cross volunteers in the affected areas and deploys the appropriate rescue equipment for response efforts.
“We are extremely grateful to KBZ Bank for their contribution to provide boats which provide logistical efficiency during Emergency Response operations and management of humanitarian assistance. The boats will help Emergency Response teams reach people in affected areas. We look forward to further collaboration with KBZ Bank as we work towards channeling resources to where they are needed most and building local capacity for preparedness when it comes to natural disasters,” said Daw San San Maw, Director of Disaster Management, Myanmar Red Cross Society.”