On the 28th of March 2025, an earthquake originating in the Sagaing region 20 km southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar devastated the nation. Thousands were injured, displaced and killed. Gomez Medical Services Sdn Bhd, spearheaded by MAIUG’s Deputy President, Dr. Patrick Justin Lawrence mobilised a team for a medical aid mission.
The humanitarian initiative to Mandalay, Myanmar was jointly organised by Blue Sky Rescue Malaysia and Gomez Medical Services Sdn. Bhd. The slogan of the medical aid mission was aptly coined as “Save A Life”. Over four tonnes of drugs and medical supplies were generously donated by various companies. This was coordinated by Gomez Medical Services and the trip to Myanmar would not have been possible without the generosity and efforts of AirAsia personnel who assisted in ensuring the medical aid arrived safely in Myanmar without any obstacles. A team of six doctors, along with nine other volunteers from both Gomez Medical Services and Blue Sky Rescue arrived in Yangon on the 12th of April.
The team was graciously welcomed upon reaching Mandalay on the 13th of April, and were lodged in Yun Wah Mandalay High School, where clinics were set up and operated for a span of three days from Monday 14th to Wednesday 16th April 2025. The school management generously offered food and transport for our volunteers. The makeshift clinics operated within classrooms of the school, and both school workers as well as local volunteers native to Mandalay, assisted greatly in roles such as coordinating the flow of patients as well as interpreting. Interpreters ranged from local doctors, medical students and high school students and were a great help to us from Malaysia.
The Gomez Medical team helped treat over 600 patients in the span of three days, in addition to assisting and offering medical donations to other humanitarian efforts in the region including Malaysian humanitarian team, United Sikhs Malaysia; that offered food and medical supplies to those devastated by the earthquake as well as the Yunnan Association, a local Chinese charitable organisation. Two doctors from the Gomez volunteer team also assisted in the efforts of a local Catholic diocese and they helped to treat over a hundred patients in a severely affected rural area of Mandalay and medical donations were sent to them as well.
Overall, the mission was successful in helping offer free medical aid and treatment to the people of Mandalay and Gomez Medical Services is grateful for having had the opportunity to help and the gracious generosity of the people of Mandalay.
