myanmar

According to instructor Laesgaw K'Chawtee, BYU is offering the first Karen cultural class at an American university. The Karen or Kayin people generally live in southeast Asia in Myanmar and Thailand.

From left, speakers Yaw Doh, Adheiu Arok, Amy Wylie, Spencer Call and Monica Call take the stage at the BYU Refugee Empowerment Club's Nov. 16 fundraising event. The club helps BYU students learn more about and serve refugees. (Katelyn Stiles)

Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar wait to receive aid at a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Increased tensions in Myanmar between the Rohingya and the Buddhist majority have forced thousands of Rohingya to flee the country. (Dar Yasin/AP Photo)

President Barack Obama delivers opening remarks at the plenary session meeting of ASEAN, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. (Associated Press)

Natural disasters wreak havoc and ruin the lives of people both in the country affected and around the world, especially those who have friends or family in the area. Nepal is currently in a state of recovery after suffering from double earthquakes earlier this year, but it is not the only country still feeling the effects of a major catastrophe this century.