By Ragna Frans | Project Leader
APOPO recently launched a humanitarian landmine clearance project in one of the most mine-affected parts of Cambodia. The country is still heavily contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war from decades of conflict.
“The unexploded explosives are everywhere, especially in poor rural areas. Everybody in Cambodia has experienced how dangerous landmines are and how they still restrict many people’s lives. One of my friends lost his eyes in a mine accident and these kind of injuries put a lot of pressure on the rest of the family, especially if the breadwinner is hurt”, says Bunthoeun Theap, one of the APOPO Cambodia staff members.
The lives of villagers have been severely restricted by the presence of landmines, in terms of numbers of casualties and limited livelihoods. “Whole communities were unable to get on to their productive land because of landmines”, adds Bunthoeun. “But I’m a proud to say that we are working hard to clear our land so all Cambodians can live and work safely again”.
Since the start of the project early 2014, APOPO and local partner CMAC (Cambodian Mine Action Centre) have cleared more than 3,000,000 m2, finding more than 1600 landmines and 13500 Unexploded Ordnances (UXO).
APOPO stays committed to help Cambodia rid of landmines and we thank the whole GlobalGiving Community for its support! If you want to know more about our work, progress and future plans in Cambodia, please check our website, Facebook and twitter.
Best regards,
The APOPO team
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