Protecting lives

Landmines, cluster bombs and other explosives inflict appalling injuries that have a devastating impact on people’s futures. Over 7,200 people were killed or injured by landmines and other explosives in 2017 alone.

HALO protects lives by destroying landmines and teaching people, particularly children, how to stay safe until our work is done.

We also work with local partners in countries like Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Colombia and Laos to ensure that landmine victims like Ing receive the support they need to regain their independence and live with dignity.

Ing is one of 25,000 people in Laos who have been killed or injured by unexploded cluster bombs. He lost both his arms and the sight in one eye when he hit a cluster bomb whilst cutting his grass. Before his accident, he grew food for his family on their land but after he was injured, the family struggled. His son Sone and daughter Chillid dropped out of school to help care for Ing and the family had to sell their land to make ends meet.

When HALO’s team met Ing, they realised the family needed urgent help and took him to a rehabilitation facility. With the support of COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise), he was fitted with two prosthetic arms. Having regained his independence Ing hopes to be able to begin farming again soon.

Fighting forced Khatera and her family to move to a refugee camp in Kunduz Province in Afghanistan. When they arrived, they heard that there were many mines in the district and that people and animals had been injured or killed by them. News about accidents spread quickly and Khatera’s family did not want to use the land. HALO visited the camp and showed them what to look for so they could stay safe.