First Team of Female De-Miners in Artsakh

STEPANAKERT — Landmine Free Artsakh congratulates the HALO Trust for deploying its first team of female de-miners in Artsakh in July. The female team not only represents a program first, but also helps to break down gender stereotypes in the region. The participation of women in this previously male dominated profession shows their passion and determination to improve their lives and the lives of their community.

HALO Trust is an international mine-clearing organization based in the UK, and since 2000 has been the sole provider of mines and cluster munitions clearance and the disposal of unexploded ordnance in Artsakh.

This clearance program is complemented by Survey and Mines Risk Education (MRE) teams, with MRE fully incorporated into the school curriculum. The program is managed by one expatriate, while all other senior management positions are filled by locally recruited and trained staff. As with all other HALO programs, its policy is to build a substantial local capacity.

To date, having safely located and destroyed over 70,852 combined landmines, cluster munitions and other items of unexploded ordnance, The HALO Trust Nagorno Karabakh has returned over 294km2 (29,000ha or 72,649 acres) of cleared land to previously impacted communities.

Landmine Free Artsakh is a group of concerned Armenians who have volunteered to help HALO Trust, clear all remaining land mines and unexploded ordnance from Artsakh. Our mission is to generate awareness about land mine problems in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and to help raise money to completely de-mine all villages one village at a time! These villages are in the Lachin, Hadrut and Martuni regions where no international grants and funds can be secured. Without private funding these minefields may never be cleared.

With your help explosive remnants of war will be cleared and rural communities can overcome poverty by safely farming their land and rebuilding infrastructure.

For more information and to donate please visit www.Landminefreeartsakh.com