Support and Protect Families in Afghanistan

In Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Daud lives with his family of 12 in Belandhawa village.

In 2020, this family’s hometown became a frontline combat zone when former Afghan Army forces arrived to defend the provincial capital. Intense fighting forced them and several other families to flee the village.

A year later, Daud and other Belandhawa residents came back, hoping to resume the lives they had left behind. What they returned to, however, was far from welcoming. Their land and homes were full of explosives left behind by the conflict, and accidents in the village caused the death of several community members and injuries to many others.

“My house, including four rooms, was damaged during the conflict. Our farmland was also contaminated with mines,” Daud recalled.

“When I came back, we had to request demining support—our house was heavily contaminated."

In October 2024, The HALO Trust answered this request. After months of work, 10 demining teams had cleared roughly 61 acres – or about 46 football fields – of land by April 2025. In that time, they also safely destroyed 36 improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“HALO cleared my house and even found an IED inside. They also cleared other houses and roads in our area,” Daud said.

Today, the community is thriving on the cleared land.

In the village’s residential areas, homes are being repaired and reconstructed. In the village’s public spaces where people were once too afraid to step foot, children now gather every day to play sports.

Many families in Belandhawa rely on farming, including Daud's. Now, they are once again growing crops on their land without fear of what lays beneath the soil. 

"Now we live without fear, and our children can play safely again," he said.

Restoration and revival like this would not be possible without HALO’s community of support. Thank you for your commitment to a safer world.