Millions of bombs dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War never exploded, and today they still lie in schoolyards and farm fields. This project will clear them from rural villages, working with a licensed Lao clearance team to teach kids, farmers and families how to spot and report bombs, destroy the ones they find, and hand back land certified safe to play and farm.
Between 1964 and 1973, about 2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos, and up to 30% never exploded. Today they're still buried in 15 of the country's 18 provinces: under playgrounds, along paths, and in the fields families depend on for food. Children find them while playing and foraging. Farmers hit them while planting. Many villages simply stop using land they know is contaminated, which keeps them poor. And with major international funding recently cut, hundreds of trained Lao bomb-clear
We fund our partner UXO Clearance Solutions (UCS), a licensed Lao clearance team with more than 17 years of experience, to protect villages in three ways: Teach: Safety lessons for schoolchildren, teachers and families on how to recognize bombs and who to call. Respond: A rapid response team that destroys bombs villagers report, usually within 24 to 48 hours. Clear: Professional teams sweep school grounds and village farmland, then hand the land back to the village, certified safe.
Every cleared school is a place where kids can learn and play without fear. Every cleared field is land a family can farm again, growing food and income for years. Cleared ground also opens the door to new wells, classrooms and toilets that couldn't safely be built before. Teachers trained in bomb safety keep teaching long after the teams leave, and villagers trained in clearance can keep working on future projects. Safe ground today means a stronger, safer village for the next generation.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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