Welcome to the Planson International HeroRAT adoption page! Here, you will be able to access updates on your HeroRAT. Your Mine Detection HeroRAT, Ratticus Finch, is a game changer when integrated into the larger humanitarian demining teams of APOPO's partners in Cambodia. Ratticus Finch searches for mines 50 times faster than humans with metal detectors, drastically reducing the time and cost to free communities from the danger of mines. As a result more lives are saved.
Landmines kill and maim people, create tremendous anxiety and block economic development. In Cambodia, landmine contamination is the legacy of three decades of war that ended in the 1990's. There are over 40,000 amputees in Cambodia, and hundreds of people still die each year as a result of stepping on landmines. Industry experts estimate there is between four to six million mines and other pieces of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia and the problem affects almost every region of the country.
Your sponsored HeroRAT will be initially integrated into demining teams of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC). Paired with manual deminers who clear safe lanes and check rat indications, and demining machines which prep large areas of land to be searched by rats, your HeroRAT will improve the efficiency of the operation and allow more land to be cleared faster. This will save lives, reduce community fear and anxiety, and foster development, particularly in agriculture.
In addition to eliminating an omnipotent threat to the communities physical and emotional wellbeing and freeing up land for agriculture development, APOPO's program in Cambodia has the potential to fuel industry demand. Initial program success with CMAC has prompted one large international NGO to launch an initial pilot using APOPO HeroRATs. Consequently, their costs and time completing critical tasks in country will be reduced by 50%.
