Removing mines to make families safe in Kosovo

Thank you for your generous support to clear landmines and other deadly debris in Kosovo.

For our first update, we want to share the story of 40-year-old Mithat Suma and his family in Dimce who live every day in fear because of a minefield on their land.

Mithat is currently unemployed, yet has a family of 10 to feed. His large family is made up of his wife, both his parents, three brothers and three young children – four-year-old Ardian, eight-year-old Arlind, and ten-year-old Ardita. His three children all attend primary school and frequently leave their house and school to play with their friends – he is most worried about the children as the minefield is only 700 meters away from their house and the children can easily wander there while they play.

"Though I want to, I know that I can't control where my children go all the time. I worry about them all day. I can't wait until the day that the land is cleared and I can see my children playing without fear. This is the only land I have, I want my family to live freely here.”

In addition, the Suma family is currently dependent on six cows and the loss of even one cow to a mine would have a huge impact on their livelihood. Once the land is safe, they want to build a wooden cattle house on the cleared land to expand the family's income by producing dairy products for the local market.

Thanks to the support of donors like you, we can help families like the Suma’s so their children can play safely and so they can use the cleared land to increase their income and improve their lives.

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