Visiting Clear Path Partners in Hue, Vietnam

CPI Executive Director Kiman Lucas and Vietnam staff visited with members of the Hue Friendship Union

It's always good to be in Vietnam, and with our staff in Dong Ha, where Clear Path International began in 2000, first clearing land of unexploded ordnance and then assisting the victims of encounters with them, as well as their families and communities.

Today we met in the beautiful city of Hue, the home of the last Vietnamese emperor, with members of the Hue Friendship Union, our partner organization in providing Accident Survivor Assistance Programs or ASAP.

I was hosted by Mr. Anh, director of the Hue Friendship Union and former mayor of Hue. Clear Path International has assisted 945 explosive ordinance survivors in the three years in which we have operated ASAP in central Vietnam's Hue Province. We plan to complete our projects here in the next year.

Cluster Bomb Kills Vietnamese Farmer

Ngoc Chinh was simply trying to earn some extra money. The effort cost him his life.
The 49-year-old farmer had been hired to dig holes where trees would be planted in the Hai Lang District of Quang Tri Province. Most of his family was away from home attending the wedding of a relative. Chinh had stayed behind with his daughter who had classes to attend.

On Nov. 24, Chinh left home early, taking his lunch along so he could spend more time working in the forestry area of Hai Lam Commune. His daughter went to class in the morning, did her homework in the afternoon, then prepared dinner and waited for her father to return.

By 10 p.m. when Chinh still had not arrived home, the girl became worried and ran to the neighbors to ask for help. Several men went with flashlights in search of Chinh.
They found him dead on the plot where he had been working. The steel blade of his hoe had been destroyed by the blast from a cluster bomb, the remains of which were also found on the site.

When staff from Clear Path International, a nonprofit organization that assists victims of war-era explosives, visited the family's home, Chinh's body had already been placed in a coffin. His daughter and friends were waiting for Chinh's mother, wife and two other children to return home before holding the funeral.

The accident that took Chinh's life occurred less than two weeks after delegates, diplomats and aid workers from around the globe met in neighboring Lao PDR to further their attempts to eradicate cluster munitions.

The First Meeting of Sates Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions was held in the capital city, Vientiane, from Nov. 9 to 12. To date, 108 countries have signed the treaty, which establishes international law to ban the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions and mandates their destruction.

Seattle Man to Run 300K for Landmine Victims

A Seattle physical therapist will compete in one of the toughest footraces on the planet while raising funds to help landmine accident survivors.

Wolfgang Brolley, who also is a chocolatier, business owner and circus arts practitioner, will participate in the eight-day, multinational GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run in which 250 teams of two people each cover 300 kilometers, gain 60,000 feet of elevation and pass through three countries (Germany, Austria and Italy) all on mountain trails through the Alps. This hard-running challenge begins Sept. 4 and will be completed in seven stages and one mountain sprint.

Brolley's cause, Running Cuz They Can't!, asks sponsors to donate money to non-profit organizations that assist landmine and bomb victims. One of the organizations that sponsors may choose to support is Clear Path International, based on Bainbridge Island. Brolley has volunteered his services on numerous occasions to CPI, which has programs in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border.

"All the donations I gather will be going to landmine relief and assistance," Brolley said. "People can make a flat donation, or sponsor by mile/kilometer/feet of elevation covered - they just need to know this is a LONG race and those numbers will be big!"

Brolley, who has practiced for 20 years treating sports, spine and over-use injuries, has a bachelors degree from Stanford University in Asian Studies and a physical therapy degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine.

To donate, contact Wolf at stretchpt@live.com. For more information about the Transalpine Run, go to www.transalpine-run.com. Visit www.cpi.org to learn about Clear Path International.

Hearts and Mines: A documentary on the work of Clear Path International

All of us at Clear Path are thrilled to see the new trailer for HEARTS AND MINES the documentary by Dr. Joan Widdifield, a long-time CPI supporter. Hearts and Mines follows the CPI Vietnam staff as they work with landmine and bomb accident survivors and their families.

Great work, Joan! We look forward to the full movie!
If the movies is not showing up in your browser, below, you can go to http://vimeo.com/7350650 to check it out!

Hearts & Mines trailer from Hearts & Mines on Vimeo.

Back To School: Nearly 500 Vietnamese Landmine Families Receive Clear Path International Support to Send Their Children Back to School

DONG HA, Central Vietnam - Mothers get teary-eyed when their kids return to school after the summer.

But the tears Tran Phuong Nhu's mother shed outside her daughter's classroom were not from a typical sense of pride and separation. As she watched the eight-year-old girl go inside wearing her best uniform, she could not help think of her husband who is still in critical condition at the Quang Tri General Hospital from a landmine accident that
happened in late July.

Tran Phuong Nhu at the scholarship granting ceremony

The third grader was among 52 children from landmine-affected families in Dong Ha town who received special scholarships from CPI at the school on Aug. 21 as the organization conducted the last round of assistance ceremonies at the start of the new school year. Sadly, Tran Phuong Nhu was a last-minute addition.

In all, 482 students in nine districts from four provinces north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone at the 17th parallel received CPI scholarships this year. The scholarship grants are for elementary to high school students who were injured by accidents with unexploded ordnance (UXO) or, as in Tran Phuong Nhu's case, whose family members sustained injuries from such accidents. UXO accidents still happen almost every week in central Vietnam.

Each scholarship grant worth about $35 covers most of the minimum tuition even the poorest families have to pay the public schools. CPI also awards special uniform and materials packages to mine-affected students with the best grades. One hundred and twenty nine, or more than a quarter, of the 482 students this year received such gifts in recognition to their tireless efforts to overcome their challenges at home and at school.

Nguyen Hong Hoa from Hiep Duc district, Quang Nam province, was one of the "honor" students. The 15-year-old boy lost two legs and an arm in 2007 when he was in 6th grade. His education was interrupted and everyone was afraid that he wouldn't recover from the psychological wound. But when Hoa went back to school a year later he did very well and gained an "excellent student" title.

Students from Gio Linh district, Quang Tri province and their parents gathering at the event.

CPI's educational scholarship program began in 2001 to a few newly mine-affected students in Quang Tri province. Since then, the activity has become an annual event. To date, 3,130 scholarships have helped families reduce their burden and nourish their hope of a better future thanks to their children's ability to keep returning to school.

Landmine accident survivor Nguyen Quoc Tich and his eldest son, Vuong, ride to the ceremony to collect a scholarship for Vuong's younger sister.

Dutch Charity "Stichting Mensenkinderen" Awards $140,000 to Clear Path International

HARDERWIJK, Netherlands - The Dutch charity "Stichting Mensenkinderen" (www.mensenkinderen.nl) has given a grant for 100,000 Euro ($140,000) to Clear Path International for its humanitarian mine action work in Vietnam and Cambodia.

About two-thirds of the grant will be used to help match $127,000 in funding for Vietnam from the U.S. Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal & Abatement, while the remainder will be used as a match for the $50,000 provided by WRA for CPI's rice mill enterprise for landmine accident survivors in Cambodia.

"Several thousand landmine victims, family members and persons with disabilities will benefit from the grants by Mensenkinderen and State," said Imbert Matthee, CPI's executive director. "It means that our much-needed work in Southeast Asia can go on in a difficult fundraising environment. We're extremely grateful for this."

Stichting Mensenkinderen (literally translated as "the Foundation for Children" or "the Foundation for Human Children") was founded in 2003 by television producer Sipke van der Land. Since it began, the organization has focused on providing food, shelter, vocational training and other services to disadvantaged, disabled and orphaned children in Albania, Moldavia and Bulgaria.

The last two years, the charity has expanded its interest to include other regions of the world. In 2007 and 2008, it gave donor-advised grants to CPI for its work along the Thai-Burma border.

In Vietnam, the Mensenkinderen funds will be used to continue Clear Path's aid to landmine accident survivors and family members in the central region (north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone) where they receive everything from emergency medical care and prostheses to home improvement and income-generating grants.

In Cambodia, the Dutch grant money will go to help expand CPI's current network of farmers' coops and to provide services to amputee farmers in the poor communities around its rice mill in Battambang province on the border with Thailand.

Like Clear Path, Stichting Mensenkinderen has a small staff and office while relying heavily on volunteers.

US State Department Funds Clear Path International Programs in Vietnam & Cambodia

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal & Abatement has approved matching grants totaling $177,000 for Clear Path International's humanitarian mine action programs in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The largest grant of $127,000 will be used to fund efforts that assist survivors of accidents with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in central Vietnam. The second grant of $50,000 will be used for CPI's rice mill enterprise for landmine survivors in Battambang, Cambodia, where its beneficiaries receive training, microcredit and crop processing services.

The two grants are matched by financial contributions from the private sector, including the McKnight Foundation of Minneapolis, the Johnson & Widdifield Charitable Trust, the Seattle-based law firm Marler Clark and the Dutch charity Stichting Mensenkinderen.

"At a time when it's challenging to raise money from private-sector sponsors, the government's steady and ongoing support of our work helps sustain vital survivor assistance programs," says Imbert Matthee, CPI's executive director. "It also inspires private charities to keep giving despite the economic downturn."

At least 1,000 landmine accident survivors, their family members and disadvantaged members of their communities will benefit from the two grants in the remainder of 2009 and the first part of 2010, Matthee says.

In Vietnam, aid to survivors comes in the form of emergency medical care, prosthetics, physical rehabilitation, income-generating assistance, animal husbandry programs, scholarships and sports activities.

In Cambodia, CPI and its local partner, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development, will expand the cooperative of amputee farmers, boost micro-credit lending, offer training, mill and sell their rice.

CPI Starts Year of the Buffalo with Pig-breeding Project For Landmine Accident Survivors in Vietnam's Gio Linh

GIO LINH, CENTRAL VIETNAM -- In the new lunar Year of the Buffalo, Clear Path in Vietnam began its activities supporting landmine and bomb accident with a pig-raising project in the coastal commune of Gio Hai in Quang Tri Province's Gio Linh District.

Gio Linh District is among the spots in central Vietnam most heavily contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO). Fourteen of its 20 communes have confirmed or suspected contamination levels and it�s the site of regular accidents. In humanitarian mine action �speak,� Gio Linh is considered 98 percent contaminated.
Twenty of Gio Hai commune's 44 poorest households affected by bomb accidents were selected for the pig-breeding project by a Clear Path outreach worker through home assessment visits and interviews probing their capacity to succeed in the program. CPI works closely with the local People�s Committee.


Project beneficiaries review their commitment documents before submitting them to CPI. (Photo by Tran Hong Chi)

Last year, Gio Hai was classified by the government as a "Commune Faced with Extreme Difficulties." Fishing is the main source of income here. Only men go out in small boats to fish along its shore. In the sandy fields behind the dunes, peanuts and sweet potatoes struggle to grow against the elements: frequent floods in the monsoon season and sand moving around in the dry season. These tough conditions explain why half the people here don�t have steady jobs. According to the People's Committee, hundreds of people from Gio Hai leave every year for seasonal jobs elsewhere.
Vo Quang Kha, 42, was selected as a project participant from Gio Hai's Village 4. Kha lost his left leg almost up to his hip when he was only 9. A cluster bomb exploded when he was raking trash in his schoolyard. For long, Kha struggled with his disability and living conditions. Kha lives in a household of three generations and seven people: His parents, who are in their seventies, his wife and their three children ages 14, 13 and 10. Kha's wife is the family's sole breadwinner. For this reason and despite his old age, Kha's mute father still goes out fishing at times to share the workload with his daughter-in-law. His oldest son, who weighs just 44 pounds, looks like a primary school boy. With so many disabled, weak and dependent members, the family barely subsists. Seven people share less than US $2 for food every day, not counting rice.



Mr. Kha enjoys a ride with CPI to attend training course. (Photo by Tran Hong Chi)

Participating in this pig-raising project, beneficiary households like Mr. Kha's receive training from a district agriculture officer; a CPI grant ranging from $41 to $59 to upgrade their old pigsty or build a new one. And, each household receives $6 to vaccinate their new piglets. And the piglets? CPI gives each household a $70 loan to buy three to four piglets without interest. The households have to pay back the loan after a year. They can make two annual installments: after six months and after a year. This is called a revolving loan fund because the money paid back by the families is used for new candidates in new project areas.

Kha's family once raised a sow. When it got old they sold it, but not for enough to buy a new breeding pig. That was almost two years ago. Now with the first grant from CPI, Kha has already put a new roof on his old pigsty and plans to build a new section. He and his wife intend to buy a sow of about 20 lbs for breeding and three piglets to raise for meat in the short term.
Despite the modest size of the grant, this assistance opens new opportunities for families like Kha's. It creates work for people with disabilities and boosts their household income. Kha is a confident participant in the project, saying that his wife has experience raising pigs and CPI's support will help kick-start his household economy. For Kha, the program is also of moral support to him, as he has never received any assistance before as a bomb accident survivor.

Started as a pilot project in Vinh Linh district (Quang Tri Province) in 2004, the pig-raising model has proven to be a success. After Vinh Linh and Cam Lo, Gio Linh is the third district where CPI brings this assistance to households affected by accidents with unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Clear Path International Releases Annual Report

In a one-year period, Clear Path International assisted more than 9,400 landmine accident survivors, persons with disabilities and members of their families in five countries, as you can read in our 2007 � 2008 annual report.

The number of 2007 � 2008 beneficiaries is more than CPI served in its entire history since 2000. It stems largely from our new Afghanistan operation and from a record number of bomb survivors assisted in Vietnam during the period. CPI�s other program activities are in Cambodia, Thailand and just inside Burma.

In the period covered by the report, we have assisted 6,325 beneficiaries in Afghanistan, 1,679 in Vietnam, 929 in Cambodia and 538 on both sides of the Thai-Burma border.

The report covers the breadth of services CPI offers, ranging from prosthetic care and physical therapy to vocational skills training and support for sports activities. We've raised nearly $1.3 million in 2007 � 2008 and spent $878,950, or 87.2 percent, of its operating expenses on program services.
Download a copy of Clear Path International's 2007 � 2008 Annual Report here.

Clear Path International Beneficiaries in Vietnam Become Deminers Thanks to Mines Advisory Group

DONG HA, Vietnam -- As part of its partnership with Clear Path International, Mines Advisory Group in Vietnam has started to recruit CPI-supported landmine accident survivors or their family members to train them as clearance technicians.

The latest person to benefit from this project is 31-year-old Mrs. Tran Thi Hanh from Hoan Cat Village, Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province. The mother of two children, aged six and 11, has been looking after them and her husband, Nguyen Van Nam, 33, who was injured while collecting war scrap metal two years ago. Mr. Nam still has metal shrapnel embedded in his body from a mortar fuse that exploded in 2005 while he was digging it up. He also received shrapnel wounds to his hands, eyes and chest, and is no longer able to work for a living.

CPI and MAG condemn the dangerous economic pursuit of reclaiming wartime ordnance for resale as scrap metal but some financially marginal Vietnamese families cannot resist the instant cash they can earn from their freelance activities. Although survivors such as Mr. Nam aren�t considered �innocent� victims of unexploded ordnance accidents, their family members are.



�My husband was a scrap collector and can now no longer work as a normal person,� says Mrs. Hanh. �He just does the easy house work, grows sweet potatoes and takes the children to school.�

She added: �Before his accident, he used to go out with his detector at 6am and return home at 6pm after selling the scrap metal.�

From this potentially lethal occupation, Mr. Nam brought home VND30,000 (USD1.87) a day, which was added to the income Mrs. Hanh made from in farming. This supplumentaryl income dried up shortly after Mr. Nam was injured despite CPI�s coverage of his medical bills.

As the main breadwinner of the Hanh family, Mrs. Hanh was selected by CPI for the MAG�s deminer recruitment program. Where possible, MAG attempts to recruit landmine accident survivors as deminers but because of some of the survivors� injuries and the physical requirements of work in a Mine Action Team (MAT), they aren�t able to take part in the training course. Sometimes, they can be employed in administrative positions.



�After the training, I returned home and in September MAG called me and offered me a job,� she said. �I love this work and will serve MAG until the end.�

Mrs. Hanh is one of eight CPI beneficiaries recommended to MAG for possible recruitment and training as professional deminers. From the list, MAG selected two for whom it had positions on its clearance teams.

Nineteen-year-old Duong Van Duy is another MAG recruit brought forward by CPI. Duong is the brother of a landmine accident survivor from a six-member family in Quang Trung Commune, Quang Trach District in Quang Binh Province.



�When I knew that I would be recruited by MAG I was so happy,� he says. �I was no longer unemployed. I will have a job�a good job and I want to share my happiness with my brother.�

Though he was the youngest in the MAG demining class, Duong turned out to be the best student, according to his supervisor, Mr. Tran Xuan Thang, who also said the young recruit �will be a good addition to our 100-strong technical workforce.�

Duong helped make his own community safer. MAG conducted mobile responses to sightings of unexploded ordnance in 9 out of the 15 communes in Quang Trach District, removed and destroyed 5,879 items, and cleared 3,400 square meters of land thus making it possible for new medical clinics, kindergartens, schools and homes to be built on de-contaminated land.

Clear Path Featured in Journal of Mine Action

The latest edition of the academic periodical the Journal of Mine Action published by James Madison University features a cover photo and an in-depth article about the work of Clear Path International in central Vietnam.

Co-authored by Ari Perlstein, a medical student at the Oregon Health & Science University, and CPI co-founder Imbert Matthee, the article highlights the persistent problem of UXO (unexploded ordnance) accidents in a region which ranks among the most mine-affected in the world. It also outlines the work Clear Path has undertaken since 2000 to assist landmine accident survivors, their families and their communities in the provinces north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone.

With the help of its donors and supporters in the United States, Clear Path has been able to serve nearly 5,000 landmine accident survivors in 14 of Vietnam's central coast provinces -- an effort that won the organization a Certificate of Merit from the People's Committee of Quang Tri, one of the region's most heavily affected provinces.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs reports that nearly 40,000 people were killed and more than 66,000 injured between the end of the war in Indochina in 1975 and 2006 with many of these accidents occurring along the central coast. The article analyzes accident data for the region from the year 2007 and breaks it down by type, location, age, gender, ethnicity and injury to give a cross-section of today's impact on daily life from these Explosive Remnants of War.

The Journal of Mine Action is a highly regarded publication of the university's Mine Action Information Center in Harrisonburg, Va., a leader in the academic discipline that concerns itself with the professional mitigation of landmines and unexploded ordnance in current and former war zones.

Co-author Ari Perlstein spent six months at the Da Nang Orthopedic & Rehabilitation Center, one of the Clear Path's largest medical partners treating landmine accident survivors in Vietnam.

Read the story here: http://www.maic.jmu.edu/

Young & Rubicam Creates Radio Spot to Support Landmine Victims: Tell us what you think!

All of us at Clear Path International are grateful to Young & Rubicam Malaysia (and Randy Lee!) for creating a 35 second radio spot for CPI.

Please listen to the spot below and let us know what you think in the comments section.

It is our hope to get this played on radio stations, so if you are in radio, or know of someone who is, please help us get this on the air! If you have ideas, please email us at info@cpi.org.

Listen to the ad here or right click on this link and save it to your computer!

Download the .Wav file (for radio) here.

A Certificate of Merit Awarded to Clear Path in Vietnam

DONG HA, Vietnam � I don�t often write about ceremonies. Most of the time they�re just for looks, photo ops, grip and grins. When you have an all-hands-on-deck agenda to get things done, fluff and puff can be kind of a nuisance.

But the recent presentation to CPI of the Certificate of Merit from the Provincial People�s Committee of Quang Tri was different to me. It was a real milestone in our seven-year history as a humanitarian mine action organization.

It was a chance to stop climbing for a moment, turn around and look down to see how far we�ve come with the commitment of our donors, the dedication of our staff and the unwavering support of our local partners, in particular the Quang Tri PC.

Vietnam is where we started and it�s still by far our largest program. Quang Tri, the central province most heavily affected by the war in Vietnam, is where it all began.

The Certificate of Merit recognizes international organizations for their assistance to Vietnamese people in need. In Quang Tri, we�ve served 3,204 beneficiaries and spent nearly $860,000 on survivor assistance programs. Next year, we�ll serve 1,040 in the province.

In Vietnam as a whole, we�ve served 4,664 people impacted by ordnance accidents and their family members in 14 provinces since 2001. They are people such as Do, a log trucker from Hue who lost part of his right hand and eyesight when he tried to free his truck from a muddy road two years ago and an unseen piece of ordnance war-era ordnance exploded.

Clear Path paid for his eye operation and glasses, then gave him a $250 grant to start raising rabbits in a narrow space behind his family�s house where he built a roof and cages for the breeding project.

Do�s wife is the main breadwinner, making and selling a local noodle product. But Do�s rabbit sales, which are still modest but expected to grow quickly each year, boosts the couple monthly�s income by 20 percent and strengthens the shy survivor�s self esteem.

�I feel I am contributing to my family,� he told me. �I feel useful.�

In 2001, our first full year of survivor assistance, we served 199 people. This year, we�ve served 1,428. Our assistance to new accident survivors expanded quickly to most of central Vietnam, while our comprehensive medical and socio-economic support to existing survivors (injured since the end of the war in 1975) extends to beneficiaries in four districts north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone.

Besides the growing financial backing from many grassroots donors each year, we�ve secured steady funding from the United Nations Association�s Adopt-A-Minefield campaign, the U.S. State Department and the McKnight Foundation.

Recently, we signed an agreement with the International Trust for Demining & Victims Assistance in Europe for their support in Vietnam. ITF International Relations Director Iztok Hocevar is traveling with me to Vietnam and Cambodia to see our work first-hand. He attended yesterday�s ceremony.

In 2008, we�re planning to double the number of districts where we serve existing accident survivors and families. The new districts will be Dong Ha in Quang Tri, Quang Ninh in Quang Binh, A Luoi in Thua-Thien Hue and Dai Loc in Quang Nam � all heavily affected by accidents with wartime explosives.

Our core Vietnamese staff of five � Toan, Chi, Phuong, Nhi and Duc � have done an incredible job building our program in a country where the accident victims are as scattered throughout the countryside as the ordnance that was dropped and fired during the war and where the typhoon season can make project implementation very challenging. First they worked under the direction of Kristen Leadem, then Hugh Hosman and now on their own.

What started as a small project to help a few people has blossomed into large-scale effort to serve the innocent victims of the war�s destructive legacy. Yesterday�s ceremony was an occasion to take stock in that and realize that all of us linked to CPI � donors, staff and partners � are helping nearly 5,000 people recover and get on with their lives in this country.

And that�s the reason why I am writing about the Certificate of Merit. The recognition is for all of us.

Congratulations.

Good News, Bad News For Mine Clearance In Countries Where Clear Path International Has Assistance Programs

The year 2006 held some good news and some bad news for the countries where Clear Path has assistance programs for landmine accident survivors, according to Landmine Monitor

Landmine clearance efforts in Cambodia and Afghanistan led the way in global mine removal, accounting for 55 percent of the world's total in 2006. But the use of anti-personnel devices and casualties increased sharply in Myanmar (Burma) during the year.

The below is a release from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines:

TOO MANY STATES NOT ON COURSE TO MEET MINE CLEARANCE DEADLINES

GENEVA, Switzerland � 12 November 2007 � Many states are not on course to meet their Mine Ban Treaty mine clearance obligations, according to Landmine Monitor Report 2007: Toward a Mine-Free World. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) releases the 1,124-page report at the United Nations today.

Landmine Monitor reports on the global landmine situation and scrutinizes the implementation of and compliance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Landmine Monitor Report 2007 is the ninth annual edition of the report.

Time is running short for 29 countries with treaty-mandated clearance deadlines in 2009 or 2010. Despite a treaty provision allowing 10 years to complete mine clearance, 14 states are almost certain not meet their 2009 deadlines: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, Mozambique, Niger, Peru, Senegal, Tajikistan, Thailand, the United Kingdom (for clearance of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas), Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

Even more seriously, despite having almost eight years to initiate clearance, France, Niger, the United Kingdom and Venezuela have failed to even begin clearance operations.

�Some countries that should have met their clearance deadlines will probably not be able to do so,� said Mr. Stuart Casey-Maslen of Norwegian People�s Aid, Landmine Monitor�s Mine Action Editor. �Both donors and mine-affected countries must work harder to ensure that countries live up to their obligations under international law.�

Demining programs in 2006 cleared 140 km2 of mined areas and 310 km2 of battle areas. A significant increase in battle area clearance was recorded over 2005, primarily in Iraq. Afghanistan and Cambodia alone accounted for over 55% of all mined area clearance in 2006. Operations resulted in the destruction of 217,000 antipersonnel mines, 18,000 antivehicle mines and 2.15 million explosive remnants of war (ERW).

Government use of antipersonnel mines declined further, with only Myanmar/Burma and Russia continuing to lay new mines. Non-state armed groups in at least eight countries used antipersonnel mines or improvised explosive devices, which is also a decrease.

A total of 5,751 mine and ERW casualties were reported in 2006, a decrease of 16% from 2005, although Pakistan, Myanmar/Burma, and Somalia recorded increased casualty rates due to conflict. Lebanon noted an approximately tenfold casualty increase. Three-quarters of recorded casualties were civilians, and 34% of civilian casualties were children. Worldwide, 473,000 survivors were identified as of August 2007.

Only 11 of 24 states with significant numbers of survivors have made substantial progress towards their 2005-2009 objectives for improving the provision of assistance and ensuring survivors� rights. Funding for survivor assistance comprises only 1% of total mine action funding. Progress toward meeting the needs and rights of survivors should be regarded as insufficient.


�Mine-affected countries and international donors must give greater priority to the physical and economic rehabilitation of survivors, as their needs are not being adequately addressed,� said Katleen Maes of Handicap International, Landmine Monitor�s Victim Assistance Editor. �These people must not be forgotten.�


Mine risk education reached approximately 7.3 million people in 63 countries in 2006-2007. Although this is an increase from 2005-2006, 13 countries urgently need to improve their mine risk education efforts. No mine risk education was recorded in 36 countries and one area affected by mines or ERW.

Of the 20 largest mine action donors, 15 provided more funding in 2006 than 2005. Funding for mine action was US$475 million in 2006, an increase of some $100 million from 2005, and the highest level ever recorded by Landmine Monitor. Much of the increase was due to emergency funding for the clearance of explosive remnants of war in South Lebanon.

�While donor states responded quickly to ERW contamination in Lebanon, what is needed is multi-year funding by national and international donors,� said Mr. Anthony Forrest of Mines Action Canada, Landmine Monitor�s Mine Action Funding Editor. �Funding levels in 2006 have set a new standard for the global commitment to mine action, against which future funding levels will be judged."

Antipersonnel mines face increased international rejection, as four more countries joined the treaty (Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait and Montenegro), bringing the total to 155. �Ten years after the negotiation and signing of the Mine Ban Treaty, the stigmatization of antipersonnel mines continues to spread. Even those who have not yet joined the treaty are largely abiding by its core obligations,� said Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch, Landmine Monitor�s Ban Policy Editor. Seven more countries completed destruction of their stockpiles of antipersonnel mines; in total, 81 States Parties have destroyed nearly 42 million stockpiled mines.

�While overall compliance with the treaty has been impressive, there have been some disconcerting developments,� said Goose. These include a UN monitoring group reporting shipments of antipersonnel mines to Somali factions by two States Parties (Eritrea and Ethiopia, which strongly deny the accusations), two states missing their stockpile destruction deadlines (Afghanistan and Cape Verde, both of which have now completed the task), and Venezuela indicating that it continues to derive military benefit from mines laid around military bases�a potential treaty violation of the prohibition on use.

The treaty prohibits the use, production, and trade of antipersonnel landmines. It requires clearance of mined areas within 10 years and the destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines within four years. Landmine Monitor Report 2007 reports on landmine use, production, trade, stockpiling, demining, casualties, survivor assistance and mine action funding in 118 countries and areas.

Landmine Monitor is coordinated by an Editorial Board drawn from four organizations: Mines Action Canada, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch and Norwegian People�s Aid. It constitutes a sustainable and systematic way for NGOs to monitor and report on the implementation of a disarmament treaty.

Landmine Monitor Report 2007 and related documents are available at 08:00 GMT at www.icbl.org/lm/2007on 12 November.

For more information or to schedule an interview contact:

Ms. Jackie Hansen, Landmine Monitor Project Manager, Geneva (GMT+1), Mobile +41-76-222-6968 or +1-613-851-5436, email lm@icbl.org
Ms. Simona Beltrami, ICBL Advocacy Director, Geneva (GMT+1), Mobile +39-33-3714-2251, email simona@icbl.org

2007 Evening of Hope Benefit for Landmine Survivors Brings in $50,000!

SEATTLE � Landmine accident survivors, particularly in Vietnam, have reason to smile after Friday�s 2007 Evening of Hope MC�d by KING 5 TV�s Evening Magazine Host John Curley at the College Club.

Our third annual Seattle fundraiser, generously underwritten by the law firm Marler Clark, brought in more than $50,000 for our direct assistance work. That amount is a 43 percent increase over last year�s $35,000.
For central Vietnam, the $50,000 will be doubled through a matching grant from the U.S. State Department and then doubled again by the International Trust Fund for Demining & Victims Assistance.

In short, the evening raised a total of $200,000!

With other fundraising efforts and grant requests made to private-sector donors, we now expect to easily raise the matching totals from State and the ITF for $400,000, allowing us to assist 1,700 landmine survivors in Vietnam by the middle of 2008.

Credit for the gala�s huge success goes to Clear Path�s new volunteer Special Projects Coordinator, Melody Mociulski, who worked tirelessly on the benefit since spring. She called around town for the best venue, procured new auction software, initiated outreach, recruited guests, procured auction items and managed the evening�s complex administration.

In preparations for the evening, she was supported by volunteers Sandy Schubach and Kathy Hashbarger. Sandy arranged the dessert auction that raised thousands of dollars and recruited volunteers, while Kathy recruited guests, procured auction items and assisted at the event.

Volunteer prosthetic technicians Duane Nelson and Jody Riggs awed the audience with their deeply moving presentation about their three months providing artificial limbs to Burmese refugees in remote camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.

The evening was attended by West Coast board members Nancy Norton, Lori Trieu, Mark Kruse and Laura Willingham, and by Burma advisor Dr. Tao Shen Kwan Gett.

John Curley, MC and auctioneer, was better than ever, teasing and good-heartedly taunting the crowd of more than 110 into a bidding frenzy over dessert and items in the live auction, including a cruise donated by Holland America Lines (with roundtrip airfare from Alaska Airlines), a week at a farm house in Provence, a week at a ski condo in Whistler, lunch with Tom Robbins, a movie night at Yonder Theater and two tickets at the 103.7 FM Mountain Music Lounge.

The staff at the College Club could not have been more accommodating and fun work with before, during and after the event.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped make our 2007 Evening of Hope the highest netting fundraising event in our seven-year history:

Event sponsor:
Marler Clark, Llc.

Silk Circle donors:
Kom Consulting, Alan & Sarah Black and Michael Bryant Brown & Kayla Black.
Lotus Club donors: Virginia & Dusty Davison; Clyde & Lois Laughlin; Aroma Creations; Cascade DAFO; Gordon & Cathryn Sandridge, Margaret Roben, John & Veronika Geilfuss, Jane & Charles Ekberg, Mickie & Bob Stowell, Bryce & Sherry Holmes, Matt Kenney, Brent & Madeline Olson, Dan & Kathleen Huxley and David & Ann Bruce.

Table captains:
Melody & Michael Mociulski, Karen Fredrichs, Kathy & Rick Hashbarger, Keith & Lucia Ryan, Marcie Lagerloef, Margaret Connor and Laura Willingham.

Auction donors:
Holland America Lines, Alaska Airlines, Seattle Symphony, 103.7 FM The Mountain, Melody & Michael Mociulski, Geraldine Ferraro/Four Swallows/Barbara Jeantrout, Faces First, Greg Atkinson, Craig Freeman, Claire Henning, Karen & Mark Fredrichs, KUOW, Tom Robbins, Karen & Imbert Matthee, Island Fitness, Renew Day Spa, Kristen Leadem, Tom Lent, The Traveler, Lori Trieu, Bainbridge Police Department, Eagle Harbor Books, Pet Vacations, Rancho Winslow, John & Andrea Adams, Bainbridge Vineyards, Bellezza Dolce, Eleven Winery, Pam Wachtler-Fermanis, Alan Vogel Design, Woodleigh Hubbard, Cher Vrieling, Ten Mercer Dinner & Drinks, Cihan & Bonnie Anisogula, Old Mill Microcomputing, Erin Hults, Grace Harris, Blackbird Bakery, Town & Country Markets, Gene Juarez Salons & Spas, Bon Bon, Sonya Marinoni, Rick & Kathy Hashbarger, Frank Buxton, Bowie Salon & Spa, Arlene Johnson.

Volunteers: Melody Mociulski, Duane Nelson, Jody Riggs, Sandy Schubach, Kathy Hashbarger, Thuy Nguyen, Cezanne Allen, Mike Gormley, Ann Strickland, Keith & Lucia Ryan and Erin Hults.

YouTube: Thank you, Martha!

This video was shown on the 10th anniversary Celebration of Martha Hathaway's work with landmine and bomb survivors in Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan and the Thai-Burma border.

The music is Natalie Merchant's "Kind & Generous" off of her CD OPHELIA and is used with permission.

It was shown (as a surprise to her) at on October 13th after a letter from the US Dept of State was read and before a speech by Senator Patrick Leahy and a performance by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion.

Senator Leahy Honors Clear Path | Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion Perform to a Sold Out Crowd

Great news from the Vermont Office of Clear Path International! Our event with Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion was a huge success bringing in around $10,000.00 in donations and ticket sales! We sold out of over 200 tickets and it was standng room only... and those standing didn't seem to mind as Sarah Lee and Johnny put on a stellar performance.

Before the show, CPI honored one of its own... it was CPI executive Director Martha Hathaway's 10th year in mine action. In honor of this occasion, Senator Patrick Leahy spoke before Sarah Lee and Johnny took the stage and spoke to the need for a ban on landmines and praised the work of Clear Path International. He then presented Martha and me with a framed copy of comments he made about Clear Path that are now in the Congressional Record.

This was a great honor for Martha, Clear Path and me. Please see photos below and more pictures from the event can be found at this link.

Thank you Sarah Lee, Johnny and Senator and Mrs. Leahy!! I also especiallly want to thank John Goodrow from Leahy's office... he is truly an unsung hero... he fields so many calls for the Senator's attention and has done so much for so many. Thank you, John, for your good work for us and for many, many other causes. The photo below, with the Senator, was taken by John.






A special thank you to our sponsors for the event:

A Safe Place Self-Storage, Alchemy Promotional Products, Bickford Real Estate, Chandler 4 Corners, Dorset Union Store, Engel, Powell & Spivey, P.C., Express Copy Inc., Finn & Stone, Inc., Bob Gasperetti Furniture Maker, Gunterman Tennis Schools, H.N. Williams Store, The Inn at Manchester.Inn At West View Farm, Lisa Laberge Interiors, Long Ago & Far Away,Main Street Realty McWayne Jewelers, The Mountain Goat, New Morning Natural Foods, Northshire Bookstore, The Orvis Company,Perfect Wife Restaurant, Simple Coffee, Susan Sargent Designs, The Kitchen Store At J.K. Adams

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion with Senator Patrick Leahy Benefit Clear Path International!

Sarah Lee Guthrie, the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie and the daughter of Arlo, will be returning to perform in southern Vermont with her husband, the critically acclaimed Johnny Irion on Saturday October 13th at 6:30 pm at Dorset Vermont's Long Trail school!



The event will benefit Clear Path International's work with landmine and bomb survivors in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Thai-Burma Border. Speaking before the event will be long-time Clear Path supporter and landmine victim advocate, Vermont's Senator Patrick Leahy.


Please click the BUY NOW button below to purchase tickets!

Acoustic Magazine had this to say about Sarah Lee and Johnny's 2005 CD entitled "Exploration":

"The celebrated Guthrie musical legacy appears to be in capable hands. This duo debut from Arlo's daughter/Woody's granddaughter and her singer-songwriter husband carries the family folk-music torch into rock and country territory with style and spirit to spare."

Read more about Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion here: www.sarahleeandjohnny.com



Thank you to our sponsors!



A Safe Place Self-Storage, Alchemy Promotional Products, Bickford Real Estate, Chandler 4 Corners, Dorset Union Store, Engel, Powell & Spivey, P.C., Express Copy Inc., Finn & Stone, Inc., Bob Gasperetti Furniture Maker, Gunterman Tennis Schools, H.N. Williams Store, The Inn at Manchester.Inn At West View Farm, Lisa Laberge Interiors, Long Ago & Far Away,Main Street Realty McWayne Jewelers, The Mountain Goat, New Morning Natural Foods, Northshire Bookstore, The Orvis Company,Perfect Wife Restaurant, Simple Coffee, Susan Sargent Designs, The Kitchen Store At J.K. Adams

Rutland Herald: CPI continuing to grow its reputation as a force for humanitarian relief

Dorset organization raises land mine awareness

September 11, 2007
By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff

DORSET - Clear Path International is continuing to grow its reputation as a force for humanitarian relief with new developments this year in Afghanistan and Slovenia.

For the first time, Clear Path is operating a program in Afghanistan in partnership with an American company and the Department of State.

Clear Path, which has offices in Dorset and Seattle, has also received a promise of almost a quarter million dollars from a nonprofit organization in Slovenia which will allow it to continue and expand their work in Vietnam.

Martha Hathaway, the executive director of Clear Path, said it was important for the organization to get the kind of wider recognition that leads to expansions like the one it has recently undertaken.

But Hathaway is much more interested in talking about the work Clear Path is doing and the need in the countries it operates than in congratulating Clear Path on its efforts.

In Afghanistan, Clear Path will be creating victims' assistance programs which has been part of its mission for some time.

Hathaway founded Clear Path in 2001 with her husband, James, Kristen Leadem of Dorset, and Imbert Matthee of Washington, as a land mine removal organization. Now, the group works primarily in assisting victims and raising awareness.


Kristen Leadem (left) and Martha Hathaway of Clear Path International in the Vermont office.

In Afghanistan, Clear Path will be working as a subcontractor to DynCorp International which has a contract with the Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. Hathaway said the Clear Path office in Kabul, which has been operating since April, is staffed partially by Americans, working to engage Afghanis in the process.

"The State Department is worried about projects that are not self-sustaining," Hathaway said.

Hathaway said because the government of Afghanistan already had a national strategy for helping victims of land mines, who not only have to deal with their injury but access issues and loss of income, Clear Path would look for ways the State Department can assist the local agencies. That is likely to include things like organizing a national workshop on victims' assistance or creating a system for building ramps and making schools accessible.

While Clear Path has already had some success with similar programs in Cambodia and along the Thailand-Burma border, Hathaway said that didn't necessarily make things easier when they expanded into a country like Afghanistan that has suffered greatly from the use of land mines.

"Every country impacted by land mines is different but we can take the bits and pieces of institutional knowledge we've gained over the years and apply it where it makes sense," she said.

According to Clear Path, an average of 90 people are injured by land mines or explosive remnants in Afghanistan every month and about half die before they can be treated.

The grant from the Slovenia-based International Trust for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance also presents new opportunities for Clear Path.

Under the agreement, the trust will raise $230,000 from among its 27 government and private-sector donors to match what Clear Path raises from the United States government and donors.

Hathaway said this is the first time Clear Path has received funds from the trust and marks the trust's first efforts in Southeast Asia.

The trust was founded about 10 years ago to assist people in the Balkans but Hathaway said as land mines became less of a threat in Europe, charitable organizations there have begun to look at ways they can help victims in other places.

According to Hathaway, Clear Path will use the money to assist ongoing efforts in Vietnam through capital purchases and the hiring of new staff rather than to create new programs.

Despite Clear Path's successes, which have led to more contracts and funding, the need is still great and money remains an issue.

The problem of land mines, especially those which remain after a war is over and injure civilians, gained international attention more than 10 years ago through the support of several well-known figures, primarily England's Princess Diana.

Land mine removal is expensive, however, and organizations like Clear Path, which assist with rehabilitation and the development of resources so victims can earn their own living, are in it for the long-term.

"Donor fatigue is a real problem," Hathaway said.

While Clear Path is raising more money than it has in the past, it comes from fewer donors, primarily the large donations like the ones from the trust, rather than the numerous pledges of $50 or $100 they received in the past.

Clear Path also has the disadvantage of being based in Seattle and out-of-the-mainstream Dorset, far from the significant donors based in New York City or Washington, D.C.

Clear Path has raised money through benefit concerts and a music CD. Its next concert will be on Oct. 13 at the Long Trail School in Dorset with performers Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

For more information on Clear Path on the Internet, visit its Web site at www.cpi.org.

Contact Patrick McArdle at Patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com.

Shell explosion kills 3 family members in Vietnam

Source: Chinadaily.com

HANOI -- A couple and their three-year-old child were killed when an ammunition shell exploded in Vietnam's central Quang Nam Province, according to local newspaper Youth on Wednesday.

The explosion occurred at the victims' house in Duy Xuyen District on Tuesday afternoon when the 31-year-old man named Pham Van Thang was trying to break the shell for scraps. His wife, standing nearby, and the child held in her arms were killed on the spot.

According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund of the United States, during the Vietnam War from 1965-1975, the US Armed Forces deployed more than 15 million tons of bombs, mines, artillery shells and other ordnance in the country, in which 10 percent did not detonate as designed.

Local scrap collectors often saw of unexploded ordnance (UXO) for metal and explosive, while small children play ammunitions by breaking them, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries annually.

Now, there are over 300,000 tons of UXO in Vietnam, estimated local officials