Saving Lives in Cambodia

Forty-one-year-old Seng has been raising her two children with 162 anti-personnel landmines surrounding their home in Cambodia.

Before moving to her current home in Chob Kokir, Seng had moved around frequently, following her husband’s career. Finally settling in one place and having a home of her own was hugely important to her; it gave her the opportunity to put down roots, to cultivate land and secure a steadier income for her family.

One day she began clearing land for a vegetable garden and quickly discovered a mine while digging. Seng was shocked to learn her land was contaminated with landmines. Seng reported this to the village, and a HALO clearance team was called out. To date, clearance teams have destroyed 162 mines from in and around Seng’s home – indicated by the yellow sticks in the picture.

Seng told us: “It was frightening to see deminers finding mines every day, from the land all around my home. I feel lucky that my family has not had an accident, we did not know how close the danger was”

Seng is hopeful for the future and is excited now that she knows her land is free of mines and is safe to grow crops and safe for her children to play.

Over the past 30 years, The HALO Trust has worked in countries from Afghanistan to Cambodia to Zimbabwe, clearing landmines and explosives—making land safe so that refugee families can return home, children can walk to school safely, and communities can rebuild after war and conflict ends. With your support, we can continue to save lives and transform communities.