If you have been following our work for more than a couple of years, you might remember our ‘Unlock the Land’ appeal. Back in 2022, we campaigned to our supporters, donors, and ambassadors to raise vital funds for clearance work in and around the village of Vangkhom, in southern Khammouane Province in Laos.
Decades after the devastating Vietnam War, communities in Laos are forced to navigate their lives around the millions of tons of explosives that were dropped during 580,000 bombing missions. That’s equivalent to a planeload of bombs being dropped on communities every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years. Communities in this area still live in fear of the legacy of a war that began before many of them were born.
The country is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita.
Many of you supported our three-month long campaign in various ways: making valuable donations, sharing our messages online, or joining a sponsored cycle through Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of our annual Bikes Against Bombs Cycle Challenge. We were also supported by our incredible campaign partners: Maray Restaurants, Tampopo, Selective Asia, the Church Times, Business Desk and the Big Issue in the North who helped to raise awareness and funds for the appeal.
Through generous donations, a total of £449,309 was raised, including £211,336 of match funding from the UK government.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, as a direct result of that incredible support, the funds raised helped to support two teams who have cleared and released 174,748m2 of land back to the local community. That’s an area larger than the size of 32 football fields. The majority of this land is now being used for agricultural purposes, allowing communities to safely grow food to feed their families. 30,000 m2 of the land cleared has been used for development projects, for example to build more houses for residents.
By painstakingly scouring this vast area of land, the teams found and destroyed 173 items of unexploded ordnance. Any one of these items could cause loss of limb or life to anyone who might accidentally step on them. Now cleared, village residents no longer need to fear for their children when they walk to school, or for loved ones as they work the land to grow enough food to survive.
As well as our life-saving clearance work, the funds raised also enabled the teams to lead four lifesaving lessons on explosive ordnance risk education sessions to community members in Vangkhom village. These sessions were for people living on or close to contaminated land, providing them with skills and knowledge to know what to do if they find an item of unexploded ordnance.
The work made possible through our Unlock the Land appeal has benefited 254 people, either through land that they can now use safely, or through our risk education sessions to let local people know about potential dangers. Some 111 of those supported were children, whose natural curiosity leaves them at greater risk of mistakenly picking up a dangerous item.
Vangkhom, which was hit by more than 6,000 bombing missions during the Vietnam war, has been suffering ever since from the deadly legacy. Thanks to your generous support, the community living in and around Vangkhom are able to rebuild the future they deserve, free from fear.
