“I lost my leg because of a mine when I was 25 years old. I would like to say thank you to the Government authorities and MAG for giving me this opportunity."
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MAG's target is that five per cent of our staff in Lao PDR should be people with disabilities. [Photo: MAG Lao PDR] |
The first group of people with disabilities to be hired by MAG Lao PDR as unexploded ordnance-clearance technicians has arrived in Vientiane to have special prosthetic limbs fitted.
The three men, who are all from Khammouane Province, will have metal-free prosthetic legs made for them by two prosthesists from the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC).
The ability to produce metal-free legs enables people with disabilities to be hired as clearance technicians, a practice that has been in place in Cambodia, where more than 40 people with disabilities have been working for many years. Searching for unexploded ordnance (UXO) or landmines involves the use of metal detectors to search under the ground, and standard prostheses – which contain metal components, would interfere with the detectors.
“Following a UXO accident, survivors may have limited options for employment, particularly if they have lost a limb," said David Hayter, MAG Lao PDR’s Country Programme Manager. “However, our experience in Cambodia is that amputee deminers are as able as anyone else under most conditions. Ten per cent of MAG Cambodia’s staff are persons with disabilities”
Said 41-year-old Mr. Phadee from Mahaxay district: “I lost my leg because of a mine when I was 25 years old. I would like to say thank you to the Government authorities and MAG for giving me this opportunity.
"Working as a clearance technician will be a challenging job for me, but I will do my best to make the land safe for other families who are affected by UXO contamination so that they can farm without fear."
As part of their training in Cambodia, the two participants visited MAG deminers who use non-metal prosthesis made at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) centre in Battambang.
“Our target is that five per cent of our staff should be people with disabilities,” said Mr Hayter. “We have already reached our target for female staff of 35 per cent.”
This initiative has been organised in cooperation with COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) and with the support of the NRC, the Khammoune Provincial Labour and Social Welfare, and the National Regulatory Authority.
The prosthesists who made the metal-free legs were trained in Cambodia last year, with support from ITO Supporting Comity, a Japanese foundation.
Photo gallery: High-impact clearance in Lao PDR
Two billion kg of bombs were dropped on Lao PDR between 1964 and 1973. This reportage by Sean Sutton from late 2009 documents the continuing impact of the heaviest aerial bombardment in history. Click here for MAG photo gallery
MAG would like to express its thanks to the following donors to its Lao PDR operations: AusAID; DFID; European Commission; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement; World Vision.
4 March 2010
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