Your Next Step Makes Their Next Step Possible

A Cambodian mother and son living just steps away from an active minefield.

The Facts

• Landmines maim or kill adults and children equally. Survivors and victims are not faceless. They are real people – a parent, child, sibling or friend – who face potential disaster for simply stepping outside their home.
• In addition to the pain and suffering endured by families, landmines and UXO (unexploded ordnance) destroy agriculture, livestock and threaten our environment.
• Cambodia is one of the three most heavily mine-impacted countries in the world, with the highest ratio of amputees per capita.
• Approximately 50% of victims were cutting wood or gathering food; 45% foraging in the forests; 5% working to reclaim land for farming and development when their lives were forever changed.
• It is clear that we cannot foster peace, children cannot be educated and families cannot prosper without first eradicating the threat of landmines and UXO. Their impact can be felt for decades.

History of Support

Since 2004, PTPI has been a leading supporter of humanitarian landmine clearance. PTPI joined the United States Department of State Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement – Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, along with 70 other NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to make landmines a priority. Mine action partners work effectively to clear minefields, increase awareness, assist survivors and develop new demining technology. Thanks to a generous outpouring from members and friends around the world, PTPI has supported the removal of more than 1,500 mines and UXO in Sri Lanka and Cambodia. Our 3-step approach focuses on eradication, education and aftercare.

Current Project

An HSTAMIDS operator at work. PTPI is the first U.S. organization to fund an HSTAMIDS team working in humanitarian mine clearance.

PTPI’s joint efforts with The HALO Trust are made possible through the compassion shown by members of our global family. Following a 2008 visit to review demining efforts in Cambodia, PTPI’s President and CEO, Mary Jean Eisenhower, determined that supporting an HSTAMIDS team would be the best use of PTPI donations. The HSTAMIDS or “Smart Detector” helps operators effectively navigate the densely mined areas and, in certain conditions, can increase productivity by up to 500%.

Our Progress

PTPI is the first private U.S. organization to fund an HSTAMIDS team working in humanitarian mine clearance. From January to April, 2009, our efforts cleared 155 anti-personnel mines and 6 UXO.

Help Restore What Landmines Destroy

Through PTPI’s International Friendship Fund (IFF), 100% of donations designated for landmine efforts go to the Global Landmine Initiative. In Cambodia, it costs approximately US$100 to clear a landmine or US$230 per month to support an HSTAMIDS operator. PTPI chapters and concerned individuals can make a positive difference in children’s lives half a world away. For information about PTPI’s Global Landmine Initiative and ways that you can make a difference, contact execadmin@ptpi.org today.

YOUR next step can make THEIR next step possible.

For children living in and around minefields, the joys of kicking a ball or chasing a butterfly are impossible. For these children, simply stepping outside their homes can mean potential disaster.