Angolan mothers clearing mines

[ArabellaScott]

The HALO Trust works worldwide training people to clear mines.

This article is about their work in Angola:

'In Angola, opportunities of formal long-term employment for women are often scarce, leaving many families struggling to survive. HALO Angola is committed to creating accessible employment opportunities for women, addressing the unique barriers that make it difficult for women to join or remain in employment.

Today, 45 per cent of HALO’s staff in Angola are women, rising to 56 per cent for our operational staff. The number being recruited and trained continues to grow to meet our aim of achieving gender parity in a previously male-dominated sector

Thanks to the generous support of a long-term family foundation HALO is able to create more accessible employment opportunities for women, enabling them to take charge of their economic circumstances and serve as leaders in conflict-affected communities.

Childcare commitments and costs have been reported as creating a barrier to female employees remaining in work, therefore through this initiative HALO is supporting female staff by:

Subsidising childcare costs through a monthly stipend and the provision of a ‘baby box’ for expectant mothers and those with very young children (male and female staff) —ensuring they have the vital necessities to support their infants'

www.halotrust.org/latest/halo-updates/stories/equality-of-opportunity-in-angola/

Thanks for sharing the article, OP. It was interesting to read.

Clearing land mines is not an ideal job and most people wouldn't take it up if they had other, more prosperous options - especially mothers.

As said by others, it's mostly children who are injured by land mines. And it prevents land from being used for agriculture and development. Businesses and industries will be wary of investing in an area that has had a history of violence and unrest - so good jobs will be difficult to come by. I imagine many of these women have not been able to access proper education or professional qualifications, which exacerbates the barriers to finding stable, well paying work. If a region has been blighted by wars, there may not be sufficient numbers of men around to handle these kinds of jobs, as many might have been killed or injured.

This leaves women, especially mothers in a difficult position. I can imagine if a woman is impoverished and needing to support her children, she might prefer joining an NGO like the HALO trust - instead of gravitating towards something much worse, like prostitution, out of desperation.

These jobs give women a sense of accomplishment, self confidence and also teaches them all kinds of transferrable skills. Do not underestimate the benefits of providing stable, respectable employment to people who might feel hopeless and helpless living in a region where there is no investment or infrastructure.

I hope as these areas are cleared of mines, it will encourage other services and sectors to flourish. And maybe many of these women will be able to find better jobs or start their own businesses.

This is not just essential work but safeguards the women (and men) who work for Halo. If they weren't clearing mines they'd be working in the fields (likely with a baby strapped to them) and the consequences of hitting a land mine would be far worse. As it is Halo provide training and safety equipment, they are helping ordinary people take back their land, they are providing opportunities that working the fields just wouldn't.

Angola remains a country whose infrastructure has been decimated by war.

Coyocoan, I think it's a fair question to consider the families/children of women/mothers involved in dangerous work. And the context and possible unintended effects. Worth noting that there are a range of jobs HALO employ people in, not all of them are actual mine clearance. There are admin, medical, educational roles, too.

Here's the safety info from the website:

'>> Is mine clearance safe?

HALO’s daily work involves the removal and clearance of explosives designed to kill and maim. We therefore have rigorously strict safety standards and operating procedures, which are approved and monitored by the national authority in each country in which we work. They are strictly implemented in all our programmes and range from standards for blast-proof personal protection equipment, to prescribed safety distances when clearing mines. National authorities also conduct regular, unannounced safety inspections of our operations.

HALO’s Medical Board oversees all of HALO’s medical practices, including our casualty evacuation procedures and staff health issues. Medical board members make regular visits to country programmes to provide training and ensure standards are met.

Despite these measures, accidents do sometimes occur. Since 2009, 22 people have been killed while demining or handling explosive items. HALO’s average fatality rate corresponds with other mine clearance operators. Any non-planned detonation on a minefield is thoroughly investigated, whether it causes injury or not. External independent investigators are consulted in cases of serious accident. Lessons learned from accidents are incorporated into operating procedures globally.

In our 30th anniversary year in 2018 we held a multi-faith service of a remembrance for everyone who has died in HALO’s service and we commemorate our colleagues annually each World Humanitarian Day. We remain indebted to them all for their courage in working to make others safe.'

In villages decimated by war, how many able bodied men are left?