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July 28, 2010
Seattle Man to Run 300K for Landmine VictimsPosted by: James HathawayA Seattle physical therapist will compete in one of the toughest footraces on the planet while raising funds to help landmine accident survivors. Wolfgang Brolley, who also is a chocolatier, business owner and circus arts practitioner, will participate in the eight-day, multinational GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run in which 250 teams of two people each cover 300 kilometers, gain 60,000 feet of elevation and pass through three countries (Germany, Austria and Italy) all on mountain trails through the Alps. This hard-running challenge begins Sept. 4 and will be completed in seven stages and one mountain sprint. Brolley's cause, Running Cuz They Can't!, asks sponsors to donate money to non-profit organizations that assist landmine and bomb victims. One of the organizations that sponsors may choose to support is Clear Path International, based on Bainbridge Island. Brolley has volunteered his services on numerous occasions to CPI, which has programs in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. "All the donations I gather will be going to landmine relief and assistance," Brolley said. "People can make a flat donation, or sponsor by mile/kilometer/feet of elevation covered - they just need to know this is a LONG race and those numbers will be big!" Brolley, who has practiced for 20 years treating sports, spine and over-use injuries, has a bachelors degree from Stanford University in Asian Studies and a physical therapy degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine. To donate, contact Wolf at stretchpt@live.com. For more information about the Transalpine Run, go to www.transalpine-run.com. Visit www.cpi.org to learn about Clear Path International. | Permalink Read more on these topics on Technorati: Afghanistan Burma CPI in the Media Cambodia Cluster Bombs Iraq Landmines Myanmar UXO Accidents Vietnam War War bombs
January 21, 2010
UN says that in Vietnam Life-threatening landmine scavenging on the increasePosted by: James HathawayVia IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: "Nguyen Luong Quy was planting a tree on a coffee plantation on the outskirts of Buon Ma Thout, the largest city in Vietnam's Central Highlands in 2000, when his shovel hit a hard metal object. Read the rest of this article at:
December 31, 2009
"I'm not under any pressure, like I was before."Posted by: James HathawayIn a country where deminers almost outnumber teachers, Haroon Hamdard had a risky but steady job clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance in Herat Province, on the border with Iran.
In January 2003, at age 23, Haroon joined the Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR), where he quickly worked his way up to the rank of team leader. Nearly two and a half years later, Haroon Hamdard was working in a minefield where he found a cluster bomb. He grabbed it and threw it away from his work area. It exploded in his hand. After he received emergency medical care and, later, a prosthetic arm, Haroon remained unemployed for six difficult years. He was forced to borrow money from relatives and others to survive. But the self-motivated young man took the opportunity to finish his high school education and in early 2008 received a unique opportunity to go back to work. With technical leadership provided by Elegant Designs and Solutions (EDaS), Clear Path had just formed the Afghan Mine Action Technology Center, designed to create employment for disabled deminers and fabricate products for the demining industry, and asked the Afghan demining organizations to suggest possible employees. Haroon became AMATC's first employee. Today, the native of Khewa District, Nangarhar Province, in eastern Afghanistan, makes flail hammers (used on front-mounted tractor drums to set off mines) and other products the center sells to demining outfits. The proceeds are used to support rehabilitation programs for other landmine accident survivors. Haroon's own income allows him to travel home each weekend and take care of his family, including one son. He continues to repay the loans he took during his years of unemployment. "Now that I am earning a salary, I do not have to borrow money from others," he said. "I can support myself and my family and am not under any pressure, like I was before."
October 31, 2009
Hearts and Mines: A documentary on the work of Clear Path InternationalPosted by: James HathawayAll of us at Clear Path are thrilled to see the new trailer for HEARTS AND MINES the documentary by Dr. Joan Widdifield, a long-time CPI supporter. Hearts and Mines follows the CPI Vietnam staff as they work with landmine and bomb accident survivors and their families. Great work, Joan! We look forward to the full movie! Hearts & Mines trailer from Hearts & Mines on Vimeo. | Permalink Read more on these topics on Technorati: CPI in the Media Cluster Bombs Landmines Medical Donations Nghia UXO Accidents Vietnam Vietnam War War bombs
October 28, 2009
In Afghanistan, Goats Provide Livelihood for Landmine Survivors and MorePosted by: James Hathaway
JALALABAD, Afghanistan - What they say about sheep in New Zealand may not quite be true for goats in Afghanistan. They don't outnumber people here. In Clear Path's first survivor assistance project outside Kabul, 18 beneficiaries in the eastern city of Jalalabad received goats and animal husbandry training from CPI's local Afghan partner, Afghan Disabled & Vulnerable Society (ADVS). The beneficiaries, which included the head of ADVS, Said Husin Sadaqat, himself disabled, all reside in villages of the Qarghaye District, Laghman Province. ADVS employed a local veterinarian to provide technical support to the group in the form of milk production methods. Every six months, a female kid will be received from the existing owners and given to new beneficiaries. ADVS was established in 1994 to assist Afghans in need. The director, bound to a wheelchair, has provided vocational skills training and income-generating projects for more than a decade. | Permalink Read more on these topics on Technorati: Afghanistan Landmines UXO Accidents War bombs
October 09, 2009
Clear Path International now Independent, Expanding in AfghanistanPosted by: James Hathaway
Waiting in a corridor between consultations, a young land mine victim looks at a new prosthetic leg propped up on a bench. Photo by Alixandra Fazzina
KABUL, Afghanistan - After two years as a subcontractor here, Clear Path International is now a full-fledged independent grant recipient of the U.S. Department of State with a growing vision for aid to landmine accident survivors and people with disabilities in Afghanistan. Its newly independent status means Clear Path is also ready to begin accepting private-sector grants and contributions for its work in one of the world's most mine-contaminated countries. The program, which has already assisted more than 9,000 Afghans with disabilities, is now CPI's largest victim assistance effort, followed by Vietnam, Cambodia and the Thai-Burma border. Clear Path's work in Afghanistan, which ranges from providing the traditional prosthetics, physical therapy and income-generating support services, is on the cutting edge of socio-economic support of landmine accident survivors. A good example of its innovative approach is the creation of the Afghan Mine Action Technology Center, which employs disabled deminers and landmine accident survivors to fabricate tools and equipment for sale to demining professionals with revenues from the center going into medical and social services for survivors. The center was the brainchild of Elegant Design & Solutions (EDaS), a former CPI contractor. Since it started in Afghanistan in 2007, CPI has been a subcontractor of DynCorp International., which holds a prime contract with the State Department's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement for a range of humanitarian mine action services. Under its subcontract with DynCorp, CPI received nearly $3 million dollars to provide assistance to landmine accident survivors. Now the door is open for CPI to receive millions more to provide victim assistance services in Kabul, Jalalabad, Mazar-E-Sharif and parts of eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan. As part of its new status, CPI set up its own office in Kabul and registered as a non-governmental organization with the government of Afghanistan. The program is managed jointly by CPI Finance Manager Peter Albertsson and CPI Co-founder Kristen Leadem. The Kabul office has a staff of three Afghan nationals and agreements with half a dozen Afghan implementing partners. | Permalink Read more on these topics on Technorati: Afghanistan Cluster Bombs Partners UXO Accidents War bombs
September 28, 2009
Clear Path Mourns Loss of Jay HathawayPosted by: Imbert Matthee
The following is from a letter to the Manchester Journal. The moment happened less than two weeks ago. I was Skyping our webmaster, James Hathaway Jr., co-founder of Clear Path International and a very close friend now for more than a decade, when his father, Jay, walked in the room to say hello. I could see him on the webcam as he briefly sat down in James' seat and asked me how things were going at our organization and with my family. We chatted for a while and, as usual, I didn't get much of a chance to ask about him. That was Jay. Others always came first. And if it hadn't been for Jay's unconditional selflessness, our organization, which now helps thousands of landmine accident survivors around the world may never have fledged and soared that way it has with programs for mine victims in five countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Jay "James" Hathaway, 61, who suddenly passed away from a massive heart attack this weekend, was an exceptional man, always supportive, always full of encouragement. After we founded Clear Path on Bainbridge Island and James, Jay's son, and his former wife Martha, moved to Dorset to set up an office for us in Vermont, Jay and, his wife Terri, were of monumental support to our two co-founders. Things were not easy then. It was shortly after 9/11. The recession hit and philanthropic giving was down for international causes like ours. But never mind that. Jay and Terry took James and Martha under their wings and helped nurture our humanitarian dreams with sage advice, introductions, outreach and special events planning such as the two Judy Collins benefit concerts at the Dorset Playhouse that many in your community will recall. Terri even made several trips to Vietnam to help organize our office there. And on the countless trips James and Martha took overseas to help us grow, Jay and Terri were there to look after the couple's boys, Ryder and Colvin. From Bainbridge Island, where many Clear Path colleagues and supporters live, we mourn Jay's loss with all of you near the Hathaways' home. Dorset, Manchester, Vermont and the world have lost a great living soul. We will miss him more than words can say. On Wednesday, we will be there with you in spirit, Jay's indefatigable spirit. Imbert Matthee
September 07, 2009
Landmine Surivivor Farmers' Co-op in Cambodia Doubles in SizePosted by: James HathawaySEAM VILLAGE, Battambang Province - Life was a struggle for Ream Luong before he joined the farmer's cooperative set up by Clear Path International and its partner in one of Cambodia's most heavily mined regions. This spring, the partners doubled the co-op to 150 households from 75, expanding an enterprise that's helping many landmine accident survivors succeed as rice farmers. 
Ream Luong, Photo by Pat Roe, Clear Path International
Disabled by a landmine accident when he was 23 and now going on 50, the father of three whose wife died of a sudden illness was deep in debt to loan sharks. Every year, he had to borrow to invest in his crop and, because he couldn't store his rice, he had to sell it at harvest time when prices are rock bottom. The co-op, aimed at providing a socio-economic support structure for landmine-disabled farmers and disadvantaged members of their communities, has turned that around for the below-the-knee amputee from Paum Takeav Village not far from the Thai border. Thanks to low-interest spring-time micro loans, agricultural training, better crop seed and a chance to store his rice at the partners' rice mill, Ream is now virtually debt-free except for what he owes the project. He and his three children are now among the 750 direct and indirect beneficiaries of the farmers' co-op, which issued $30,000 in $200 loans to the members at an interest rate of 2 percent per month and provides many other services to the households. Many members of the farmers' cooperative have independently organized their own rice banks. The members each contribute a portion of paddy rice to the bank at the harvest time. One member is elected to chair the rice bank and is responsible for tracking contributions, withdrawals and loan repayments. As the year progresses, if a member needs rice due to an emergency or unforeseen situation, they may borrow from the bank. The loan recipient will then repay the loan in rice with interest, thereby increasing the total amount in reserve. While CPI does not officially organize or manage these rice banking systems, this sort of community self-reliance is encouraged and discussed in community workshops. Additionally, CPI offers free storage in the warehouse for members who wish to join such a program. Currently, there are 38 members who have established a rice bank, and there is 3,050 kilograms of rice in the bank. | Permalink Read more on these topics on Technorati: Cambodia Landmines UXO Accidents
August 30, 2009
Back To School: Nearly 500 Vietnamese Landmine Families Receive Clear Path International Support to Send Their Children Back to SchoolPosted by: Tran Hong ChiDONG HA, Central Vietnam - Mothers get teary-eyed when their kids return to school after the summer. But the tears Tran Phuong Nhu's mother shed outside her daughter's classroom were not from a typical sense of pride and separation. As she watched the eight-year-old girl go inside wearing her best uniform, she could not help think of her husband who is still in critical condition at the Quang Tri General Hospital from a landmine accident that 
The third grader was among 52 children from landmine-affected families in Dong Ha town who received special scholarships from CPI at the school on Aug. 21 as the organization conducted the last round of assistance ceremonies at the start of the new school year. Sadly, Tran Phuong Nhu was a last-minute addition. In all, 482 students in nine districts from four provinces north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone at the 17th parallel received CPI scholarships this year. The scholarship grants are for elementary to high school students who were injured by accidents with unexploded ordnance (UXO) or, as in Tran Phuong Nhu's case, whose family members sustained injuries from such accidents. UXO accidents still happen almost every week in central Vietnam. Each scholarship grant worth about $35 covers most of the minimum tuition even the poorest families have to pay the public schools. CPI also awards special uniform and materials packages to mine-affected students with the best grades. One hundred and twenty nine, or more than a quarter, of the 482 students this year received such gifts in recognition to their tireless efforts to overcome their challenges at home and at school. Nguyen Hong Hoa from Hiep Duc district, Quang Nam province, was one of the "honor" students. The 15-year-old boy lost two legs and an arm in 2007 when he was in 6th grade. His education was interrupted and everyone was afraid that he wouldn't recover from the psychological wound. But when Hoa went back to school a year later he did very well and gained an "excellent student" title.  Students from Gio Linh district, Quang Tri province and their parents gathering at the event.
CPI's educational scholarship program began in 2001 to a few newly mine-affected students in Quang Tri province. Since then, the activity has become an annual event. To date, 3,130 scholarships have helped families reduce their burden and nourish their hope of a better future thanks to their children's ability to keep returning to school.  Landmine accident survivor Nguyen Quoc Tich and his eldest son, Vuong, ride to the ceremony to collect a scholarship for Vuong's younger sister.
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July 23, 2009
Clear Path International Provides The Gift of Hands for the Landmine Survivors at Care VillaPosted by: James Hathaway
Palaw weeding after receiving a prosthetic hand from Clear Path International
Mae Sot, Thailand - Since we began supporting the Care Villa in 2002, we at Clear Path have dreamed of providing prosthetic hands for the amputees we serve there. Many of them have lost one or both arms in a landmine explosion and are wholly dependent on others for their care. Almost every time we visit our Karen friends at the giant sprawling Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border, we are asked for a device that will allow the men to use their upper limbs. 
Care Villa, located about an hour from the Thai border town of Mae Sot, is a 24-hour residential care facility for 18 physically-handicapped, dependent Burmese landmine survivors who have lost their eyesight, hands, legs, hearing, or some combination. Most all suffer post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression. They are marginalized by their community and are considered a burden to their families who already live in impoverished conditions. Clear Path International is the primary source of support for these 18 men, aged 15-65, providing shelter and daily caretaking. To help the men deal with the anguish of their situation, music provides an outlet for their voices to be heard. A song written by one of the men describes their spirit to heal and find fulfillment in their lives. I lost my eyes, so I can't look at you. Rachel, pursuing a Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and Missy, with a Master's in Prosthetics and Orthotics, have been friends since their freshman year at Wake Forest University. They found themselves at a complacent point of their lives, and on a whim and unbeknownst to each other, each googled landmine victims and discovered Clear Path. A few months later they began their journey to Mae Sot to volunteer with Clear Path at the Care Villa and the Mae Tao Clinic to help landmine victims. Hearing about the needs of the men at the Villa, Missy reached out to a colleague at LN-4 Hand, a non-profit in California which has designed prosthetic hands for developing countries. The hands are simple, innovative and easily fitted. With a protective sock worn underneath, the universal size prosthetic is wrapped around the limb and secured tightly over the bones of the elbow joint with a Velcro cuff. A combination of stationary and adjustable prongs provides multiple gripping patterns to fit the amputee's needs. LN-4 Hand generously donated 10 hands which Missy and Rachel personally carried with them to Mae Sot. Training is essential for using a prosthesis. If one does not know how it can be helpful, it is just as good on the shelf. The Care Villa men have lived for more than 10 years without one or both hands. They have loving people to help them with their activities of daily living. They may not want to wear a device. However, waking up and brushing one's own teeth, or being able to bring a fork to one's own mouth provides a sense of independence. Missy and Rachel hope that "they are not only providing these men with a limb", but that they are showing the men that "they can do even more than they thought possible".  Missy and Rachel brought cucumbers and cake for the first training session. The cucumbers were fantastic because once jabbed, they did not go anywhere until they were in the mouth. Remembering that most of the men are blind, the last thing they wanted was to discourage them by continually bringing an empty spoon to their mouths. The cake was for the tongue's delight. Cucumbers and cake - a suitable midday meal for a new hand or a pair of new hands.  Tupo lost his sight in only one eye. As he could see how to use the new prosthetic, he learned quickly and easily. The first thing Tupo wanted to do was to hold a pen in his right hand and write, something he had not been able to do for far too many years. Although the Burmese script is beautiful, it is difficult to write with its many circles and curves. With his new prosthetic hand, he happily wrote all over his left hand and in a notebook - an exciting moment. 
Tupo writing Burmese again In a place where time moves slowly and dreams seem out of reach, the gift of hands from Missy and Rachel and LN-4 Hand has brought new hope and excitement to the 18 Burmese residents of the Care Villa. Missy and Rachel: a heartfelt thanks from all of us at Clear Path! | Permalink Read more on these topics on Technorati: Burma Landmines Medical Donations Myanmar Thai-Burma Thailand UXO Accidents War bombs |
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