Save the Date: Clear Path Benefit on Bainbridge Island

You are cordially invited to join us for our annual Clear Path International benefit and auction at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Wing Point Country Club, Bainbridge Island.

The event, which raised more than $50,000 last year (later leveraged with matching funds) and drew 120 guests, is now named “Moon on the Mekong: An Evening of Hope for Landmine Accident survivors.” The famous Mekong River adjoins each of the three Southeast Asian countries where CPI has a program to provide medical and socio-economic services to accident survivors: Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. Since 2000, Clear Path has served nearly 6,000 people in this region thanks to contributions from benefit attendees like you!

The event will include a live and silent auction MC’ed by auctioneer Robert Beattie, entertainment with a Southeast Asian flavor, a sit-down dinner and a short update on CPI’s activities. Individual tickets are $75 with underwriting and table sponsorships available upon request.

For reservations or donations of auction items, please contact Clear Path’s West Coast Office at 206-780-5964 or return to the website when ticket sales go on-line later this summer.

Agreement Offers New Hope For Landmine and Bomb Survivors in Vietnam

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia - Clear Path International and the International Trust for Demining & Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) signed a partnership agreement this week that could bring more than $200,000 in new funding for CPI's survivor assistance work in central Vietnam.

The agreement with ITF, a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by the Republic of Slovenia to support post-conflict rehabilitation in the neighboring, war-torn Balkans, opens the door to long-term collaboration between the two organizations in Southeast Asia.

Clear Path International to Assist Afghan Landmine Survivors As Part of U.S. Department of State Contract

KABUL, Afghanistan – Clear Path International (CPI), a U.S.-based humanitarian mine action nonprofit organization, has received a multi-year contract from DynCorp International to start a landmine survivor assistance program in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

With an average of 90 casualties from landmine and explosive remnants of war per month, Afghanistan is one of the world’s most “mine-affected” countries. Nearly half of all casualties die trying to reach a hospital. One in every 10 adult men is a victim of a landmine or explosive remnant of war. Women and children are also victims. Landmine and explosive remnants of war contaminate 27 of the country’s 29 provinces.

Clear Path’s subcontract with DynCorp International supports program design, led by long-time CPI consultant Kristen Leadem in Kabul, and survivors assistance services at least through 2008. It is part of larger humanitarian mine-action effort sponsored by the Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement.

”The intention of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement program in Afghanistan is to complement existing efforts here and increase capacity in support of Afghanistan's national survivors assistance plan,” Leadem said.
Survivor assistance services range from medical care, physical mobility and rehabilitation to vocational training, income-generation, and sports activities. Capacity building services can include equipment, training and technical support to local hospitals, clinics and community-based rehabilitation centers.