International Mine Awareness Day: Buthaina's Story Promoting Awareness about Landmines

The Importance of Awareness:

In a community filled with need and the risk of death due to EO, DRC’s Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) program, funded by the European Union, has played a crucial role in raising people's awareness about the risk of landmines and EO. Buthaina says, "The lack of knowledge among people in the area due to low educational level was an obstacle. However, I try to simplify the information to ensure it reaches the community in a smooth and simplified manner." She adds, "landmines are alien to these areas, as people's ignorance of their dangers made them face the risk every day and live with it ignoring the real danger. Awareness was the bright window for them to be cautious and become more careful in dealing with landmines." To ensure effective awareness, Buthaina and DRC’s EORE team use varied methods, such as storytelling, presenting with visual items, and sharing flyers and information leaflets. Additionally, Buthaina and the team also share contact numbers for quick reporting of any EO that is identified in the community.

The EORE sessions open opportunities to connect and build trust with communities to identify known EO. For example, Buthaina recalled “A mother admitted after an EORE session that she used to collect the triggers of landmines and EOs which she found near her home and store them in boxes, keeping them away from her children. Before attending the EORE session, she didn't know the names and the risk of these items, but she feared her children would find and play with them, which could harm them." After this mother shared her story, Buthaina called DRC’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team to dispose of these remnants safely.

Impact of EORE on Children:

EORE significantly impacts lives, especially children affected by landmines. During Buthaina’s EORE session at a school, a teacher told her about a child in primary school who previously left the school after a classmate started bullying him about a leg injury and loss of fingers due to a landmine explosion. Buthaina requested to see the child and provided him with information about landmines. She also emphasized the transformative power of education and future opportunities that it can lead to. Her words had a great impact on the child's heart, as the teacher contacted her a few days later to tell her that the child had returned to school the next day.