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Japan furthers support for UXO clearance
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The UXO clearance team in Xieng Khuang province yesterday received help from the government of Japan through the Japan-Asean Integration Fund (JAIF), to assist in the clearance of ordnance. A handover ceremony was held at the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) office in Vientiane for metal detectors and a vehicle worth more than one billion kip (about US$130,000). MAG is highly appreciative of the funding the government of Japan has made through the JAIF, said MAG Lao Country Representative Ms Jo Durham. “We are also pleased to note the strong interest the government of Japan takes in UXO clearance and gender, the two issues that are combined in this project,” she added. She said the all-female team working in Xieng Khuang province is one of two such teams operated by MAG Lao. These teams are one component of MAG's gender equity policy. “Thirty percent of MAG Lao's employees are women. Employing women and proving their ability to undertake demanding work in difficult conditions raises their status amongst the communities they come from and encourages other employers to hire women.” MAG's female teams also play a crucial role in enabling us to understand the perspectives of womenliving in UXO contaminated communities, said Ms Durham. This assistance is a part of the Japan-Asean Integration Fund, which was established in March 2006, said the Charge d'Affaires of the Japanese Embassy to Laos , Mr Kazuhiro Fujimura. He said the fund was established to support the efforts of the Asean member countries, including Laos , to pursue the comprehensive integration of Asean towards the realisation of an open, dynamic and resilient Asean community as envisaged in the declaration of Asean Concord II, by facilitating effective implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme. “I hope that this grant assistance will contribute not only to enhancing MAG operations for preventing UXO accidents, but also to encouraging and facilitating the empowerment of women in order to achieve socio-economic development goals at the community level in Laos, added Mr Fujimura.

A representative of the UXO clearance team in Xieng Khuang province, Ms Noimany Pialeuxay, said her main job is to t ransport the team to and from UXO clearance sites. Many clearance sites are only accessible on foot, but she must get the team as close as possible, which can involve navigating steep and slippery dirt tracks that wind through the hills. She explained that their work really benefits communities. In Nonghet district, where they are currently working, the next generation won't have to face the same problems.   By Meuangkham Noradeth
(Latest Update March 26, 2008)

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Anonymous

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I wonder when USA would think to support Laos to clear UXO, which was a delicacy of USA for Laos 30 years ago.



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samakomlao


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Watch this clip always give me goosebumps

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