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MOZAMBIQUE RED CROSS (CVM)
MINE PROJECT
1 . BACKGROUND
Mozambique
Red Cross (CVM) started mine awareness activities in 1994 among returnees after
the war. In 1997 a study was carried out on the problems faced by land mine
victims and to determine the activities that could be done to assist them. A
project was designed and implementation started in 1999, covering all provinces.
In
the second half of 2001 a specific project started for the component of assistance
of mine victims, in 3 provinces: Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Gaza. The activities
consist of the identification of amputees and facilitate their access to orthopaedic
clinics.
2. PROJECT OBJECTIVES
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to raise awareness amongst the population
on the danger of land mines;
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to improve and maintain the danger signs
in mine affected areas;
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to contribute to the creation of a data base
on accidents and areas with landmines at provincial and national levels;
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to promote assistance to the victims of land
mines.
 3. CURRENT CAPACITY AND ACTIVITIES
The
project has created an operational capacity consisting of 11 provincial officers
and more than 300 mine awareness volunteers trained to implement the project
all over the country. There are more than 30 mine committees functioning at
district level, in addition to over 500 local alert committees.
Project
activities are the following:
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Training
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Mine-awareness sessions (drama, talks and
debates)
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Setting-up of mine awareness committees
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Placing and maintenance of danger signals
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Reporting of suspected areas, mine accidents
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Dissemination of information on assistance
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Identification and registration of amputees
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Facilitating transport to orthopaedic centres
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Facilitating access to credit
 Reports
on suspected areas and mine accidents are sent to the National De-mining Institute.
5. FUTURE DIRECTIONS
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Scaling down mine awareness activities. Efforts
are made to integrate mine issues in local culture (songs / stories / drama)
to guarantee continuity of the dissemination messages after the end of the
project.
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Emphasis on mine victim assistance.
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