The non-governmental organisation Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) is celebrating 27 years of surveilling unexploded ordnances (UXO) and clearing explosives in Laos. The NPA Country Director, Aubrey Sutherland listed the organisation’s achievements in a speech. He mentioned, that the organisation has surveyed 600 km2 of land, confirmed 282 km2 of contaminated hazardous areas, cleared 45 km2 of hazardous areas, responded to over 5,600 roving tasks as a response to local villagers’ reports as well as destroying over 153,000 explosive ordnance items.
The organisation has allegedly created safer living conditions and pushed socio-economic development for 233,000 women, men, girls and boys in the provinces where NPA operates. NPA started working in Laos in 1997, where they started providing technical advisory support to UXO Laos. When the organisation started its operations in the country it had 64 staff members, and 27 years later over 1000 workers are employed for NPA in Laos. Donors of the organisation include the governments of Norway and the United States and NRK, FCDO, Fagforbundet and Sida.
Source: vientianetimes.org
