Mine awareness

After the liberation of territories in Mykolayiv and Kherson states we face another major problem – extensive minefields in both fields and public areas. This has both significant implications for the resumption and revitalization of agricultural enterprises but also the risk of maiming and death for the civilian population; both young and old.

Children being children will handle explosive objects without being aware of the dangers while farmers taking their cattle to pasture or tractor drivers may unwittingly set off mines. The Emergency Services are very active in clearing mines and also education people about the dangers from mines. New Dawn too plays an important role by incorporating mine awareness training as part of our Childhood Program.

Today, according to the State Emergency Service (SES), more than 30 million hectares of Ukraine’s territory have been mined.
In particular, certain commonly used mines are especially dangerous for children. For example, the PFM-1, or “petal” as it is called, is a mine prohibited by international conventions. It throws out cassettes over long distances. It has a bright color, so children mistake it for a toy and often pick it up.

Enlisting the support of the SES as experts in these matters, our New Dawn staff developed a booklet and training session for children and their families which are integrated into our kids festivals.
In this training , children learn what explosive ordnances (EO) are and what types of EO there are. They are able to recognize IEDs and understand the actions to be taken in case of their detection.

The training is conducted in close cooperation with the Heads of Administration in the de-occupied territories and in communities that have hosted a lot of IDPs.
The permissions and security protocols are strictly followed. This New Dawns program saves lives of both children and adults.