MLI Honors Afghan and Bosnian Mine Detection Dog Teams
The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) selected handler Mohibullah Ahmad Shah and MDD Meme and handler Sasa Klacar and MDD Ryno as the co-recipient teams of the 2008 Mine Detection Dog Team of the Year Award. The Mine Detection Dog Team of the Year is awarded to a team or teams nominated by superiors and peers that exhibit particular excellence, professionalism and dedication to the demining field.
Mohibullah and Meme have worked as a team with the Afghan clearance organization DAFA (the Demining Agency for Afghanistan) for nearly two years. During this time they have developed a close bond that is vital in performing in their perilous line of work. Hundreds of hours of training resulted in a perfect score during UNMACA accreditation. To date, they have cleared 60,508 square meters of land and renewed its ability to be used by the people of Afghanistan. Click here to see a new video of what a deminers life is like in Afghanistan
Mohibullah received his award personally from MLI Executive Director Perry Baltimore during a presentation in mid-November in his native Afghanistan.
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MLI Involvement in Afghanistan and Bosnia
MLI has been involved in demining efforts in Afghanistan for one
year and in Bosnia for nearly five years.
To date, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State and private,
caring donors, MLI has donated 9 mine detection dogs to DAFA and
OMAR (the Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation).
Additionally, MLI and Help the Afghan Children have together launched
CHildren Against Mines Program (CHAMPS) International in Afghanistan
– a global citizen exchange and survivors’ assistance project.
In Bosnia, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, the
Mine Detection Dog Center in Konjic, Bosnia, the International Trust
Fund for Humanitarian Demining, and private American. To learn more about CHAMPS activity in Afghanistan, visit CHAMPS or visit Survivors’ Assistance: Afghanistan page
MDDPP Expands; Program Launched in Afghanistan
With funding from the U.S. Department of State, MLI sent the first 6 of 15 Mine Detection Dogs (MDDs) to Afghanistan in June 2008. These life-saving dogs will “sniff out” mines with the Afghan clearance organization OMAR (Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation). The remaining 9 MDDs, yet to be sponsored by generous, caring global citizens, will train and arrive in Afghanistan in early spring 2009.
This fall, MLI will launch CHAMPS International in Afghanistan, which will form partnerships between Afghan and American schools. Participants in the program will work to promote goodwill, global citizenship, and sponsor a young Afghan landmine survivor to provide them with prosthetics, rehabilitative treatment, and/or other necessary care.
Help for Lebanon !
Lifesaving dogs arrive to “sniff out” landmines
In May 2008, six highly trained dogs arrived in Lebanon to begin the lifesaving work of “sniffing out” landmines so that children can play and people can work without the fear of mines and unexploded ordnance. Upon request from newly elected President of Lebanon, General Michel Suleiman, then-Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and in collaboration with the US Department of State, the Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) has provided these valuable animals to replace the six dogs given to the Lebanon Mine Action Center in February 2001. President Suleiman stated that the older dogs have served the people of Lebanon well, but are now reaching retirement age and others are needed to take their place.
Remarkably, dogs are one of the most effective tools used to find landmines. Mine detection dogs (MDDs) efficiently and effectively search the ground for the presence of explosive odors and alert their handlers to the precise location of the landmine, allowing the soil to be cleared and the land released back to communities for productive use. To date, MLI has donated over 110 MDDs to support landmine clearance operations in severely mine-affected countries around the world...continued on page 6
Lifesaving dogs arrive to “sniff out” landmines (cont'd)
American citizens, businesses and schools very generously responded to MLI’s appeal to sponsor MDDs. MLI and the International Trust Fund for Demining co-hosted the Legacy of Hope golf tournament in Ojai, California in March to secure funding for MDDs for Lebanon. The Partnership for Lebanon served as title sponsor for the tournament. The event weekend was a great success as it introduced many Lebanese Americans to the landmine issue and secured donations for three of the six MDDs arriving in Beirut this month: MDD CIMGO (named after five companies of the Partnership: Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Ghafari Inc, and Occidental Petroleum); MDD Harry, (sponsored by family and friends of Betsy & Scott Smith in honor of their son Harry Watson Smith) and MDD Cedar Lane (sponsored by the LA Cedars Rotary Club).
The remaining three dogs of the “six-pack” were sponsored by schoolchildren through CHAMPS, MLI’s CHildren Against Mines Program. They include MDD Champlain, sponsored by two Girl Scout Troops in Essex Junction and Williston, Vermont; MDD Shadow, sponsored by New Lebanon School and the John Vrabec Shadow Foundation in Greenwich, CT; and MDD Tornado, sponsored by Trinity Episcopal School in Austin, Texas.
Summer 2008
Donors Meet Lifesaving Dogs and Landmine Survivors in Bosnia and Slovenia
MLI hosted this late June Balkan visit to allow donors to witness both the impact of landmines and the results of their charitable investment. View photo
The group observed mine clearance operations around Sarajevo and met with local students participating in MLI’s CHAMPS Int’l program, which connects U.S. students to their landmine-survivor-peers across the world.
CHAMPS Program Manager Marija Trling introduced the donors to Kemal, a young survivor who received a prosthetic leg as a result of CHAMPS Int’l Student Leader Michaela Streep’s monumental fundraising efforts in Kingston, N.H. Each donor was able to view the direct effects of his or her donation. The Mignano family, part of Girl Scout Troop 820 of Williston, V.T., met the troop’s CHAMPS beneficiary Anita Vidovic, whose story you can read in our summer newsletter.
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Summer 2008
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Meanwhile, the Parkinson family observed their sponsored mine detection dogs working with the Bosnian Office of Civil Protection. Ms. Joan Wismer visited two of her MDDs, who “sniff out” mines with BH Demining, as well as two more who are part of Pro Vita’s demining team. View photo
After enjoying the generous hospitality of Pro Vita and a scenic walk across the historic Mostar Bridge, the delegation relaxed with local host Nermin Hadzimujagic at the Mine Detection Dog Center. There, New Lebanon School Principal Gene Nyitray met with the trainer of MDD Shadow and the Mignanos toured the facilities where their MDD was trained. The group explored a Sarajevo wartime tunnel and then flew to Slovenia to visit the Institute for Rehabilitation, where MLI has provided medical care to eight survivors over the past year, in partnership with the International Trust Fund (ITF). Many donors then continued on to Dubrovnik, Croatia—a picturesque way to end a successful and informative visit!
The 2009 "Legacy of Hope" Golf Tournament was a fabulous success! MLI and ITF send our sincerest thanks to our generous sponsors and participants.
