Landmine Free Artsakh Receives $4 Million Pledge in Matching Funds

Mountainous view from Shushi

GLENDALE””Artsakh has the highest per capita land mine, and unexploded ordnance civilian casualty rate in the world. A quarter of these victims are children. Beyond the physical danger, land mines and cluster bombs cripple the economy by denying farmers the use of their land.

Landmine Free Artsakh (LFA) is comprised of a group of concerned Armenians who have made it their mission to raise awareness and funds to help clear every village in Artsakh of this ever-present danger. The villages are in the Lachin, Hadrut and Martuni regions, where international government grants or funds may not be used. Only private funding may clear these areas. LFA is raising funds for The HALO Trust, the world’s oldest and largest humanitarian landmine clearance organization and the only mine clearance operator in Artsakh. Mine clearance not only saves lives but also helps the economy by making farmlands safe. The HALO Trust creates jobs by hiring and training locals to do the de-mining and provides mine risk education in schools.

Since 2012, LFA has organized awareness campaigns and fundraising events in the Armenian Community. Among them, an art exhibition and auction in Glendale, presentations at Glendale Public Library, Glendale Community College, UCLA, Ferrahian High School in Encino, ARPA Institute in Sherman Oaks, Keyan Armenian Community School in Fresno, St. John’s Armenian Church in San Francisco, St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale, Zorayan Museum in Burbank, Pilibos Armenian School in Los Angeles, Homenetmen South Bay “Arakatz”