Welcome to The Halo Trust
The HALO Trust is a non-political, non-religious NGO, registered in Britain as a charity (no.1001813 and SCO37870) and in the United States as a 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit organisation. HALO specialises in the removal of the hazardous debris of war.
We have over 8,000 full-time staff in 10 countries, with on-going surveys into new regions.
By October 2011, twenty-two years after founding HALO, we have reached some important milestones that include:
- over 1.4 million landmines destroyed
- over twelve million items of larger calibre ordnance destroyed
- over fifty one million bullets destroyed
- over 2,950 heavy weapon systems immobilized
- over 134,000 assault rifles destroyed
- over 8,100 minefields cleared
- 30,204 hectares (74,636 acres) made safe from landmines
- 137,621 hectares (340,068 acres) made safe from unexploded and abandoned ordnance
- 12,455 kilometers (7,739 miles) of roads cleared
These statistics, which may appear bland, are a testament to the dedication of our staff conducting one of the most inherently dangerous jobs on earth, and the generosity of our donors who understand that our work directly saves lives, and allows a return to normal rural livelihoods in some of the poorest countries in the world.
How much more work is there to do? In areas such as northern Mozambique and Abkhazia we have finished – with every single village declaring that they are free from landmines. In other countries we still have five more years of work, and in countries such as Afghanistan our work plan extends to 2020.
However, HALO is not distracted by involvement in campaigns and conferences, and we have a simple mission statement - “getting mines out of the ground, now”. With more deminers and more equipment, we shall shorten the timeframe that villagers are impacted by landmines.
HALO’s operations are grouped under Central Asia, South East Asia, Horn of Africa, Southern Africa and the Caucasus & Balkans – managed from a small office in South West Scotland. Our innovative training of local management and introduction of new equipment allows us to continue expansion as funding becomes available.
Guy Willoughby
Director
