In 1988, as Soviet troops withdrew, they left behind a humanitarian crisis caused by landmines.
Colin Mitchell, Guy Willoughby and Susan Mitchell OBE, witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by landmines and other explosive remnants of war in Afghanistan. Thousands of civilians were being killed or injured, tens of thousands more refugees were prevented from returning and aid could not be delivered because of the dangerous debris littering roads, towns, villages and fields.
They resolved to do something about it and founded The HALO Trust in Kabul.
Guy was instrumental in developing HALO from a tiny charity into the extraordinarily powerful force for good it is today, leaving HALO in 2014 with more than 7,000 staff working at that time in 17 countries and territories. He helped to make mine clearance an issue that is now taken seriously throughout the world.

More than 30 years since it was founded, HALO’s Afghanistan programme employs thousands of Afghans. We have expanded the scope and breadth of our work and today have programmes in 28 countries and territories across the world. We continue to clear landmines and explosives left behind by war. But we also keep people safe and help communities to rebuild by destroying weapons, managing stockpiles and teaching families how to stay safe until the dangerous debris of war can be removed for good.