In Somaliland's Carro Yaambo village, Saed, a teacher, remembers a time when "neither human beings nor livestock was allowed to access this area".
Decades of conflict left the land littered with explosives. Families could not return home. Livestock could not graze. And children had no safe place to learn, play or simply be kids.
A turning point for Carro Yaambo's children
Everything changed when HALO cleared the landmines: after the land was clear, the community built the village's first school.
Before that, children had to travel more than six miles to the next village to receive an education.
Now, school is just a short, safe walk away. Children learn close to home, taught by people who know their village and care deeply about its future – including one former student whose journey has come full circle.
Coming home and giving back: Omer's journey
Omer once sat behind a desk in a classroom at the Carro Yaambo school. Today, he stands at the blackboard.
After the school's construction, he was one of its very first students. Omer grew up understanding the impact of landmine clearance; his father was a HALO deminer.
He quickly cultivated a strong interest in biology. After organising sanitation campaigns during the rainy season to help prevent waterborne diseases in his community, he had the chance to join a medical team that arrived in his village during a malaria outbreak.
This experience solidified his desire to serve communities and make them safer. He studied hard and enrolled as a Public Health major at Admas University in Hargeisa after graduating.
But Omer doesn't let his busy schedule in Hargeisa keep him from giving back to his community at home. Five days a week, he spends his mornings teaching as a volunteer at the Carro Yaambo school.
"I feel passionate about delivering education to my people. I leave Hargeisa earlier in the morning for five days in a week to come here and teach at this school, covering my own transportation costs."
An educator by morning and a student by afternoon, Omer then departs once again for Hargeisa to study for his own classes after he is finished teaching.
"It feels like I have got the chance to give back the favour to my students and my school, since this school and its teachers were behind my success. I want to give back to that benevolence."
Omer's story is just one example of how landmine clearance shapes the future. Without it, this school that inspired Omer's dreams would not exist. It would have remained a dangerous no man's land.
Because the ground is safe, a generation of children is growing up with opportunities their parents never had. And some, like Omer, are already giving back.
Teachers at Carro Yaambo believe this is only the beginning.
"Without education, there is no light."
