Angola

Aurelio joined HALO in 1998 as a deminer, and during the course of his career has worked in demining, survey, mechanical clearance, and road threat reduction. He spent time on the Mozambique programme and returned to Angola in 2003 to serve as Provincial Operations Manager. He was Location Manager for Huambo province from 2009-2016, and led the Mine Impact Free District Survey in Huambo from 2012 to 2014, visiting areas where HALO clearance had been completed ensuring that there was no remaining mine threat. In 2016 Aurelio became Headquarters Manager located in Huambo Province and is now also closely involved with Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) supporting projects with the Angolan military and national police.

Valdemar joined HALO in 1997 as a deminer and was quickly promoted. After a term as Provincial Operations Manager in Huambo he took over as Location Manager in the province and oversaw clearance operations during the busy period following the end of the war in 2002. After further mine clearance and management training with HALO in Cambodia, Valdemar became HALO Programme Operations Manager in 2007. He manages operational deployments across the programme and oversees all operational training.

Ramadane joined HALO in 2006 in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. In 2007 HALO began clearance operations to the south and then centre of the country. During this time, Ramadane held various positions in the organisation, from driver, demining team supervisor, training officer and logistics officer. Mozambique was declared landmine free in 2015, Ramadane continued with administrative work for HALO until the end of 2020, when the programme was officially closed. In 2021, he joined the HALO Angola team where he currently works as field officer in the municipality of Cuito Cuanavale.

Claire joined HALO in 2017 and completed operations management training in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Georgia. Claire spent a couple of years working in Afghanistan before joining the Angola programme in 2020, first as Benguela Location Manager then as GoA Project Manager. She is IMAS EOD Level 3 and HIEDD Level 3 qualified and holds a BA in War studies from King’s College London. Claire hails from the beautiful French Basque Country and is half-French, half-Welsh.

Eugenio joined HALO in 2015 a Payroll Officer, taking on more responsibilities for the programme’s Benguela and Cuanza Sul locations as Admin Support in 2018, where he worked until February 2020. In March 2020 Eugenio joined the Information Management Department as GIS & Data assistant until 2021. In January 2022 he became the programme’s GIS & Data Manager.

João joined Halo in Dec 1995 as a deminer and was promoted to Section Commander in 1996. In 1997 he became Supervisor then Provincial Operations Manager. From 1998 to 2008 he was the Programme Operations Manager. From 2008 to 2012 he transferred to Bié due to family issues and became Provincial Operations Manager. Since 2012 he has been Bié´s Location Manager.

Sian joined HALO in February 2020, completing operations management training in Cambodia and Abkhazia before beginning her first posting in Abkhazia overseeing EOD and mechanical clearance of a site of an ammunition store explosion. Since then she has worked for HALO in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh before starting her position as part of the Angola programme team. Sian has a background in conflict resolution and mediation and has worked in the Middle East and East Africa. Sian is IMAS EOD level 3 trained and holds an LL.M in Public International and EU Law.

Papel is HALO Angola’s WAM/EOD Officer, and is one of the programme’s longest-serving staff members. He joined HALO in 2000 as a driver, and had progressed through manual and mechanical demining teams, to minefield supervisor (2003), survey and EOD supervisor (2004), WAD supervisor (2006-2009) and from 2009 has held the position of WAD and EOD operations officer for the programme.

‘Cobus’ joined HALO in November 2021. He has over 16 years’ experience working across Africa, including Mozambique, Gambia, DRC, Nigeria and Sierra Leone as a technical workshop manager. Cobus is originally from South Africa, where he studied, completing various diplomas in mechanical engineering, quality management, health and safety policy and procedure. He has worked in mining, road construction and development programmes and is registered with the council for quality practitioners as LCRQP/ ACRQP.