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MAG Sudan Field Coordinator Alistair Moir (right) with staff from Norwegian Refugee Council in the UXO/Mine Recognition Garden.
MAG
* "It was a splendid presentation and a real eye-opener. The the mines and UXO presented are both very realistic and interesting. It really shows how careful you have to be." - Lars Anderskouv, Director, MS Sudan
* "I found the tour to be very good. I had been hearing about mines but I had never seen any. Now I will be able to remember it if I see one. It is very helpful." - Betty Anenocan, Logistics Officer, MS Sudan
A new 'Unexploded Ordnance/Mine Recognition Garden' at MAG's compound in Yei is promoting the safety of staff from other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in South Sudan.
The garden provides visitors with an opportunity to see landmines and items of unexploded ordnance (UXO), illustrating the potential dangers of similar items, and was the brainchild of MAG Sudan Field Coordinator Alistair Moir:
"We wanted to create an area that was both appropriate for training operational staff, as well as engaging for non-mine action NGOs. Working in a country as contaminated as Southern Sudan, basic UXO/mine awareness is essential for the safety of any field-based personnel."
Visitors to the garden are taught about basic recognition, activation, suspected areas to avoid, local and international UXO/mine markings, and booby traps.
Amongst those who have already taken advantage of the UXO/mine awareness sessions offered are expatriate and national staff from Samaritan's Purse, MS Sudan, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council and the Yei Crop Training Centre.
All items in the Recognition Garden, which is also used as a training area for MAG's operational staff, are free from explosives and are 100 per cent safe, though MAG treats them as if they are still dangerous to reinforce the messages of safe behaviour.
And to ensure MAG support staff can lead the sessions when operational staff are away on deployment, a series of standardised critical safety messages has been developed by Community Liaison Manager Emily Akalu.
For more information on MAG's work in Sudan, please visit www.maginternational.org/sudan
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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