Church provides help to clear Mozambique of land mines

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose Jacky D�Almeida, director of the Accelerated Demining Program near Vilankulo, Mozambique, displays pieces of a landmine.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

VILANKULO, Mozambique (UMNS)—Children are running and playing in a soccer field that a few days earlier was a minefield.

Women are washing clothes in a clear channel of water that until recently was too dangerous to approach.

Hundreds of young Mozambicans are sitting in classrooms at the Escola Professional Domingos Savio, a technical school, built on the site of a former rebel stronghold that is riddled with mines.

Seeing former death traps turn into places of hope is "magic," says Jacky D’Almeida, director of the Accelerated Demining Program, the team working to clear the land mines.

But the work is not over. Just one day after touring a cleared land mine field, D’Almeida hears of a group of villagers herding their cattle to water and stumbling upon an undiscovered minefield. Four are killed and eight are seriously injured.

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose George Muronda (left) and Jacky D�Almeida of the Accelerated Demining Program discuss mine removal operations near Vilankulo, Mozambique.

The church is the only group doing this work, without any government involvement, and it is crucial to the program’s success, D’Almeida says.

"We want the United Methodist Church to be on our governing board," he says. "You can see what the contribution of the United Methodist Church has made to my country. Anyone can see it. I think even God can see it."

According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, mines cause 15,000 to 20,000 causalities a year. The real evil of the land mines is that they are in areas most needed by the people: on farms, where cattle graze and where children go to school, D’Almeida says.

Money from the church has made it possible to get a land-mine-clearing machine and specially trained dogs that sniff out the mines. Before the machine and the dogs, demining was a slow and dangerous process done by humans.

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose Specially trained dogs sniff for landmines left over from years of civil war near Vilankulo, Mozambique.

During the civil war, which ended in 1992, both sides planted the mines but did not keep records of where they were placed. D’Almeida, who describes himself as a "former terrorist," is a man with a mission. His passion for demining Mozambique consumes everyone in his path, and he says it makes it possible for him to "go home happy every day."

Asked why he works in such a dangerous environment, he quietly says, "I think I was obligated to get involved."

"When you see a place cleared and know what it was before and what it is now, that is magic. I go home in peace every night because I know I have made a contribution for a better future."

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose Raul Fole (left), a supervisor with Mine Tech International, walks through the village of Malaica, Mozambique, with local leader Ernest Morgado.

"I just want a better day for all of us," he says. "Who in the world does not want to leave the world well?"

A DVD on the UMCOR land mine removal program is available from the Board of Global Ministries. Contributions to land mine removal may be sent through local United Methodist churches or annual conferences, or by mailing a check to Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9068. Write the check to "Advance GCFA" and include "Land Mine Removal" (Advance Special #982575) on the check memo line. Call (888) 252-6174 to give by credit card. For more information, visit the Advance Web site, http://gbgm-umc.org/advance.

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Photo Feature Audio Slideshow

Audio Interview Jacky D’Almeida: “I go home in peace.” Jacky D’Almeida: “Even God can see it.”

Suggested Articles Commentary: Journey into Mozambique yields five days of wonder Week Five: Mission center provides hope for future of Mozambique Week Five: School of Theology equips pastors for challenges in ministry Week Four: 'Witch daughters’ cared for by United Methodist Church Week Four: Children receive care, love at United Methodist orphanage Week Four: Society saving women, children living on the edges Week Three: Drilling for water ‘works miracles’ in parched country Week Two: Mozambique’s United Methodist churches specialize in welcoming Week One: Beauty, despair mingle to make Mozambique unforgettable Week One: Bishop played important role in bringing peace to Mozambique

Suggested Resources Mozambique Initiative Living Water Society United Methodist Committee on Relief in Mozambique Accelerated Demining Program Welcome to Chicuque Rural Hospital