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Irma was 11 when her life changed forever. She was out gathering wood to make brooms which her family sold to make a living. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion.

The lives of civilians in Gaza are still endangered by explosive remnants of war , one year after the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Palestinian on 7 July 2014. At least 4,500 explosive devices  are still buried under the rubble of houses and infrastructure destroyed during the 50-day conflict. Handicap International immediately supplied aid to the most vulnerable individuals and, since March, it has organized risk education sessions on explosive remnants of war to prevent more people falling victims to these weapons.

Following the 2014 conflict in Gaza, thousands of unexploded bombs and other ordnance (UXO) lay hidden under rubble and inside damaged buildings. Despite clearance efforts, Gaza is still contaminated by 4,500 items which pose a serious threat to civilians, many of whom do not realize that the bombs can still explode. To prevent injuries and deaths, Handicap International teams travel throughout Gaza educating residents - like Hamza - about what to do when they find potentially dangerous objects.

The lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip are still at risk from explosive remnants of war, one year after the start of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. Active in Gaza since 1996, Handicap International has been conducting risk education activities to help prevent accidents in the future. Guillaume Zerr, the head of Handicap International’s mission in the Palestinian Territories, explains more.

Since March 2015, Handicap International has been leading risk education sessions in several parts of the Gaza strip. After the military operations in July and August 2014 there are explosive remnants of war absolutely everywhere, which poses a serious threat to the population.

Jehad is 24. She was evacuated from her home on the first day of Eid after a warning missile hit her neighborhood, and she moved to her uncle’s house.

Every 4 minutes, somewhere in the world, a child is the victim of a road traffic accident.  The Child Road Safety in the Americas Congress, organized in collaboration with Handicap International and the United Nations, is to be held in Costa Rica on 7 and 8 May with the aim of improving road safety to better protect children.

Seng Ly, 52, lost the use of her legs in 1989 after she was hit by an anti-tank mine. At the time, she was living in a camp for Cambodian refugees in Thailand. More than twenty years on, Handicap International is still at her side. 

Roqaya, 14, was very seriously wounded by a shelling in Syria. Both of her legs had to be amputated at the knee. She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to walk again. But, less than a year later, she’s walking independently again thanks to the donations of our supporters and UK Aid.

Supporters and representatives of Handicap International UK delivered a petition at Downing Street yesterday urging the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to ensure that UK Aid helps save the lives and limbs of civilians affected by conflict. An incredible 61,520 people added their voices to the petition online and at events around the UK to raise awareness about the victims of landmines and unexploded bombs.

In the second of a two-part travelog, Denis Ricca, who is leading a team of explosive remnants of war surveyors describes his team’s work with local communities in Moyen-Charir, a region of southern Chad. The work of the surveyors is an important first step before full demining activities begin.

In this travelog, Denis Ricca, the manager of Handicap International’s team of surveyors in Chad describes the challenge of identifying areas of land that are contaminated by explosive remnants of war. Denis talks through the team's activities during a 12-day visit, which included sessions to raise awareness in communities about the risks posed.
Decades of conflict have left a deadly legacy of landmines and other explosive remnants of war in Chad. In October 2014 Handicap International launched new activities to clear land of explosive weapons and help people and communities affected.

Handicap International is expanding its mine clearance activities in Laos to a fourth district.

Forty years after the end of the Vietnam war, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war in Laos still claim an average of one victim per week. Handicap International has worked in the country since 1983 and is currently clearing mines in three districts, Nong, Sepone and Vilabuly, in the Savannakhet province in the east of Laos. In 2015 Phine will become the fourth district to benefit from demining.

Fourteen-year-old Firas had just returned home from school in Syria when his house was shelled. Shrapnel from the explosion flew through the air at the speed of a bullet, hitting Firas in his legs. He was rushed to hospital across the border in Lebanon but his injuries were so bad that his right leg had to be amputated.

In 2005, seven-year-old Kanha was playing in her family's courtyard when her father came home from his fields. He brought home a rusty metal object - scrap metal he planned to sell.