In a global first, The HALO Trust, an international non-profit, has launched a $30,000 crowdfunding campaign to clear a minefield in the village of Myurishen, Nagorno Karabakh, the organization said Thursday, October 21.

It is a 1.8-acre minefield that endangers 500 people in Myurishen and the neighboring village of Vazgenasheg in Martuni region. Clearance would prevent accidents and allow the community to use the safe land to gather wood and graze animals.

At least five people have been injured in landmine accidents in Myurishen since 1995. The HALO Trust cleared three minefields in the village between 2007 and 2011, removing 38 anti-personnel mines, two anti-tank mines and three other explosive items. The minefield to be cleared through crowdfunding is the only minefield remaining (in the village – editor’s note).

The crowdfunding appeal is part of a larger campaign – Safe steps for the people of Karabakh – to clear all the landmines in Karabakh with an impact on civilians by 2020. An anonymous donor has pledged half of the $8 million required – if The HALO Trust can raise matching funds.

Andrew Moore, The HALO Trust’s Regional Director, said:”We are taking this new approach to fundraising because Karabakh’s Armenians have suffered from landmines for over 22 years. They are more likely to be victims of landmines than residents of almost any country in the world; a third of the victims are children.”

The HALO Trust, the world’s largest humanitarian mine action organization, has worked in Karabakh since 2000. It is the only agency clearing landmines and cluster bombs with a staff of 170 men and women who were recruited locally.