Project RENEW and Friends of Project RENEW with many activities to support people with disabilities and landmine victims in Quang Ngai

Project RENEW, a cooperation program between Quang Tri province and international non-governmental organizations, started its task in 2001, with activities to reduce damage caused by mines and explosives left over after the war and support families and victims of landmines.

In Quang Ngai, since 2019, Project RENEW has implemented a communication program funded by Irish Aid to prevent and minimize the harmful effects of landmines and explosives, and support tools and livelihoods for people with disabilities and landmine victims in the province.

Currently, the Project RENEW is implementing its activities in communes of Ba Vinh, Ba Vi, Ba To, Ba Dong, Ba To town (in Ba To district); Hanh Tin Tay, Hanh Tin Dong, Hanh Thien, Hanh Dung, Hanh Thuan (in Nghia Hanh district); Duc Chanh, Duc Hoa, Duc Phu, Duc Tan and Duc Phong (in Mo Duc district), Quang Ngai province.

Since the beginning of 2024, the Provincial Red Cross Association has coordinated with the Project RENEW Office and Hanh Thuan Secondary School, (in Nghia Hanh district), Ba Vi Primary School, (in Ba To district) to organize extracurricular tours for students to learn about history and be communicated about  the harmful effects of mines, bombs and other explosives. Communication campaigns- including through community football games- have been set up at the beneficiary schools. In addition to these activities designed for the children, the program has also implemented training sessions for teachers, youths, volunteers, and other collaborators about mine accidents prevention.

According to the plan, the 2024 program sponsored by the Irish Aid Agency gives a total of 100 wheelchairs, 20 pairs of crutches, and supports 25 people in need of prosthetic arms and legs in Ba To and Nghia Hanh districts. In addition, the program supports the livelihoods of 30 households with people with disabilities. To date, the RENEW Project Coordination Office in collaboration with the Red Cross Association of Ba To district has given 23 wheelchairs, 6 pairs of crutches and prosthetic limbs to disabled people in Ba To district.

In Mo Duc district, the program is implemented from July 2023 to December 2024 in 5 communes, including Duc Chanh, Duc Hoa, Duc Phu, Duc Tan and Duc Phong, with communication activities for the community and pupils. They alsogive tools and support capital to develop livelihoods for local households with disabled people and landmine victims for economic development.

As one of the victims of landmines after the war, Mr. Nguyen Den, from Lam Ha village, Duc Phong commune, shared: "I lost both legs, my family's economic life is therefore difficult. With support of 8.5 million VND from the program, I plan to buy cows to support livelihood development. This is a very meaningful amount of money for my family."

The project RENEW has the participation of Friends of Project RENEW from 2023, it will therefore expand its scale and increase the number of people benefiting. The total budget funded by the two organizations to implement the program in 2023 - 2024 in the province is more than 2 billion VND. So far, the Program has provided livelihood support to 119 households and provided tools to nearly 300 disabled people and landmine victims.

According to the Report of the Vietnam National Mine Action Center, Quang Ngai is one of many central provinces where unexploded ordnance left over from the war still threatens people's lives. About 57% of the total land area in Quang Ngai is still contaminated with dangerous explosives that have killed 1,372 people and injured 1,560 others since the war ended.