Italian Ambassador Luca Fornari handed over a check worth $1,000 to Cleared Ground Demining founders Steve Ballinger and Cassandra McKeown on Friday, right after the opening ceremony of the Independence Day celebration.
The Cleared Ground Demining project in Palau focuses on Peleliu and Angaur States “to reduce the immediate risk of ERW on local communities and tourists.” The team found that 31.2 percent of households in Peleliu had ERW on their property.
Among those found within the community properties were hand grenades, mortars, projectiles and rockets. After prioritizing the removal of these items, the Cleared Ground Demining group has now focused its operations on former battlefields, landing beaches and agricultural lands.
On September 15, last year, Cleared Ground Demining started an ERW removal and destruction project in the country to mark the 65th Anniversary of the battle of Peleliu – one of the bloodiest battles in the South Pacific in World War II.
The project was funded by a grant from the Weapons Removal and Abatement Office, US Department of State.
At present, the Cleared Ground Demining team training national staff in “data collection, risk awareness and battle area clearance as part of its Palau capacity building goals.”
To make a donation to support the Cleared Ground Demining’s cause, visit http://www.clearedground.org/donation.aspx.
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