Ana de Lurdes, a little girl of twelve, was seriously hurt when she trod on a mine on the outskirts of her village in Southern Mozambique.

Like many other children, Ana was a victim of the civil war which ravaged her country over a period of more than fifteen years. In 1991, her parents had to flee their village, abandoning their land and possessions. They only returned home a year later, after the peace agreements were signed.  Calm and relative stability seemed to characterize Ana's daily activities once again. At age eight, she went to live with her aunt, who was willing to pay her school tuition. But on January 25th, 2001, a terrible accident changed her life. Ana went out to collect water for washing, and a few minutes later, an explosion rang out. Her aunt was worried and headed for the water fountain: Ana had trodden on a mine. She was unconscious when she was found and was taken to the hospital. Ana underwent an amputation and was then fitted with prosthesis.  She had to spend several months in a hospital bed and in rehabilitation before she could return home. “I'm better now, I can play with my friends again and I work hard at school. Thanks to my prosthesis, I can walk, but not like before” Touched by the quality of the care she received, Ana now wants to become a nurse.

Just after Ana's accident, the provincial government asked Handicap International to clear the village of mines. The humanitarian mine clearance officers worked for months to make the hazardous areas safe by extracting deadly mines. The long and painstaking task has been completed and villagers can now live there without fear.