In close proximity to residential and rural areas, landmines kill, maim and stop all economic activity.

 Anybody can fall victim to them: children playing outside their houses or going to school, farmers working the fields, women going to fetch water. Children are most at risk: More than 8 out of 10 do not survive their injuries.

 This means that workable plots of land are deserted and much of the infrastructure (roads, bridges etc.) is rendered unusable. Many members of the working population are killed. For all these reasons the country becomes more impoverished.

 This is all the more harmful as a country at the end of a conflict does not have the means to carry out mine-clearance operations or to help mine victims. These people are not only affected physically but psychologically as well. They feel abandoned and useless and can suffer from serious depression. For these people it is vital to regain their dignity, but also their place within the community: becoming mobile again, continuing to attend school, learning a new trade. Any activity which generates income helps them to become independent again within their society:  gardening, sewing, breeding rabbits or hens are just a few examples. However inclusion also means having a social life, for example through cultural and sporting activities.