Twenty years of lifesaving work

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MAG at 20, part one: Introduction

Week of media coverage celebrates MAG’s 20th anniversary
The problems / The solutions / How you can help

In 1989 an ex-British army engineer was spurred into action by an innovative idea. Surrounded by misery and suffering in war-torn Afghanistan, Rae McGrath from the North-west of England witnessed first-hand the horrific impact of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) on civilians, and recognised the limitations these lethal weapons were placing on reconstruction and delivery of aid.

With seemingly little being done to clear landmines and UXO from the world’s conflict zones, McGrath returned to the UK with pioneering determination to breathe new life into humanitarian mine action. Enlisting the help of his tenacious brother Lou, the two men worked around the clock, looking at ways to clear landmines and UXO from conflict zones, and at ways to ensure that future generations could be kept safe from the dangers of deadly weapons of conflict.

"As MAG enters its 20th year, I can only look back and feel immensely proud of our staff who continue to carry out life-saving work in dangerous environments. Despite great progress in the international campaign to rid the world of landmines, communities across the world still face a deadly threat from unexploded Remnants of Conflict.

"MAG provides crucial services in both technical clearance and in community development, enabling people to rebuild schools, clinics and roads on safe land. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, as we move forward in 2009 MAG continues to work tirelessly in conflict-affected areas and provides communities with a crucial economic opportunity for further development."

Lou McGrath OBE,
Chief Executive, MAG
(pictured in Pursat province, Cambodia, 2002)

Twenty years later, this lifesaving work is still continuing.The history of MAG quirkily begins with two men and a caravan. Parked neatly on a nondescript campsite near the north-western UK town of Cockermouth, this humble mobile office served as the unlikely nerve centre for a ground-breaking humanitarian venture.

For more than two years, brothers Lou and Rae McGrath worked in partnership out of the caravan, laying the foundations for what would become one of the most recognised and respected humanitarian mine action organisations in the world.

Fast forward to 2009 and things look very different, the caravan replaced by a bustling four-storey headquarters in the heart of Manchester. The original two-man team has expanded to a worldwide workforce of more than 3,500 and the bare walls of the early days are now replete with a Nobel Peace Prize and uplifting photographs of MAG’s work around the world.

From Cambodia to Lebanon, from northern Iraq to Angola, MAG operations continue to expand, with communities living in conflict and postconflict zones reaping the benefits that come with safely cleared land and pathways.