A Safe Return Home
MAG Teams Secure Safe Waypoint for Returning Refugees
The removal of over 20,000 items of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from the town of Jambo in Western Equatoria has allowed for increased access to farming land, schools and housing through MAG's intervention.
There are 700 residents in Jambo, and the village leaders are expecting more returnees to come from refugee camps in Uganda and from IDP camps in Sudan. The village is on the main route of travel between Mundri and Juba, a well-traveled and busy road. The town is a way-point for trucks and buses. By removing the UXO, the threat posed to this transient community has also been removed.
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| Unguarded and unsecured weapons in Sudan |
During their visit in November, a MAG Community Liaison (CL) team took pictures of the items of UXO to give MAG Staff an understanding of the way that the items were being stored. This information enables MAG to commence planning the removal and destruction of the items.
A MAG Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW) team visited Jambo after receiving a report from MAG's CL team. The CL team had visited Jambo to deliver Mine Risk Education to the community after initial contact with returnees in the Alero and Kajo Keji way stations. A component of the Mine Risk Education session is asking community members if they have seen items of UXO in the area. MAG records this information and performs a comprehensive analysis including the number and type of items located, the proximity to houses and other infrastructure and the number of people affected by the contamination.
The study found that the UXO was dangerously close to houses, main routes of travel, and a school. The 490 children attending the village school were passing stockpiles of weapons each time they entered and left the school. The SA/LW team removed six rockets and two mortars from next to the school grounds. Overall, 700 people in the village benefited from MAG's work in Jambo.
Teams funded by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State.