Liv Chanra, 27 - Deminer, MAG Cambodia
As a 27-year-old mother of two, Liv Chanra would love to spend this mother’s day weekend celebrating with her spouse and children. Unfortunately, Liv’s husband died tragically of meningitis in 2007; and she was left to care for her two daughters and widowed mother on her own.
Like most mothers, Liv’s priority is the safety and well-being of her children. Although landmines and unexploded ordnance plagued her community and threatened its safety for as long as she can remember, Liv never imagined she would spend her days removing these leftover remnants of war. Yet, after her husband died, she had to find a way to endure. "I was jobless back then and needed to feed my family." Obtaining a job with MAG became the means to her family’s survival.
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“I thought that if I could obtain a job with MAG, I would be able to overcome the hardship in my family, feed my two children, and send them to school.” |
Lacking in education, Liv had low prospects for obtaining work. "It is really hard for me, as a woman who has very little schooling, to obtain a job." However, Liv’s hopes for her future were quickly improved once she learned of MAG’s career opportunities for women. As part of MAG’s focus on community renewal, the organization trains and employs staff from local populations, tackling poverty and building robust and sustainable national workforces.
MAG continually encourages women like Liv to join the efforts to alleviate the impacts of war. Of the current 2,100 plus national staff around the world, around fifteen percent (15%) are female. Employing women – and proving their ability to undertake demanding work in difficult conditions – raises their status amongst the communities they come from and encourages other employers to do the same.
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“I depend on my salary to feed my family. However, the work not only benefits me personally but also benefits local people through ridding their contaminated land of landmines and threats so that they can live and work in safety.” |
For Liv, attaining a job with MAG was the key to building a long-term career which would sustain herself and her family. "I thought that if I could obtain a job with MAG, I would be able to overcome the hardship in my family, feed my two children, and send them to school."
After training with experts at MAG, Liv was employed as a full-time MAG deminer in June of 2008. Since then, she has been working to rid Cambodia from the leftover scourge of war and rebuild a sustainable future for her daughters and her country. Now, she not only supports her daughters, her mother, and two of her aunts, she also works to save lives and build futures in her local community.
By working to restore peace and security to communities which have been hard-hit by the remnants of war, MAG gives courageous women like Liv and her neighbors a reason to feel hope. MAG not only improves the daily life in communities by removing landmines, bombs, and other deadly unexploded ordnance (UXO); MAG’s recovery efforts also create jobs which lift families and entire communities out of poverty.
Liv is extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with MAG, and she hopes to continue her work over the long term. "I think that it is really great that I have a job with MAG. I depend on my salary to feed my family. However, the work not only benefits me personally but also benefits local people through ridding their contaminated land of landmines and threats so that they can live and work in safety."
MAG thanks the following donor for funding the work mentioned in this article: Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State.
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