Mrs. Cindy McCain visits HALO Zimbabwe

HALO Zimbabwe was pleased to host Mrs. Cindy McCain from 15th to 18th February 2014. The purpose of the visit was to show Mrs. McCain the scale of the border minefields and the impact on affected communities.

Mrs. McCain visited villages east of Mukumbura town in Mashonaland Central province where HALO has been conducting demining, survey and mine risk education. Mrs. McCain was able to see deminers working directly opposite Foya village, see new recruits undergoing deminer training, and visit Kapfudza primary school located adjacent to a section of the minefield.

Mrs. McCain spent time with HALO’s staff at the demining camp and received in depth briefings on the composition, dimensions and location of the minefields, recent accidents (the latest was a 79 year old man herding cattle in February 2014), the requirement for clearance, and the future direction of the program.

Previously, Mrs. McCain has visited HALO programs in Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Angola, Kosovo and Georgia.