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<\/div><\/a><\/p>\nConflict ends in Somaliland<\/h4>\n
Somaliland is one of more than 40 countries where that work has been taking place. HALO has been working in Somaliland since 1999, clearing areas heavily contaminated with landmines and other explosives remnants of war since a cross-border conflict with Ethiopia which was followed by a decade long civil war.<\/p>\n
To carry out their program, HALO employ local people. Training local people to carry out this essential work provides much needed income streams in regions afflicted by poverty. More than 98% of staff in<\/em> Somaliland are from<\/em> Somaliland, and a quarter of the workforce are women. An important part of HALO’s work is to leave a legacy of change – the empowerment of women changes societies.<\/p>\n <\/div><\/a> Female deminers at Daragobyala village<\/p><\/div>\n HALO works with vision – at the same time as conducting detailed searches for munitions, they take the opportunity to improve the land on which they work for farming and grazing, building water-retaining bunds and soil improvement measures as their work proceeds.<\/p>\n HALO’s mission is to save lives and restore the livelihoods of those affected by conflict. Among the many challenges presented by working in remote and often poor regions is the lack of infrastructure.<\/p>\n <\/div><\/a> Admed Mohamed, Engineer<\/p><\/div>\n Only 36% of the population in Somaliland have access to electricity, most of which is generated by diesel generators – which are expensive to run and difficult to maintain and repair. Reliable power is needed for HALO’s operational needs – so the organisation has invested in a number of solar power systems for staff working in rural camps which host up to 100 people for 25 days at a time – and also back at their HQ in Hargeisa.<\/p>\n Installed by Solar Land Africa<\/a> these installations provide power for recharging metal detectors, communication devices, and tablets – which are used for recording operational progress and mapping new minefields. GPS devices are used to demarcate new minefields and to pinpoint the location of explosive weapons which have to be destroyed.<\/p>\n Reliable lighting supports staff safety and camp security, as well as providing illumination for living spaces, washrooms and toilets. In the kitchens, food can be prepared at dawn and dusk for the workforce, and staff can attend mosque and worship in comfort.<\/p>\n The power system in their Hargeisa office comprises:<\/p>\n 27 x Solar Panels of 400W offering 10.8kWp At the Bali Caabane camp twelve solar panels offer 6.66 kWp At the Caro Yaambo camp there are six solar panels offering \u00a03.33 kWp During HALO’s almost forty years of operation they have cleared more than 14.5 million explosive items – including over 2 million landmines. Fourteen million people have benefitted from that work. <\/div><\/a> Somaliland. Female deminers at Daragobyala village<\/p><\/div>\n Regrettably, the funding for the programme has been declining over the past few years and the continuation of this life-saving work is now under threat. HALO\u2019s goal is to help Somaliland achieve mine-impact-free status within the next few years\u2014an accomplishment reached by only a handful of countries worldwide. Without sufficient funding, the progress will slow and communities will remain exposed to the dangers of landmines for longer than necessary<\/p>\n If you’d like to \u00a0help HALO help local people to deal with the legacy of conflict, you can visit their donations<\/a> page.<\/p>\n Let’s hear from a member of the senior operational staff who was born in the region – Hassan Kossar:<\/p>\n\n\nEnergy Security<\/h4>\n
\nThere are three 5kVA MultiPlus II<\/a> inverter\/chargers
\nThere are two SmartSolar<\/a> MPPT 250\/100 solar charge controllers
\nFive BYD LVS Lithium Batteries offer 20 kWh<\/div><\/a><\/p>\n
\nThere’s a MultiPlus II<\/a> 5 kVA inverter\/charger
\nA SmartSolar<\/a> 250\/100 MPPT solar charge controller
\nThree lithium batteries offer 15.36 kWh of energy storage.
\nAnd a Cerbo GX<\/a> communication device allows remote system monitoring via the free to use platform Victron Remote Management<\/a> (VRM)<\/div><\/a><\/p>\n
\nThere’s a MultiPlus II<\/a> 5 kVA inverter\/charger
\nA SmartSolar<\/a> 250\/100 MPPT solar charge controller
\n10.2 kWh of lithium battery storage
\nAnd a Cerbo GX<\/a> communication device allows remote system monitoring via the free to use platform Victron Remote Management<\/a> (VRM)<\/div><\/a><\/p>\n
\nThey’ve conducted 487,000 local community awareness sessions to more than 9.1 million people.
\nThe Somaliland programme has cleared the equivalent of 45,739 football pitches of 13,000 explosive devices, including landmines, mortars, grenades and other hazardous items. This has benefitted more than 700,000 people, improving the physical security of the population, supporting local livelihoods through access to land and natural resources, and providing safe land for essential social development.<\/p>\nFunding Crisis<\/h4>\n