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Erasing the Legacy 
Clear Path International was formed by a group of friends with a wealth of relief-work experience in Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Originally formed as a landmine and bomb removal organization, the Board of Directors recognized the need for a professional non-profit organization to undertake landmine and UXO victim assistance activities in Southeast Asia. In this way, Clear Path International makes a compassionate attempt to redress the destructive legacy of armed conflict and help families get back on track after their often devastating, if not deadly, accidents. Despite increasing stability in Cambodia, the Killing Fields continue. During more than two decades of civil war in Cambodia, all sides placed landmines indiscriminately and often with the intent to terrorize civilians. These mines are everywhere: along bridges, footpaths, rice paddies, river banks and around villages. As a result, Cambodia has the highest per-capita percentage of mine amputees in the world, with one in every 236 Cambodians living with one or more lost limbs. Though several international organizations are addressing many of the survivors’ physical needs, few provide support for their economic reintegration, so that they can support themselves. Only one in every five Cambodians with disabilities is economically self-sufficient. Being handicapped without skills in one of the world’s poorest countries means landmine victims have few prospects to reintegrate as productive and self-sufficient members of their communities. Economic growth is estimated at about 2 percent per year, limiting the creation of new jobs for which competition among able-bodied Cambodians is already fierce. Since its founding in September 2000, Clear Path International has assisted nearly 2,000 landmine accident survivors, removed 1,500 pieces of lethal ordnance and sent 28 containers of medical equipment and supplies to hospitals in mine-affected communities. In Cambodia, CPI and CVCD have trained over 50 landmine/UXO survivors in in Phnom Penh in English, Computer and Sewing skills in preparation for the job market in the capitol. The partners have since launched a program to train mine survivors in the province of Kampong Cham, where communities were impacted by the “Secret Bombing Campaign” of the early 1970s and years of civil war between government troops and the Khmer Rouge. There, mine survivors learn how to sew, repair motorcycles and fix small appliances. Of the 105 students who enrolled during the first three courses, 71 (or 68 percent) are running small homegrown business that have strengthened their gainful economic pursuits and stabilized their household’s financial outlook. During home visits to 16 entrepreneurs, an assessment team learned that:
With additional funding, Clear Path aspires to expand its services to mine survivors in Cambodia and continue its urgently needed medical relief shipments to rebuild the country’s devastated health care infrastructure. CPI has done this with a one-year budget for Cambodia of just $12,000, which includes training center and office space and equipment, 4 employees, local CVCD management, and CPI's low administrative and accounting costs. This is truly a case where even a small donation can lead to a life-changing improvements in many people's lives.
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