Celebrating Mine Awareness Day in Kapoeta

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“We learnt from the song that mines don’t care if we are fat or thin and they don’t care if we are big or small. Mines can kill every one of us – teachers, children, old people and even rich people,” explained Martha from class P5. The stage was set. The whole of Kapoeta Mixed Primary School was waiting in eager anticipation. The younger classes sat cross-legged on the ground in the front rows, the older classes on makeshift stools made from empty milk powder tins, and the teachers at the back, under the trees. In this place with no cinema, no privately owned televisions and very few radios, a morning of theatre, songs and dance was something the children had been looking forward to for months. The MAG Community Liaison (CL) teams conducted a special child-centred Mine Risk Education (MRE) session with lots of energy, enthusiasm and audience participation. Once the pictures of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) had been shown and explained to the children, they were then encouraged to participate in games where they learnt to follow safe paths, stay away from dangerous areas, and not to touch unknown objects. They also participated in games demonstrating the effects of landmines and UXO, and the difficulties survivors face when trying to continue with daily activities after a landmine/UXO accident. For example Angelo and Daniel experienced how difficult it would be to walk to school and play football with only one leg. The second part of the games involved small teams finding easy ways of helping the ‘landmine survivors’ in their everyday activities. Both MRE and victim assistance are an important part of MAG’s CL work. After the games, the CL teams picked up their homemade musical instruments and sang a song, with actions, about the danger of landmines and UXO. The simple song was sung in Juba Arabic (a dialect of Arabic most commonly used in the Equatoria region of South Sudan), so that even the smallest children could understand every word. “We learnt from the song that mines don’t care if we are fat or thin and they don’t care if we are big or small. Mines can kill every one of us – teachers, children, old people and even rich people,” explained Martha from class P5. “The song was very simple and I learnt the words quickly. I really enjoyed singing it. I think I will teach my little sister the song when I go home this afternoon. She is too little to come to school but not too little to learn this song, or she can just do the actions while I sing.” Risk Education theatre The CL teams swiftly put on their specially made costumes and acted out three plays about risky and safe behaviour. In the first play, a poor father found a strange unknown object that vaguely looked like a saucepan. He took it home to show his family and began hitting it with a hammer. The unknown object (in this case a red balloon) exploded, injuring the father, son and father.  The mother, in tears, explained to the audience the dangers of touching unknown and unfamiliar items. The schoolchildren shouted loudly and confidently that they will stay away from mines and UXO, and any unknown objects, in the future. In the second play, two village boys ignored ‘Danger Mines’ signs and strayed off the safe path to pick mangoes. One of the boys stepped on a ‘mine’. Again the schoolchildren were asked what they would do in this situation – they called out that they would always stay clear of areas marked with warning signs. In the third and final play, a family was walking along a safe path when the old grandfather realised he absolutely needed to go to the bathroom. “We saw the old grandfather pretend to relieve himself in the middle of the path,” giggled Peter from Class P3. “He even made the toilet sounds. It was very funny and we all laughed. It was a funny thing to do, but he was safe and that’s what’s important. I want my grandfather to be safe too, and all my family.” Mine/UXO drawing competition Also attending the celebration were the Commissioner of Kapoeta, His Excellency Martin Lorega, and the Right Honourable Member of Parliament, Peter Lokuju. The Commissioner presented the five winners of the class P7 and P8 drawing competitions with their prizes. Both classes had been invited to draw pictures related to mines or UXO and their effects. The overall winner was Joseph from P7. His colourful picture portrayed a landmine survivor being helped to plough his land by his friends. The MAG Community Liaison Manager, Marysia Zapasnik, explained why Joseph’s picture was chosen as the winner: “Joseph skillfully and beautifully showed the danger of landmines, and at the same time encouraged his classmates to treat landmine survivors with respect and to help them live productive lives in their communities.” Following the prize-giving, the whole school bowed their heads and a moment of silence was held in remembrance of a MAG Technical Field Manager, the late Stephen 'Darby' Allen, who died last year in an accident whilst working in a minefield close to the school. The Commissioner closed the celebration of the Day for Mine Awareness by thanking MAG for their hard work not only in Kapoeta, but in the whole of South Sudan. He then asked the MAG teams and the whole school to sing the mine song again. “It’s a very catchy tune,” he admitted, “not only for children, but also for me, a Commissioner.” While the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is only celebrated once a year on April 4, in a place like South Sudan where approximately 600 suspected/confirmed minefields are still awaiting clearance, MAG endeavours to ensure that Mine Awareness Day is every day. MAG thanks the donors to its Sudan operations: Actiefonds Mijnen Ruimen; Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, US Department of State; Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Canadian International Development Agency; Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; ECHO; Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID); Stichting Vluchteling; UK Department for International Development (DFID) / UKaid; United Nations; United States Agency for International Development (USAID). For more on MAG's work in Sudan go to www.maginternational.org/sudan.