Golden West Humanitarian Foundation

Have a look at the latest news from Golden West staff and programs, plus what others are saying about our work below.

5/1/09

Ordnance Recycling Program Reaches 100,000 Milestone

KAMPONG CHHNANG, Cambodia (May 1, 2009) –The Golden West Humanitarian Foundation’s Explosive Harvesting Program marked its fourth anniversary with another milestone; the program’s production of its 100,000th disposal charge.

Conflict has left behind staggering amounts of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia that need to be cleared.   Ironically, in order to carry out life saving clearance work humanitarian organizations must themselves use explosives.  Explosives are costly and difficult to source, a constant thorn in the side for humanitarian demining organizations.  Golden West’s Explosive Harvesting Program (EHP) has all but eliminated the need for costly explosives importation for demining NGOs in Cambodia.

“This is a prime example of how we (Golden West) assist the mine action community to carry out their work in heavily contaminated countries like Cambodia,” said Roger Hess, Director of Operations at the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation. "In this case, our innovations and application of field technology has made it possible for us to develop a cost-effective, field supportable system that recycles the explosives and reduces the ammunition stockpiles.”
At the core of the EHP is a simple, low-cost system built from common machinery tools modified to open the casings on stockpile munitions and provide access to the explosive filler inside.  Once opened, the explosives are removed and processed into small disposal charges which are then distributed to the clearance organizations at no cost.

Located on the grounds of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre’s training facility, the EHP has two permanent Golden West staff that oversee a seven man team of CMAC ordnance disposal (EOD) operators.   “We also rotate CMAC EOD operators from the field through the Program in order to develop their understanding of EOD work.  What we have here is in effect a small classroom environment and it is ideal for providing the guys with an advanced understanding of EOD work,” said Len Austin, the EHP EOD Supervisor.  “We also run high intensity training exercises and mission rehearsals during their rotation.  When the EOD Teams return to the field, they’re able to handle a far broader range of targets than prior to their rotation.  We’re not only producing the needed charges, we’re really helping build up CMAC’s capacity for the future,” Austin continued. 

Based on feedback from CMAC and the British NGOs of Halo Trust and Mines Advisory Group—all recipients of disposal charges from the EHP—Golden West’s team has made several enhancements to the program and system since its inception including a more diverse range of sizes and shapes of charges as well as specialized tools for more complex render safe procedures.

The EHP is supported by grants awarded by the United States Department of Defense’s Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program and the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement.   Support from these donors allows the charges produced and capacity building training to be offered free of cost to mine action community in Cambodia.

The Golden West Humanitarian Foundation is a pioneer in the development and deployment of innovative and practical technologies, educational materials and training methods designed to overcome the operational limitations encountered by the humanitarian mine action community that is working safeguard the lives and livelihoods of men, women and children residing in areas contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance.  Golden West fulfills its mission guided by the core values of innovation, forethought, partnership, appropriateness, impact and affordability.

Golden West’s expertise in explosive ordnance disposal, geo-physics, training, technology development and materials development is delivered by a staff with well over 175 years of combined experience that to date has assisted a dozen countries to erase the deadly legacy conflict left in its wake. To find out more, please visit www.goldenwesthf.org.

Contact:

Brian Gilmore, Development and Communications
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+1 (818) 703-0024

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4/24/09

In These Times Magazine Feature on Unexploded Ordnance in Vietnam Highlights the Work of Golden West and its Partner Project RENEW

Chicago, IL -- In his most recent piece for In These Times, journalist Nick Turse illustrates for readers the devastating effect unexploded ordnance left from the Vietnam War continues to have in Quanq Tri Province and what two American NGOs are doing to help resolve the problem.  To read the article click here.

12/22/08 

Wired Magazine Teams Up With Journalist Kevin Sites To Cover GWHF Innovations

San Francisco, CA -- Wired uncovers the most surprising and resonant stories about the people, companies, technologies and ideas that are transforming our lives.  Together with award winning journalist Kevin Sites, Wired profiled Golden West's innovative approach to developing simple, cost-effective tools for explosive ordnance disposal.  To view the piece published in Wired Magazine 17.01 click here.

9/10/08 

Golden West to Host Regional Technical Working Group in November

 Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia --From November 26th to 28th Golden West will host the first gathering of the South East Asian Technical Working Group (TWG). 

Information sharing is essential to an effectivene, coordinated global mine action effort.  Past emphasis has been placed more on non-techincal information sharing, with management techniques and other facets receiving the bulk of the attention.clearance.  The TWG will instead assemble technical staff from mine action practitioners throughout the region and will provide a forum for participating governmental and non-governmental organizations to share and discuss observations, obstacles and research and development findings related to the technical elements of landmine clearance clearance, unexploded ordnance clearance, detection and stockpile destruction.

Coordinated by Golden West's Director of Field Operations Roger Hess, the TWG is geared toward mine action technical managers and operators and will be held at Golden West's program site in Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia.  

For more information or to sign up to participate please contact Roger Hess This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

8/28/08  

Golden West Profiled by Current TV

San Francisco, CA -- Gabriel and Sayuri from Radical Truth Productions came by and profiled Golden West for Current TV.  Watch the video below and then surf over to the Current TV website to "vote up" our piece to be sure it airs on the network.  Click here to surf on over.

6/15/08

Good Magazine takes a "Look" at Golden West's Explosive Harvesting System

Los Angeles, CA -- Billed as a magazine for folks who “give a damn,” GOOD is for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. The "Look" section of GOOD's July/August issue includes a profile of Golden West's Explosive Harvesting System.  To read the piece click here.

5/21/08

Safe Holding Areas Improve Safety Conditions in Scrap Yards and Surrounding Communities

Dong Ha, Vietnam -- The scrap metal trade is booming in South East Asia.  Driving the boom is the high global demand for metal.  Requiring entrepreneurial spirit and little more, the scrap metal trade offers a viable source of income to just about anyone willing to gather up metal and take it to a recycler.

Metal is such a valuable commodity in the region that scrap collectors are seeking metal from every imaginable source.  You wouldn’t be wrong if you listed old cars, rusting farm equipment, corrugated metals roofs, pipes, wire and other commonly discarded items made from metal as items scrap collectors look to gather and sell.  They are, but so too, are the unexploded bombs and artillery shells left behind by the wars that have ravaged the region.

Safe Holding Area (SHA) with locking lid

Vietnam is littered with hundreds of thousands of tons of unexploded ordnance.  Scrap yards in the country pay by weight for metal turned in, so the heavier a piece of metal is, the greater its trade-in value becomes.  Prized for the high-density metal it’s made of, unexploded ordnance has become a deadly source of income for folks living in Vietnam.
 
Golden West has teamed up with 26 scrap metal dealers in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam to reduce the risk to life and limb of those involved in the scrap metal trade by setting up 28 Safe Holding Areas at scrap yards in the region.

There is no shortage of unexploded ordnance in Vietnam for scrap collectors to find and bring to scrap dealers. Scrap yards are chaotic places with scrap being haphazardly tossed, pushed and dragged about, while staff with acetylene torches and sledgehammers cut and pound away.  With all these potential triggers, unexploded ordnance is not something you want added to the mix. 

The reality, of course, is that unexploded ordnance is brought in, killing and maiming workers and curious children playing in the yards alike.

With the Safe Holding Areas Golden West has installed in the scrap yards in Quang Tri—reinforced concrete bins with vented, locking lids—scrap dealers now not only have a way of quarantining the smaller, more highly sensitive pieces of unexploded ordnance that arrive on site, but also the expertise on call to safely dispose of the items placed in quarantine.

Program staff emptying SHA of turned-in items

The bins, which only cost $46 apiece, have been mapped with GPS equipment and are checked and emptied by Golden West trained explosive ordnance disposal teams on a weekly basis.  Scrap dealers have also been provided with a toll free hotline they can use to summon the teams at anytime, whether it’s because a bin has become full sooner than expected, or an unusual item has appeared at a scrap yard. 

In just three months of operation the program has resulted in the quarantining and removal of over 200 items of unexploded ordnance from scrap yards in the region.

With a $50 donation you can provide a Safe Holding Area to a community in Vietnam that currently does not  improve safety conditions in scrap yards and the surrounding communities.  To give a Safe Holding area to a community click here.

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