4th of April is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, designated by the UN General Assembly to raise awareness and seek assistance for mine action.
Since the foundation of the NGO Ukrainian Deminers Association (UDA), educational work on mine danger has been one of the main directions of mine action. Our organization has developed 4 life safety training courses, two for adults and two for children: Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) and Conflict Preparedness and Protection (CPP) training. For more than four years, our instructors have been conducting live EORE session, and more than 2 years CPP session with the population of Ukraine throughout its territory, except temporarily occupied.
Our team is constantly working to make EORE information as accessible as possible. Since 2022, all our safety courses are available online for free on the UDA Training Platform. And since 2023, everyone has the opportunity to request an EORE / CPP session for their organization, company or educational institution, this option is also free.
Since 2023 the UDA has been actively working on expanding the availability of vital EORE information for all categories of the population of Ukraine, as part of the Mine Awareness work. We try to reach the most vulnerable categories of people, as well as people with disabilities and special learning needs. Therefore, in our activities and conducting EORE sessions, our team takes into account aspects of enlightenment based on the principles of non-discrimination and the multifacetedness of man.
Over the last year of work, we have achieved certain results in this direction:
- Last year, the UDA instructors underwent special training for trainers and gained important skills regarding the inclusion of all children, without exception, in training EORE sessions. For almost a year now, our certified instructors have been conducting adapted sessions for children with disabilities, including children with autism. Educational work, restoration and stabilization of the psycho-emotional and physical health of such vulnerable children takes place in shelters and in special boarding schools. We also work with vulnerable categories of the population, in particular internally displaced persons and people who lost their homes during war.
- We have developed EORE video lessons with sign interpretation for children and adults with hearing impairments or total hearing loss. Video lessons are available here >>>
- From now on, our site is fully adapted for people with total vision loss. With the help of a special program (screen reader), blind people can familiarize themselves with the information on the website and apply for comprehensive assistance.
- Part of the UDA distribution materials – brochures, pamphlets, rules for safe behaviour with explosive ordnance, etc. are printed with duplicate Braille.
We are grateful to our partners, the international organization Save The Children, for their help and support, and we continue to work in this direction.
Let’s make Ukraine safe together!
The results of all UDA’s project work in 2023 can be found in the article “Achievements and results of the UDA work in 2023“
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