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Angola Diary
11th - 17th August 2003
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I am called Alfredo Kainduume and I am a deminer for MAG in Cunene Province. I have been working as a deminer for nearly 4 years. I joined MAG after leaving school. My family is from Ondjiva, which is the main town in the Cunene Province. I am single.
I was very worried about being a deminer at first. But I received training from MAG, and have now got a lot of experience, so I am not worried anymore. I am glad I can help to clear mines from my province and make the land safe. Before I joined MAG I knew about the landmine problem, as there was a lot of accidents.
At the moment we are camping out in a place in the north of Cunene, called Cuvelai. This area is about 3 hours drive from Ondjiva. Camping out is ok, but after three weeks I enjoy going back to Ondjiva to visit my family and friends.
About two times in a week we go out of the minefield to do a UXO task. I prefer to work in the minefield, but because we have only one vehicle we have to stop work in the minefield to do a UXO task. This is the main problem for MAG in Cunene, the vehicle problem. We have very old vehicles and they break down a lot. This week the old Landrover had a problem with its water pump for one day. But we have a new vehicle coming because of the support from Japan. This will help us work more effectively.
In the future I would like to receive more training in identifying mines and UXO to do a more better job. Then I would like to learn how to deal with items and destroy them safely.
Finally, I wish to say many thanks to the people of Japan for supporting Angola and helping us to remove the mines from our country.
Alfredo Kainduume
Deminer
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