The actress has described the Halo Trust's post-war mine-clearing efforts as "fundamental to a safe return and community building..."
Jolie narrates a new video which explores the work of the Halo Trust, the world’s oldest and largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation.
"Long after a war has ended landmines buried just beneath the earth's surface continue to endanger some of the world's most vulnerable people..." she says...
The actress and humanitarian discovered the work of the Halo Trust while making the film Tomb Raider in Cambodia.
She has since been an active supporter of the charity – visiting countries where it operates including Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Kosovo...
The Halo Trust also works in Afghanistan, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Somaliland, Caucasus & Balkans, Georgia, Nagorno Karabakh, Colombia, and the West Bank.
Founded in Afghanistan in 1988 the Halo Trust has since cleared over 414,000 acres of land and removed over 13 million landmines and other explosive remnants.
Landmines that are left in the ground after wars have stopped continue to injure and kill thousands of people every year but also they prevent valuable land from being used and the opportunity for communities to rebuild...
Halo removes landmines and unexploded bombs from war-ravaged countries so people can plant their crops, rebuild their homes and raise families in safety.
The charity currently employs over 8,000 local staff in 13 countries.
Such work is vital for safety and also for the recovery of families, businesses and community organisations, allowing schools, roads, workplaces and homes to be put back to use...
Halo is celebrating its successful work with the help of Jolie, the charity's efforts which have also been assisted in recent years by the use of Google mapping software.
Halo Trust has been working in partnership with the Google Earth Outreach team at Google headquarters, and making use of the search giant’s software tools to assist in the clearance of landmines.
The charity has benefited from a Google Earth Pro grant for developing software for minefield survey, data analysis, quality control, etc. Such mapping software is also used to produce mapping data that shows progress of demining work to sponsors, governments and other partner organisations.
Halo has also benefited from a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant to fund creation of their Explore a Minefield project, being supported by Jolie, which uses Google Earth, and illustrates the enormous impact that landmine removal efforts have across a wide scale and how land is literally brought back to life...
Google offers free developer grants to help create bespoke mapping technologies assisting non-profits.
The latest project is being celebrated by the partnership as providing greater transparency, amongst other benefits, for the landmine clearance work...
A growing number of charities and non-profit orgs are now using Google's free mapping technology in their humanitarian work.
In fact, such digital mapping technology is revolutionising the work of organisations responding to disasters and charities working to mitigate the risk to human populations and the environment.
And what better front-person for the partnering approach between developers and humanitarians working in crisis zones, than Jolie?
The actress known for her Lara Croft all action computer game role is also a respected UNHCR ambassador who was honoured by the UN last year for over ten years of commitment to the work of the international refugee agency... |