As the year ends, we think about all that we’re grateful for – beginning with your friendship and your essential support which sustain RENEW’s mission of saving lives. Your continued encouragement and assistance throughout the year have enabled Project RENEW to achieve progress in survey and clearance of explosive ordnance, reinforcing awareness of the risk for all members of our community, and offering them hope for a better future for their families and their neighbors who are affected by the consequences of the war.

The year 2022 marked the 15th anniversary of Project RENEW’s partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), one of the leading organizations worldwide in the field of humanitarian mine action and disarmament. RENEW-NPA field teams now constitute an indispensable component among the current human assets working to make Quang Tri safe from the impact of explosive ordnance by 2025, with continued funding provided by the U.S. Department of State.

We are also grateful for the significant funding committed by Irish Aid through the Irish Embassy in Vietnam. This essential support will sustain Explosive Ordnance Risk Education outreach to keep children and adults safe from the dangers of wartime ordnance. It will also expand victim assistance initiatives to improve the lives of disadvantaged families coping with disabilities among their family members.

Thanks to Friends of Project RENEW, the U.S.-based non-profit organization that supports Project RENEW’s work, our all-women emergency response team has been deployed to provide quick response when explosive ordnance is discovered and reported by local people. Looking toward 2023, we plan to share our best practices and lessons learnt in regard to Risk Education and Victim Assistance activities with Quang Ngai Province and beyond, with funds generously donated by Friends of Project RENEW.

This year also marked a critical pivot in RENEW’s mission as Project RENEW was selected by USAID to begin delivering assistive devices and accessibility improvements to disabled families dealing with Agent Orange / Dioxin in the provinces of Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue. This will improve their mobility options and make their lives with disabilities more bearable.

At this festive time of the year, we wish you and yours abundance, happiness, and true peace in a new year filled with hope. Happy holidays from RENEW and Viet Nam!