Born and grew up in Gio Linh District, one of the fierce battlegrounds during wartime in Quang Tri Province, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy was recruited by NPA/RENEW in April 2015. At the age of 23, this brave Gio Linh girl became a new member of the NPA/RENEW survey team.
Ngoc Thuy has always shown great responsibility in her work, she was promoted to deputy leader of a technical survey team in April 2022. Together with her colleagues, Thuy has participated in various training courses on impact survey, non-technical survey, technical survey, and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD I).
Meeting with the community daily, Thuy has talked with many people affected by explosive ordnance accidents. She has acquired a deep understanding of the losses and challenges facing the community due to explosive ordnance left from the war.
When NPA/RENEW reached a key milestone in May 2023, by completing the mapping of cluster munitions contaminated areas in 690 villages of Quang Tri Province, Ngoc Thuy was assigned to work in a multi-task team responsible for clearing confirmed hazardous areas – releasing safe land for the local residents to further develop.
During the past three weeks, to ensure the safety and quality of operations, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy has together with staff from Quang Tri Mine Action Center and 14 other technicians from NPA Vietnam participated in an International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) Explosive Ordnance Disposal level II course, conducted by senior NPA/RENEW staff.
“Taking part in this training, we have had the opportunity to improve our knowledge and skills needed to identify and safely dispose of explosive ordnance and this will help me provide much better assistance to my team leader,” said the 31-year-old mother of two children after the training was completed on 22 September 2023.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy was one of six female trainees in this important IMAS EOD Level II course, conducted in line with Norwegian Pepople’s Aid Vietnam’s capacity-building program for national staff members. Most of the course trainees are deputy leaders, responsible for assisting team leaders in the deployment, management, and supervision of the teams.
The Clearance Program of Norwegian People’s Aid/RENEW in Quang Tri Province is funded by the U.S. Department of State.
