[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 150 (Thursday, October 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12762-S12763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CLEAR PATH INTERNATIONAL

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to recognize the 
outstanding work of Clear Path International, a nongovernmental 
organization based in Dorset, VT. Since 2000, they have worked to 
locate and remove landmines and other unexploded ordnance in Vietnam, 
Cambodia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and more recently have 
focused on helping the innocent victims of these indiscriminate weapons 
with medical, rehabilitation, and vocational assistance. As someone who 
has fought for years to rid the world of landmines, I am proud that 
Clear Path is based in my home State.
  Clear Path recently expanded its work to Afghanistan. I ask unanimous 
consent that a September 15, 2007, article in the Rutland Herald about 
Clear Path's work be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Rutland Herald, Sept. 11, 2007]

   CPI Continuing To Grow Its Reputation as a Force for Humanitarian 
                                 Relief

                          (By Patrick McArdle)

       Dorset.--Clear Path International is continuing to grow its 
     reputation as a force for humanitarian relief with new 
     developments this year in Afghanistan and Slovenia.
       For the first time, Clear Path is operating a program in 
     Afghanistan in partnership with an American company and the 
     Department of State.
       Clear Path, which has offices in Dorset and Seattle, has 
     also received a promise of almost a quarter million dollars 
     from a nonprofit organization in Slovenia which will allow it 
     to continue and expand their work in Vietnam.
       Martha Hathaway, the executive director of Clear Path, said 
     it was important for the organization to get the kind of 
     wider recognition that leads to expansions like the one it 
     has recently undertaken.
       But Hathaway is much more interested in talking about the 
     work Clear Path is doing and the need in the countries it 
     operates than in congratulating Clear Path on its efforts.
       In Afghanistan, Clear Path will be creating victims' 
     assistance programs which has been part of its mission for 
     some time.
       Hathaway founded Clear Path in 2001 with her husband, 
     James, Kristen Leadem of Dorset, and Imbert Matthee of 
     Washington, as a land mine removal organization. Now, the 
     group works primarily in assisting victims and raising 
     awareness.
       In Afghanistan, Clear Path will be working as a 
     subcontractor to DynCorp International which has a contract 
     with the Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and 
     Abatement. Hathaway said the Clear Path office in Kabul, 
     which has been operatig since April, is staffed partially by 
     Americans, working to engage Afghanis in the process.
       The State Department is worried about projects that are not 
     self-sustaining,'' Hathaway said.
       Hathaway said because the government of Afghanistan already 
     had a national strategy for helping victims of land mines, 
     who not only have to deal with their injury but access issues 
     and loss of income, Clear Path would look for ways the State 
     Department can assist the local agencies. That is likely to 
     include things like organizing a national workshop on 
     victims' assistance or creating a system for building 
     ramps and making schools accessible.
       While Clear Path has already had some success with similar 
     programs in Cambodia and along the Thailand-Burma border, 
     Hathaway said that didn't necessarily make things easier when 
     they expanded into a country like Afghanistan that has 
     suffered greatly from the use of land mines.
       ``Every country impacted by land mines is different but we 
     can take the bits and pieces of institutional knowledge we've 
     gained over the years and apply it where it makes sense,'' 
     she said.
       According to Clear Path, an average of 90 people are 
     injured by land mines or explosive remnants in Afghanistan 
     every month and about half die before they can be treated.
       The grant from the Slovenia-based International Trust for 
     Demining and Mine Victims Assistance also presents new 
     opportunities for Clear Path.
       Under the agreement, the trust will raise $230,000 from 
     among its 27 government and private-sector donors to match 
     what Clear Path raises from the United States government and 
     donors.
       Hathaway said this is the first time Clear Path has 
     received funds from the trust and marks the trust's first 
     efforts in Southeast Asia.
       The trust was founded about 10 years ago to assist people 
     in the Balkans but Hathaway said as land mines became less of 
     a threat in Europe, charitable organizations there have begun 
     to look at ways they can help victims in other places.
       According to Hathaway, Clear Path will use the money to 
     assist ongoing efforts in Vietnam through capital purchases 
     and the hiring of new staff rather than to create new 
     programs.
       Despite Clear Path's successes, which have led to more 
     contracts and funding, the need is still great and money 
     remains an issue.
       The problem of land mines, especially those which remain 
     after a war is over and injure civilians, gained 
     international attention more than 10 years ago through the 
     support of several well-known figures, primarily England's 
     Princess Diana.
       Land mine removal is expensive, however, and organizations 
     like Clear Path, which assist with rehabilitation and the 
     development of resources so victims can earn their own 
     living, are in it for the long-term.
       ``Donor fatigue is a real problem,'' Hathaway said.
       While Clear Path is raising more money than it has in the 
     past, it comes from fewer donors, primarily the large 
     donations like

[[Page S12763]]

     the ones from the trust, rather than the numerous pledges of 
     $50 or $100 they received in the past.
       Clear Path also has the disadvantage of being based in 
     Seattle and out-of-the-mainstream Dorset, far from the 
     significant donors based in New York City or Washington, DC.
       Clear Path has raised money through benefit concerts and a 
     music CD. Its next concert will be on Oct. 13 at the Long 
     Trail School in Dorset with performers Sarah Lee Guthrie and 
     Johnny Irion, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

     

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