Clear Path International (CPI) was founded in October 2000 by four aid workers active in central Vietnam where accidents with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) happen every week.

Martha & James Hathaway, Kristen Leadem and Imbert Matthee saw an urgent need for an organization that could provide services for the thousands of accident survivors in this heavily mine-affected area north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone that once separated North and South Vietnam.

The group went to work raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from private-sector and later from government sponsors in the United States for a comprehensive array of medical, socio-economic and psycho-social rehabilitation services for the men, women and children injured by peacetime explosions along Vietnam’s central coast.

Donor interest to provide similar services elsewhere led CPI to set up programs for landmine accident survivors in Cambodia in 2001, along the Thai-Burma border in 2002 and Afghanistan in 2006.

Clear Path, which was recognized in 2007 with a rare “Certificate of Merit” from the government of Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province, now assists thousands of landmine accident survivors in five countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and Afghanistan with the help of grassroots and institutional donors in the United States and Europe.

The organization, which has offices in Dorset, Vermont, and on Bainbridge Island, Wash., has a U.S. staff of four and 27 employees overseas. It has an annual budget of about $2 million.

Mission & Philosophy

Clear Path’s mission is to “serve landmine accident survivors, their families and their communities.”

It considers itself alongside accident survivors on their path to recovery, from the moment of injury to the day they are once again proud and productive members of their community.

In addition to the immediate and long-term medical attention survivors receive to restore their physical mobility, CPI provides them with assistance to reclaim their educational and economic opportunities.

Wherever possible, CPI also assists landmine accident survivors with activities to meet with their peers, get mentoring, address their psychological needs and rebuild their self-esteem through sports.

The organization pays close attention to the needs of the entire family -- the survivor’s immediate support network -- by offering vocational skills training, home and accessibility improvement grants, and other forms of financial assistance that sustain the household’s ability to survive the accident’s sudden and long-term impact.

It pays attention to the survivor’s community by establishing or strengthening facilities where they and other members of their community receive care, such as physical rehabilitation centers, clinics and hospitals.

Services

Clear Path’s services to landmine accident survivors continue to grow and evolve. Below is a list of examples provided to Clear Path beneficiaries since 2000:

Emergency medical care
Orthopedic surgery
Prosthetics
Physical rehabilitation
Peer support & sports activities
Vocational skills training & employment
Educational scholarships
Full-time nursing care

Services to families have included:

Financial assistance during hospitalization
Vocational skills training & employment
Micro finance
Home & accessibility improvement grants
Assistance for income-generating activities
Bereavement grants
Medical, socio-economic and psycho-social referrals

Services to communities have included:

Equipment for physical rehabilitation centers
Equipment & supplies for clinics and hospitals
School construction
School accessibility improvements
Medical education
Prosthetics fabrication technology improvements
Socio-economic enterprise

Employment & volunteer opportunities

Clear Path International is not a humanitarian mine clearance organization and does not have employment opportunities in this field. Occasionally, the organization has openings in the specialized profession of designing and implementing landmine accident survivor assistance programs in the developing world.

Professional and student medical volunteers are welcome to inquire about opportunities in the field, particularly in prosthetics production, physical therapy, orthopedic surgery and psychological counseling. Volunteers should expect to be active in the field for at least several months and cover their own expenses.