Clear Path Receives Official Status as Humanitarian NGO in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Clear Path International has received its official registration as a humanitarian non-governmental organization in Cambodia, paving the way for an expansion of its mine-action programs in one of the most mine-affected countries in the world.
 In a signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh on March 8, Southeast Asia Director Kristen Leadem signed Clear Path's Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that secures the organization's official status in Cambodia.
His Excellency Chheng Chamroeun, Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, signed the document on behalf of the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
The event marks an important step in the growth of Clear Path's mine-action activities in Southeast Asia. Cambodia is the second country where the organization has assistance services for landmine survivors and a representative office.
Since the summer of 2001, Clear Path has supported the survivor community in Cambodia through medical equipment donations to seven hospitals that treat and heal landmine accident survivors. And, it has successfully implemented its first vocational training program for 35 accident survivors in Phnom Penh with its implementing partner, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development.
With a new grant from the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis and the support of individual donors, Clear Path plans to continue its vocational training program in Phnom Penh and launch a new program for survivors in the province of Kampong Cham northeast of the capital.
Clear Path will also work closely with UXB International, its technical partner with an office and operations in Cambodia, to identify prospective communities for its first mine-clearance operation.
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