THE HALO TRUST USA
850 SEVENTH AVENUE, SUITE 506
NEW YORK, NY 10019, USA
T: +1 212 581 0099, F: +1 212 581 2029
[email protected]
[email protected]
Non Profit Corporation
November 6, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
MAJOR GIFT TO CLEAR MINEFIELDS IN NAGORNO KARABAKH
The Walnut Creek, California-based Julia Burke Foundation has made a
significant commitment to the reconstruction of Nagorno Karabakh
with a three-year pledge in support of minefield clearance by The
HALO Trust, a British and American charity specializing in removal
of landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
The commitment includes an immediate grant of $400,000, to be
followed by `challenge grants’ in 2007-08 and 2008-09. These
`challenge grants’ will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis other
private funds raised by The HALO Trust, up to $300,000 in each year.
The first challenge grant opens November 5th.
Nagorno Karabakh suffers the world’s highest per capita casualty
rates from landmines and explosive remnants of war – surpassing even
Afghanistan and Cambodia. Although clearance operations to date
have resulted in a significant decline in casualties (14 last year,
down from the 2004 peak of 43), much work remains both to eliminate
casualties and to return mined land to productive use. HALO
calculates the cost of the remaining work at $15 million. Depending
on the speed of fundraising, the job could be finished within five
years.
HALO’s mineclearance operations in Nagorno Karabakh are currently
supported by the governments of the United States, the United
Kingdom and the Netherlands. Additional support has been provided
by private foundations, including the Cafesjian Family Foundation,
The Cooperative Bank, Pro Victimis, Newman’s Own Foundation,
Actiefonds Mijnen Ruimen, and by donations from individuals in the
United States.
`We are very satisfied with the professionalism of the HALO Trust
and the quality of their work in Nagorno Karabakh,’ said Vardan
Barseghian, NKR Representative to the U.S. `On behalf of my
government and the people of Nagorno Karabakh, I thank the Julia
Burke Foundation for their generous and very thoughtful gift, which
through the HALO Trust’s work will help save lives and also free our
beautiful land from landmines. I also call upon our American friends
to step up to the challenge grant and join this noble effort to
eliminate the deadly danger of landmines in Artsakh.’
HALO’s Nagorno Karabakh Program Coordinator Gala Danilova is
currently on mission to the U.S. to raise awareness about the state
of progress in Nagorno Karabakh and to encourage individuals and
groups to participate in the challenge grant. Groups interested in
organizing a presentation by Ms. Danilova should contact The HALO
Trust on (212) 581-0099. Donations can be made online at
or by telephone at 1-877-HALO-USA. One
hundred percent of all donations made under the challenge grant will
go directly to mineclearance in Nagorno Karabakh.
More information about the Julia Burke Foundation can be found at
Contact: Andrew Lyons, Vice President, The HALO Trust USA, (415)
359-9453, [email protected]
HUMANITARIAN MINECLEARANCE IN:
AFGHANISTAN, CAMBODIA, SRI LANKA, MOZAMBIQUE, ANGOLA, SOMALILAND,
SUDAN, GEORGIA, KOSOVO, and NAGORNO KARABAKH