On March 26, 2017, the Calouste Gulbenkian hall of the Hayartun Center at the Armenian Diocese in Georgia hosted “Mine Free Lachin” campaign presentation. The event was presented by the initiator of the campaign. ONEArmenia in partnership with The HALO Trust (HALO) has launched a crowdfunding campaign Mine Free Lachin. The HALO Trust is the world’s largest humanitarian mine clearance organization. According to the release by the HALO Trust, since 1995 there have been 370 civilian casualties, as a result of landmines and unexploded ordnance. HALO Trust has been working to clear Artsakh of landmines since 2000. To date they have cleared 453 minefields totaling 45, 872, 000 m2 of land.

On the occasion of the presentation the ONEArmenia Yerevan Team traveled to Tbilisi. The Team included Anahit Galsyan , Country Director; Maral Firkatian Wozniak, Content & Communications Manager ; Charlotte Poulain Karaaslanian , Program & Data Manager ; Sofya Khachaturyan , Art Director; Astghik Sayadyan , Creative Producer.

The hall was very crowded. Attendees watched videos of people killed or injured in landmines and unexploded ordnance with interest and excitement. The guests emphasized that a landmine is triggered by pressure of up to 25 kg, the results are therefore representative of adults becoming disabled and children dying.

The guests discussed in detail the crowdfunding campaign, Mine Free Lachin, to clear one minefield (31,839m² of land) in the Lachin Corridor, near the village of Meghvadzor. One hundred and sixty six local men and women are employed by HALO and trained to find and destroy mines. The speakers mentioned that the Lachin corridor is a mountain pass forming the shortest route between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh. A total of 31 minefields remain in Lachin, ONEArmenia campaign aims to raise $ 96 000 to clear each minefield in Lachin. The HALO Trust is hopeful that by the year 2020 Artsakh will be 100% mine free. Once this land is cleared, the people living there can go about their lives, without fear of life threatening accidents.

The guests held a question and answer session.