Welcome from Michael Ambler, Founder of Restoration Laos
The Vietnam War is not over for the people of Laos: Live bombs are a constant danger
Laos is the most heavily bombed country on earth. There are still 80 million live cluster bombs, as well as larger bombs, littering the country from U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War. Restoration Laos funds a team of brave Lao explosives clearance experts who are restoring land, safety, and peace of mind, one village at a time.
Why Restoration Laos?
Restoration Laos has a single goal: to fund a bomb clearance team that would otherwise not be able to operate. Every rice paddy that is cleared can feed a village. Every school yard can become a place of play without fear. Clearing bombs not only saves lives, it sets people free.
Restoration Laos is clearing bombs from villages
Restoration Laos is the 100% sponsor of Mine Action Team 53: twelve Lao technicians who seek out unexploded bombs in farm land, school playgrounds, villages, and other places people live. When they find bombs they either blow them up or disable them, so they are no longer a danger to local adults and children. Team 53 is currently clearing bombs from four villages in Khammouane Province, one of the poorest areas in Laos. Our work area is right at the Laos-Vietnam border, near the Mu Gia Pass where the Ho Chi Minh Trail crossed into Lao territory.
The team is trained, equipped and administered by Mines Advisory Group (MAG), which has global experience in clearing the explosive remnants of war.
Restoration Laos is a 501(c)(3) public charity.
How much does it cost?
About $150 per person: for safety, dignity, and prosperity
From April 2024 to April 2025, the cost of operating the team is just over $150,000. We will never know how many deaths or injuries don't happen because of our work. But we do know that the land we clear will restore safety and prosperity that benefit over 1000 people today, a cost of about $150 per person.
Here is the budget for 2024-25.
Top reasons to help:
- Every step represents permanent change. Once a village is cleared, it stays cleared.
- Guaranteed results. When land is cleared, it can be used without fear. In this troubled world, it feels good to have a clear win.
- Universal appeal. In a time when everything seems controversial, this isn't. Everyone can agree that children should not be killed by remnants of a war from half a century ago.
- Justice. The U.S. wasn’t even at war with Laos, but we left the country riddled with bombs. Laos doesn’t have the resources to clean them up and shouldn’t have to: it’s our job.
- Cost effectiveness. Where else can $150 per person transform daily life forever, for an individual, and their children, and their children's children?
Let's make laos safe for children
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