Goto main content

Tune in to see HI's demining work in Laos featured on BBC1

Explosive weapons
Laos United Kingdom

The BBC recently visited Humanity & Inclusion’s team in Laos to film our incredible deminers! Tune in to watch Earth’s Natural Wonders on BBC1 at 9pm on Wednesday 7th March.

Lumngen in a bunker left by a cluster bomb.

Lumngen in a bunker left by a cluster bomb. | © Philippa Poussereau/HI

Great News! Humanity & Inclusion’s demining team in Laos will appear in the BBC1 series Earth’s Natural Wonders at 9pm on Wednesday 7th March.

Episode 3, "Surviving Against The Odds", features the inspiring story of Lumngen, a mother of two who decided to become a deminer with HI to help protect others from her father’s fate.

 

 

Lumngen was only a child when her father was injured by a cluster munition while planting his field. "He eventually healed and went on to live for many years. He died of an illness in 2015.” explains Lumngen.

“However, I will never forget what he suffered. My dad’s experience gave me the power to decide to become a deminer." she adds.

During the 1964 to 1973 Indochina conflict, Laos was the scene of extensive ground battles and intensive aerial bombardments. Records indicate that over two million tonnes of bombs were used, including more than 270 million sub-munitions from cluster bombs, and that up to 30% of them failed to explode.

In the BBC documentary you will see how, decades after the conflict ended, Lumngen and her team risk their lives every day to clear the lands.

How to watch

Tune in and watch Earth’s Natural Wonders Episode 3, "Surviving Against The Odds" on BBC1 on Wednesday 7th March at 9pm.

Soon after this broadcast, the episode will also be available to watch online here.

Please share the information with your friends and family!

Support our work

Your gift today could help our demining teams to clear land of landmines and cluster bombs, saving the lives and limbs of innocent civilians.

Please donate today

 

Date published: 05/03/18

COUNTRIES

Where we work

Read more

Mehari, a model of resilience for survivors of explosive ordnance
© Halefom Bale / HI
Explosive weapons Rehabilitation

Mehari, a model of resilience for survivors of explosive ordnance

Injured by a mortar fuse, used during the conflict in Tigray, Mehari is now on his way to reconstruction and is developing his business.

Ukraine: wounded in an air strike, Oleksandr learns to walk again thanks to HI support
© S. Roche / HI 2025
Emergency Explosive weapons Rehabilitation

Ukraine: wounded in an air strike, Oleksandr learns to walk again thanks to HI support

In August 2022, Oleksandr was seriously injured in an air strike near Mykolaiv, in the south of Ukraine. Now paralysed from the waist down, he is embarking on a long rehabilitation journey with Humanity & Inclusion.

Recovering from a mine accident and looking to the future: the story of Carlos Bolaños
© C. Maldonado / HI
Explosive weapons Inclusion

Recovering from a mine accident and looking to the future: the story of Carlos Bolaños

Carlos stepped on a landmine, a devastating consequence of the violence that shake Colombia. Now back on his feet, he is launching a livestock project to provide a sustainable income for his family.

FOLLOW US