Unifeed
GEORGIA / MINE RISK AWARENESS
STORY: GEORGIA / MINE RISK EDUCATION
TRT: 2:10
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: GEORGIAN/ NATS
DATELINE: 9 APRIL, 2009, GEORGIA, GORI, KIRBALI
1. Wide shot, children playing outside Kirbali Village School
2. Wide shot, children playing basketball in school yard
3. Med shot, Soso talking to school friends
4. Med shot, Soso's arms, left hand missing
5. Med shot, Soso in school yard explaining how the grenade exploded
6. Close up, brochure of Halo trust with pictures of unexploded ordinance
7. SOUNDBITE (Georgian) Soso Khirkheli, 15 year old student:
“No, I did not know what it was. If I knew I would not have pick it up. I did not know. I picked it up like other boys and I did not know what it was.”
8. Med shot, children looking at pin boards in school hallway
9. Med shot, children looking at pictures on pin board
10. Close up, children's fingers pointing to pictures on pin board
11. Med shot, children looking at posters
11. Close up, children's fingers pointing at photos of unexploded ordinance
12. Med shot, of children pointing at photos on poster
13. Med shot, children reading mine risk warning material
14. Over the shoulder, child reading mine risk warning material
16. Wide shot, Halo Trust representative handing out material
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Perks, UNICEF Georgia Deputy Country Representative:
"With minimum intervention with teachers, by giving them the basic skills to train children, and through other methods such as animation and child friendly activities, we can make sure every child knows about the dangers out there."
18. Wide shot, mine/UXO clearance near Gori
19. Tilt down, over de-miner at work
20. Med shot, Halo Trust representative conducting mine risk lesson
21. Med shot, children in mine risk lesson
22. Pan across, classroom of mine risk lesson
23. Wide shot, children playing outside at Kirbali Village School
Life is gradually returning to normal for most children at the Kirbali village school near Gori following last year's conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia.
However, 15-year-old Soso must live with a terrible legacy of war.
His left hand was blown off after bringing a grenade-like explosive to school earlier this year.
Soso says he found the explosive in the gutter. In class it felt warm so he went outside hoping to throw it away. It detonated just as he removed it from his pocket.
SOUNDBITE (Georgian) Soso Khirkheli, 15 year old student:
“No, I did not know what it was. If I knew I would not pick it up. I did not know. I picked it up like other boys and I did not know what it was.”
Soso is not a lone victim, several children have lost limbs in the region.
UNICEF is working closely with the Halo Trust and the Ministry of Education to ensure that children understand the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordinance; that they can recognize warning signs and know what to do if they see an object that looks dangerous.
UNICEF's Mine Risk Education programme aims to teach nearly 50-thousand young people in the Gori region about the risks of war-affected areas. Special learning materials are available in schools and for children to take home to their families.
SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Perks, UNICEF Georgia Deputy Country Representative:
"With minimum intervention with teachers, by giving them the basic skills to train children, and through other methods such as animation and child friendly activities, we can make sure every child knows about the dangers out there."
In villages and fields where fighting took place, unexploded ordinance such as cluster bombs continue to preset a deadly risk.
Clearing the explosive remnants of war is likely to take time and UNICEF will continue working with the Georgian Ministry of Education to ensure that children in war-affected areas do not become victims of explosive remnants of war.
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