Redfox Charity

Imagine if, somewhere outside your front door, there's a powerful explosive weapon waiting patiently for you, or a member of your family, to disturb it. Because it's hidden from view, avoiding it is a constant game of chance. There could be one of them. There could be 100. You don't know how many there are and neither does anyone else.

Everyday millions of people live with this fear. And every day dozens of people die or suffer horrific injuries from abandoned weapons left behind after conflict. Landmines, grenades, missiles and cluster bombs do not discriminate between soldiers and civilians, between adults and children.

What sets MAG apart is the focus on the impact its work has on people's lives, rather than simply clearing abandoned landmines and other weapons.

MAG's approach is long-term, enabling countries to rebuild and develop their social and economic potential, by moving into current and former conflict zones to further the road to peace and development.

MAG works with communities to lessen the threat of death and injury, while releasing safe land and other vital resources back to the people who need them. The charity also employs local people (including former soldiers and amputees) and retrains them to be medics, deminers, awareness raisers and supervisors.

Over the last five years, MAG has returned more than 20,000,000 square metres of safe land to communities and destroyed more than 1,500,000 landmines and items of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

By releasing land, increasing safe access to vital resources − water, education, trade and health services − and by promoting gender equality, MAG's work actively contributes to the Millennium Development Goals. MAG is also co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its role in the International Campaign to ban anti-personnel landmines.

A partnership with a company like Redfox is a great way to raise money for MAG's work, but also to increase awareness of the impact of MAG's armed violence reduction activities and the continuing need for funds. Securing support from companies in the UK and around the world is critical to ensuring MAG continues to grow and ultimately can save more lives.

A donation of £15 could clear 10 square metres of contaminated land. A donation of £100 could provide protective headwear such as helmets with visors for a deminer. A donation of £450 could buy a flak jacket for a deminer, which could save a life. A donation of £550 could make a remote, safe, controlled explosion with an electronic detonator.

The money donated by Redfox will contribute to MAG's continuing work alleviating the devastating effects of armed violence and remnants of conflict on communities around the world, by contributing to our existing projects and programmes as well as supporting MAG responses to emergency situations.

MAG relies entirely on contributions to fund its life-saving work and is proud of the fact that more than 90% of its income is spent directly on humanitarian work. By raising more money, MAG can move and work where the need is greatest, improving the lives of more communities affected by conflict, saving lives and limbs of those most in need.

MAG believes that everyone has the right to live in safety and without fear. There is still a great deal of work to do to the rid the world of dangerous remnants of conflict and so MAG needs the continued support of companies like Redfox to make a real difference to those whose lives are blighted by conflict.

We operate on an international basis and felt it important to align ourselves with an international charity. It made sense to be associated with one that had a long-term history of making a positive difference. MAG has without doubt made a significant difference globally, but unfortunately, its job is far from over. MAG needs constant support and help in raising public awareness. We want to help them achieve that.

MAG is the Redfox adopted charity. On a personal note, I take part in events organised by MAG, the most recent being their 2007 bike challenge across Death Valley in America, during which I raised £5000 from corporate donations. In 2011, I'm going to bike 500 km from Vietnam and Cambodia with the MAG team. Check back soon for more updates on Redfox fundraising.

MAG has returned more than 20,000,000 square metres of safe land to communities and destroyed more than 1,500,000 landmines and items of unexploded ordnance. We hope that our contributions are going some way to continuing the results that MAG has achieved to date.

We would encourage other companies to adopt MAG as their corporate charity. Personally, I would recommend taking part in one of the events that MAG runs in the UK and overseas. They're fantastic, even life changing, and especially rewarding because you know you're making an enormous difference to people in less fortunate positions.

http://www.maginternational.org/supportmag