Over several years and through determined efforts, DCA’s all-female EORE teams in Sirte and Tripoli have reached 1000s of children and youth, helping prevent injuries and fatalities from contact with explosive remnants of war (ERWs) and landmines .
Through 2026 this important work will continue, with our risk education officers focussing strongly on areas of the south of Tripoli which saw fighting over several years and in Sirte, which sustained significant damage in armed conflict and has borne high levels of ERW contamination.
Most of the women have backgrounds in teaching, university lecturing, or social work and they typically conduct 3-4 awareness sessions every day. Typically formal in-school sessions, but also with some public awareness distributions, particularly at major social, cultural, or religious events and during weekends in the summer months.
The Libyan Mine Action Centre still records victim data each year as both legacy and new layers of ERW from more recent flair-ups in armed conflict continue to pose an immediate threat to human safety.
Children are a priority in risk education
So, of course, children remain a high priority for the EORE teams, as due to their curious nature they are often drawn towards picking-up or kicking ERW, because of their unusual shapes and colours.
However, with reconstruction and development projects increasing across the cities, those workers involved in building, utility supply, or agriculture are also a key focus of the EORE efforts going forwards.
Almost 10,000 people reached – and more to come
The EORE teams are highly motivated and passionate about their work and helping their country. As one of the EORE officers commented “Everyday we know we make a difference. Every session and every leaflet we give out, we know it is helping make the lives of people safer.”
In 2025 the EORE team achieved the following results:
- Sessions: 365 (in-school)
- People reached: 9,933
- Leaflets distributed: 9,933
- Posters distributed: 1,107
Responding to emergency: A Life-saving Mission in Misrata
In August of 2025 a huge explosion rocked the city of Misrata as a large stockpile of ammunition in a warehouse close to the centre of the city exploded. The city centre was badly affected by the explosion with windows blown-out and explosive remnants of war and fragmentation scattering a 1.5 kilometre radius.
Due to the history and experience of DCA in the region, the Libyan Mine Action Centre requested that DCA re-deployed from Tripoli to Misrata immediately to conduct street-to-street explosive ordnance risk education, whilst the clearance itself was conducted by DCA’s Libyan partner NGO ‘TAD’ due to their close links with the city.
Over two weeks, the team conducted door-to-door and shop-by-shop risk awareness, speaking with business owners, shoppers, and local authorities, handing out leaflets and placing posters in key positions. With explosive remnants on rooftops, on pavements and penetrating shop and house windows, the team had to act fast and cover as much ground as possible.
During the emergency response, over 2,500 leaflets were handed out, 500 posters positioned and approximately 3,800 beneficiaries reached.
The team worked tirelessly and were thanked by the municipal council and mine action centre for their rapid response and life-saving work.
Again, the teams were modest in their attitude about their achievement commenting “I never hesitate and where there is need I will go with the team. We have been together now since 2017 and have worked across the country in many challenging conditions. We are like an emergency service and proud to help our fellow Libyans…it’s a great feeling to be able to help and make a difference”.