Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said the combined efforts of the President and Wyoming's students to eliminate the humanitarian risks of landmines in other countries are important steps in helping to save civilian lives.
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"Landmines still play an important role in protecting our armed forces, however, they can have a devastating long-term effect on civilians after a military operation is over," said Enzi. "I am pleased with the efforts of my wife Diana and Wyoming's students who have taken the lead in helping to remove abandoned landmines in Sri Lanka. Their efforts, along with the President's new landmine policy, should be instrumental in making other countries a safer place to live."
Diana Enzi spearheaded the Children Against Land Mine Problems (CHAMPS) program in Wyoming last year. CHAMPS is an educational and fund-raising program that encourages students to get involved in the global effort to remove landmines.
Students in participating schools were asked to contribute a quarter to help raise funds to purchase, train and send a mine detection dog named "Wyoming" to Sri Lanka to help free the country of landmines. "Wyoming," a Belgian Malenois, arrived in Sri Lanka last month and is currently training with a team of six dogs.
Diana Enzi said the U.S. Humane Society covered the difference between the nearly $14,000 raised by Wyoming students and the $20,000 cost of a dog. The Humane Society has also agreed to match each quarter donated by Wyoming students to purchase a second mine detection dog.
Diana Enzi is working to get the other 49 states to participate in the program.
For more information please visit www.marshall-legacy.org.
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