1000 km Hesper Raises Almost €6k for Handicap International Demining Efforts

Organised on 8 July by the "Laftreff Hesper" committee, with the support of the municipality of Hesperange, the "1000 km Hesper" race has raised €5,941 for Handicap International's demining actions.

In the presence of Marc Lies, Mayor of Hesperange, and officials of the committee of Laftreff Hesper, Martin Lagneau, Director of Handicap International, was presented with a cheque for €5,000 representing the amount raised by registrationf for the race with a subsidy of the municipality.

The organising committee of the "Laftreff Hesper" as well as the municipality of Hesperange once again put their trust in Handicap International (HI) by supporting their demining actions around the world. Add to this sum the result of the solidarity partnership, set up this year between HI and Orange which donated €1 per runner. Finally, the mobilisation of employees of Caceis raised the figure to €5,941 for this 19th edition of the "1000 km of Hesper".

The objective of the race was to attract the greatest number of runners so that in total they travel at least 1,000 kilometers. Held on 8 July in the heart of the Park Hesperange with 632 runners, 6,474 km was covered. The HI stand attracted great interest with virtual reality sessions immersing the viewer in a bombed Syrian city. There was a great success also for free introductory Thai boxing sessions by Prince Junior, Benelux Thai Boxing Champion and Handicap International Ambassador.

The collection continues with the goal to reach €8,000 thanks to an online collection available on the HI Luxembourg website: http://bit.ly/collecte-deminage
The cost of a complete training of a minesweeper like those that HI trains in Iraq is €8,000.

Martin Lagneau, Director of HI Luxembourg, underlined in his thanks the importance of such collaborations to make heard the voice of the civilian victims and the most disadvantaged. He also recalled the HI campaign entitled "A signature, a man standing", against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas that today still claims 90 victims per day around the world.

HI intervenes in 15 countries thanks to 172 deminers to make land clean for the local populations. In 2016, 173,000 m² were cleared, equivalent to 24 football fields. However, the task remains immense. The "Laftreff Hesper" race contributes to this challenge by enabling Handicap International to train the deminers who will save lives.

The next edition of the "1000 km Hesper" will take place on Sunday 14 July 2019.