Apart from the involvement of Princess Diana, I hadn't heard much about the HALO Trust until some friends moved into our area. Their daughter is a senior staff member of the charity. Founded in Kabul in 1988 in response to the thousands of civilians who were being killed and injured from land mines, it has worked from Kosovo in the 1990s, to Sri Lanka in 2009 and Libya and Yemen today, HALO is known for being the first on the ground, both during and after conflict. They work quickly to assess dangerous areas and carry out emergency clearance so they can prevent injuries and open-up vital access for aid. If you are sitting on a comfortable sofa, with a hot coffee and are, crucially, in a safe environment (like I am), just take a minute to imagine that someone right now is going through the dangerous and painstaking task of clearing mines (with all the danger that involves) and please give what you can to help.

When conflict ends, land is all too often littered with landmines and other dangerous explosives. Families live in fear and poverty. They can’t plant crops or graze cattle and day-to-day activities like getting to school and fetching water are fraught with risk. True peace doesn’t come until their land is safe.