For over 100 years, Combat Stress has assisted former servicemen and women dealing with issues including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. Today, the charity provides “specialist treatment and support for veterans from every service and conflict, focusing on those with complex mental health issues.”

For over a decade, TDI has conducted clearance activities throughout South Sudan. In early 2020, TDI began clearing contaminated minefields in Mabior-Anguei, north of the country. Numerous incidents relating to unexploded ordnance (UXO) had taken place here, claiming livestock and wounding community members.

Meet Tom, an orange Labrador originally from the United Kingdom who worked for TDI in Mali and then retired with his new family in Zimbabwe in 2018.  Tom struggled to adapt to the loud environment in which he was based in Mali so was retired as a working dog. It was not long before he was on his way to his new forever home.

Say hello to Marina, one of TDI’s new Kennel Master and Dog Trainers in Mali. Her career working with dogs spans almost thirty years, beginning in 1990. She has worked with dogs in a range of countries including South Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq before joining TDI in Mali in early 2020.

After their years of service in the field, our detection dogs are eventually retired. They are rehomed where they can enjoy their retirement to the fullest following their dedication to the mine action industry. Charlie and Korado are two detection dogs that retired in early 2020 and were adopted by their TDI colleagues. Follow their journey here about these two dogs who were born in the United Kingdom and have retired in Africa.

Every year, TDI take part in events to mark the International Day of Mine Awareness. This year, it was celebrated somewhat differently as a result of the ongoing pandemic. Despite this, our teams were innovative in coming up with solutions to continue raising awareness of landmines and UXO as safely as possible.