In 1996 Heather visited Cambodia for the first time with Oxfam. She was shocked by what she saw. Few people realise that one in every 236 people have lost at least one limb in a landmine accident, it's not just soldiers, but civilian men, women and children. Long after the enemy have gone, these horrific mines are still lying in fields, blowing up farm workers or kids at play. And it is happening worldwide- someone, somewhere, suffers a mine accident every 30 minutes.

In Cambodia, amputees are made to feel like the lowest of the low in Society. They find it difficult to farm the land and earn a living, and all too often don’t have access to Prosthetic services. To lose a limb is also to lose your self-worth, your masculinity or femininity. The women no longer feel marriageable, though as Heather said, there were 20 girls among the limbless that she thought could have become top supermodels.

In the same military hospital Heather saw scenes which would not have been out of place in Florence Nightingale’s time. The smell of infection, pain and suffering literally hit you as you walked in. As Heather said “the place was bursting at the seams with beds stacked in corridors”. Most of the 948 soldiers who were there were being cared for by their families, who had had to sell land and homes to be able to afford the medical care that their loved ones needed. 50% of the people who are hurt in landmine accidents never make it to the hospital, so as with Heather and her accident, the ones that do make it must think themselves lucky.

Heather described her visit as emotional but not depressing. She has said that everyone has the inner resources to over come the adversities of life, and these people have known nothing but adversity.

Heather also visited a rural rehabilitation centre, called the Centre of the Dove, where amputee’s are taught new skills that can provide them with an income. Whilst getting acquainted with everyone she pulled up her jeans to reveal her leg. Boys that were there making wheel chairs had quite a laugh and patted Heather right up to the thigh. Obviously they do not have prosthetics as advanced as Heather’s but they found it very encouraging, as did the ladies learning crafts at the Wat Than Skill Training Centre.

Heather returned to launch an appeal to fund much needed prosthetic parts, plus the money needed for the rehabilitation and retraining of the landmine amputee’s.

Heather had the great pleasure of being able to revisit Cambodia in May 1999 with VSO, and also the Duchess of Kent, who is a patron for VSO. Heather was delighted to see that the situation with the hospitals was better, though there was still a long way to go. Heather met some amputee’s and showed them her leg hoping they would see that life can still go on even when you are an amputee. Heather suffered herself from this visit to Cambodia. She caught Dengue fever and was very sick for a while. Dengue fever is contracted from an insect bite. Due to this Heather was told she would have to be very careful where she could visit in the future, as another bite from the Dengue fly could be critical. Heather was not happy with this, the places that needed her were the places that she wasn’t meant to go.

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OK Magazine / 1996

Heather now focuses her amputee and landmines related charity work on No More Landmines, a campaign that raises awareness and funds to clear landmines and help landmine survivors. To learn more about No More Landmines work in Cambodia please visit No More Landmines for more information.