Landmine charity founder wins Burns award

Published on Saturday 16 May 2009 19:53

THE FOUNDER of a charity which has removed more than one million landmines was last night named as the latest winner of the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award.

Guy Willoughby was given the award by First Minister Alex Salmond at a ceremony in Ayr for his tireless work with the Halo Trust.

The title is presented annually to a group or individual who has saved, improved or enriched the lives of others.

Willoughby is the founder and chief executive officer of the Dumfries-based charity which became a household name after it was adopted by the late Princess Diana in the 1990s.

Willoughby's tireless work was recognised after his organisation, which has 7,500 staff around the globe, cleared more than 5,000 minefields and destroyed more than 50 million bullets.

A spokeswoman for the awards declared the former soldier a worthy winner, saying: "Halo's mission statement is simple: 'Getting mines out of the ground, now.' Since founding Halo in 1988, Guy's actions have saved countless thousands of people from either violent deaths or severe disability."

Willoughby was presented with a specially commissioned award, the ceremonial sum of 1759 guineas, which signifies the year of the bard's birth and the coinage in usage during his lifetime.

"Halo is a real Scottish and international success story," he said. "Not many people know this but we actually employ more people than Oxfam and the Save the Children Fund. It's all the more remarkable given that it all operates from a very small headquarters in south-west Scotland."

The veteran campaigner accepted the award on behalf of aid workers everywhere and called for greater awareness of their sacrifices.

He said: "I feel it is very important for all those people working overseas, often in pretty dreadful conditions for many months and years, to be recognised.

"I want to see formal recognition of their work.

"At the moment the only sort of recognition is in the form of OBEs and MBEs that are only awarded to a very select number, far later in their career.

"If you serve with the military you get a campaign medal after 30 days, but many aid workers sacrifice years of their life for very little in return."

Willoughby was inspired after seeing minefields in Afghanistan which had been left by Soviet forces.

Others nominated for the award included Phil Hughes who founded the Dumfries and Galloway Aid Convoy and Bollywood actress, Aids campaigner and social justice activist Shabana Azmi.