Landmines Youth Symposium Speakers
Vanna Minn
Vanna was born on October 10, 1991 in the village of Roung, Battambang Province, Cambodia to mother Mam Sean and father, Som Ouern. She has two brothers and two sisters. Vanna is currently in Grade 9.
In August 1997, when Vanna was five years old, she stepped on a landmine while feeding her father’s chickens, a task she enjoyed. In the ensuing explosion, she lost the lower part of her right leg.
In December of the same year, she visited the Prosthetic Centre in Battambang where she began the arduous process of learning to walk again. She returned to school in January 1998, although she had to miss a good number of days going back and forth for her prosthetic adjustments.
Eventually, with support she was able to attend a seamstress school where she learned that skill, while also attending regular classes. She is at present learning English and enjoys the lessons.
In November 2007, Vanna will be travelling to Canada as part of awareness raising events commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty.
The world is opening up for Vanna and she is eager to continue her education. Her family are subsistence farmers and it is her desire to help them by getting a good job, something she realizes that she must have an education to accomplish. She is bright and enthusiastic and will study hard. With her chance for an education, it will change not only her life, but the lives of family members for generations to come.