"I just remember a loud bang and then waking up in pain in the hospital, without a leg." Toussaint Raymond Coly, 27, of Ziguinchor, Senegal
Toussaint is a dynamic young man who volunteers with the Zinguinchor Mine Victims Association.
He lives with and cares for his parents, whom he provides for through subsistence farming. Toussaint has two dreams: to start his own agriculture and animal husbandry project with chickens and goats and get married, have kids and take care of his family.
At the age of 6 he was gathering cashew nuts in the forest with his friends to be sold to Indian traders. Unbeknownst to him, there were landmines about. "All I remember is a loud bang, then waking up in pain in the hospital with my leg already amputated. Since then, I have suffered a lot, both physically and morally. Once, I asked a girl on a date and she said, ‘How can you expect me to go out with someone who has only one leg?" That hurt me a lot. But now I dedicate my life to helping other mine victims in Senegal, and I distribute information so that others, especially children, can recognize and avoid landmine".