New Angola mission for Red Cross Iraq war veteran

John, found himself in the eye of the storm last year when he was posted to the Jordanian capital, Amman for his first mission. At the outset his job involved organising aid distribution to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, but a few months after he arrived Amman, became the crucial centre of the distribution of aid to Iraq both during and after the war.

Angola ranks alongside both Iraq and Iran for being one of the most landmined countries in the world, with an estimated 9 - 15 million landmines still in the country after nearly a quarter of a century of civil war.

It is also deemed to be the most landmined country in Africa, with 15 of its 18 provinces badly affected by mines. Angola's 20-year war ended in 1994, and then resumed again in 1998, before drawing to a close with the death of rebel opposition leader, Jonas Savimbi, in 2002.

Life expectancy in Angola remains very low, at less than 37 years. Key Red Cross projects in the country focus on mine-awareness, treatment of people injured by mines, and locating missing people who have been displaced by war. Angola is also home to thousands of refugees from the war in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Over Euro 12 and a half million will be spent by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Angola this year on re-uniting children torn from their parents by war and on visiting Prisoners of War. This is in addition to the Euro 66 and a half million budgeted by the Red Cross for landmines - excluding mine-clearance - worldwide in the last five years.

John (35) will be based in the Angolan capital, Luanda, where as senior logistician he will be in charge of getting aid into Angola and distributing it around the country. This aid will mainly be prostheses (artificial limbs) and medical and para-medical experts trained in fitting them. He will also be in charge of getting seed distributed to farmers locally to help them grow cereal and grain crops, as well as some food aid where it is really needed.

A qualified mechanical engineer, John, who is from Crumlin in Dublin, has worked for a number of Irish firms, including both Intel and Hewlett Packard as a Production Manager. He is interested in mountaineering and kayaking. He is the youngest member of Theodore and Helen Rowland's family, having two older sisters, Paula and Maria.

Ends.