The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) was founded by General Gordon R. Sullivan in 1997, the 50th Anniversary year of the Marshall Plan, to extend the vision & legacy of Nobel Peace Laureate George C. Marshall. MLI’s mission is to locate, secure, and apply skills and resources to alleviate suffering, restore hope, and create conditions that nurture stability in countries affected by conflict. For many nations, a primary obstacle to achieving sustainable progress and stability is the deadly legacy of landmines, the relics of armed conflicts that often ended long ago. Therefore, MLI’s programs provide landmine-affected countries with the resources & training they need to rid their soil of this horrific scourge and address their long-term impacts.
MLI’s programs emphasize local capacity-building and long-term sustainability, with our largest programs: 1) providing valuable resources (especially highly trained dogs through the Mine Detection Dog Partnership Program) and training of local handlers to hasten the pace of landmine clearance operations; 2) providing medical assistance, prosthetic limbs, and vocational training to landmine survivors, and specialized training to doctors & local rehabilitation teams; 3) linking American youth with students abroad to work together to help others; 4) supporting interethnic & inter-religious reconciliation in post-conflict societies by connecting children from different ethnic/religious groups and uniting them in a common cause; and 5) promoting economic empowerment, hope, and dignity in women living in war-torn countries by providing education, training, and mentoring to enhance their job skills and employment opportunities.