Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page, please support me on this expedition from the UK to The Gambia in September 2024.

In September 2024 myself & other volunteers with ESAC hope to take at least 25 emergency vehicles from the UK to The Gambia.

Leading on from ESAC first trip on Operation Zephyr in 2022 where volunteers, serving and retired Police Officers, Paramedics and Firefighters from the UK, France, Germany and Spain delivered 18 Emergency Vehicles to The Gambia, it added 50% more fire engines to their existing fleet of just 12! As well as the vehicles we also transported around £200,000 worth of emergency equipment as well as school supplies and football kits.

Why The Gambia?

Infant mortality rate in The Gambia is at 42 deaths per 1,000 live births. This has improved a great deal over the past few years, however there is still a large area for improvement (Knoema 2022). As well as a high infant mortality rate, the maternal mortality rate is 375/100,000 live births, which continues to be a major challenge for health service delivery. The major cause behind maternal mortality is a lack of prompt response to emergencies combined with disorganized health care. Improving accessibility is necessary for preventing maternal deaths What this means is, expectant mothers in distress simply cannot get to a hospital in time.

Besides this, the lack of transport means that so many common injuries go untreated. A cut, a sprain, a fall or any injury so commonly treated in Europe and thought nothing more of, without treatment can become life changing. Where we treat basic injury, amputation of limbs is common, affecting entire communities. All of this is simply down to a lack of what we see as basic community facilities, that we could not dream of doing without.

I will be covering my own expenses & the money raised is to help finance buying the vehicles and getting them out there, fuel and ferry crossings, some of it is used for visas and equipment for the expedition.

I know money is tight for everyone at the moment but if you can please dig deep and donate whatever you can afford. If you work for a company that you believe can assist in any of items we need please contact me.

If you want anymore information about feel free to contact me of visit https://emergencyservicesaidcharity.com/op-zephyr-2024

Thank you all for your support.

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