Landrover to Bulqize 2011

During September 2011, the Club participated in the District 1290 Overseas Project Team's (OPT) 51st Project, preparing and taking a convoy of four vehicles, two fire appliances, a Land Rover converted to a Fire Fighting/Rescue vehicle, the OPT van and a trailer, to Albania and Kosovo.

Seven Rotarians from four different Rotary Clubs, Bodmin, Saltram (Plymouth), Mounts Bay(Penzance) and Helston-Lizard were joined by two volunteers from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, one from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and a civilian mechanic, on a 1,900 mile journey, through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo, to provide communities in Albania and Kosova with potentially lifesaving and life enhancing fire and medical equipment.

The OPT consists of many personnel and professionals including Doctors, Fire Officers, Police Officers, Mechanics and Farmers who all give their valuable time to help others in any way they can. Rotarians Paul Knight, Ray Harris and David Cromey joining the convoy, from the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard.

The project provided the towns/cities of Junik and Rahovec in the Republic of Kosova, and Bulqize-Central, Albania with fire appliances to improve their fire and rescue capabilities. The Dodge fire appliance has been generously donated by Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, it has been fully equipped with ladders, crash rescue equipment, light portable pumps and Breathing Apparatus from the OPT's store and other resources.

Bulqize, an isolated mining community high up in the central mountains of Albania, will receive their first fire and rescue vehicle, this will have some mine rescue equipment on board as well as having a full firefighting capability.

In addition to the fire and rescue appliances, this mission also provided the medical services of Gjakova with an array of much needed medical equipment and medical supplies. Each year the OPT strives to collect any available medical equipment that has no further need here in the UK, i.e. superseded by new, but can be still be put to effective use. All these functioning pieces of equipment are taken out to the health centres and hospitals in Kosova. In addition many other items are taken out as we have them donated to us, this can include school books, clothing and electronic equipment etc.

The convoy took five days to drive to their final destination, the city of Gjakova in Kosova. After the distribution of the medical equipment and fire appliances, together with some fire training for the Fire-fighters with their new appliances, nine of the eleven personnel flew home. The other two drove the van and trailer back across Europe.

The Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard would like to acknowledge and thank Helston Fire Station, Lizard Trailers, John Carey, Respeath Garage (Crowlas), ATS (Helston), Bowdens (Home Hardware), Sainsbury's, Devon and Cornwall Police, Morwenna Spicer and Chris Ellis for their kind help and support on their role in this project preparing the Land Rover.