Two fire engines and an ambulance have begun a new journey to save lives in Africa, after serving their communities in Cumbria.
Workington Rotary Club has funded the project, which has taken two years to organise and will change the lives of a community of 1.5 million people in Homa Bay County, Kenya, who have never had such resources available.
Ken Kirkwood, international chairman of Workington Rotary Club, said the idea came about when he was issuing pencils for use in Africa and the Kenyan contact, Kipyano Seroney, asked him if he could get a fire engine.
He contacted Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service to see if it had any decommissioned vehicles.
Station manager Sean Hevey assisted in the search for a suitable vehicle – a first for the fire service. Eventually two fire engines were found.
Mr Hevey said: “I’m very proud to be donating these two appliances to our colleagues in Kenya. They will help crews there to fight fires more effectively and they will be a fantastic asset in their local communities, as they have been in Cumbria.”
Delighted at this news Mr Seroney asked if there was any chance of an ambulance too.
Mr Kirkwood said: “I got a phone call from a man in Carlisle that was with the St John Ambulance and they had one for us. All the work needed on the ambulance was done free of charge by Border Trucks and Denton Tyres supplied free tyres.”
The vehicles are due to be collected from Penrith today ready to be shipped to Mombasa.
Club president Brian Rowe said: “This without a doubt has been a very long and exciting project and certainly worthwhile. ‘Be the Inspiration’ is our motto and we as a club in Workington would like to think that we’ve inspired others to do something great. We laughed when we were asked to find a fire engine – and in the end we provided not one but two.”