Brendan Mc Coy and his team of fellow fire-fighters have just returned from Zinder in Niger, West Africa, as part of Plan Ireland's "Fire Engine to Niger" Project.
The project has been under way since 2010 when the Dundalk team heard about the dire circumstances of the fire service in this part of Niger. Since then the project has delivered four fire engines, one ambulance and two emergency tenders to the region, with local fire officers getting trained up by Brendan and his colleagues.
This trip was Brendan's fourth, and certainly the toughest of all. Zinder is a huge region, about five times the size of Ireland and the road infrastructure is almost non-existent. Getting to Zinder involves a 4 day drive over 2600 miles in an old van with no air conditioning and temperatures of over 40 degrees celsius.
On this trip the team was delighted to receive an invitation to an audience with the King of Zinder in his palace, where they were honoured with great pomp and ceremony.
Next on the list for the project is tackling the problem of water supply for the fire fighters in Zinder. At the moment they have to drive 800km just to fill up the water cylinder, an issue which Brendan is hoping they can alleviate if someone could donate a water compressor to the project.
The team also visited a school and distributed toys and gifts which had been generously donated by children in Ireland, bringing great joy and happiness to the children of Zinder.
You can find out more about the Fire Engine to Niger Project on their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Niger-Fire-Engine-Project/211935678838258
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