11 July 2011
Volunteers driving six old London
ambulances have set off on an epic 10,000-mile road trip to
Mongolia.
The team of 20 set off from Horse Guards
Parade, SW1, on Saturday (9 July) in the Leyland DAF
ambulances, which previously served Londoners for over ten
years.
The team will drive in convoy through Europe,
Russia and Kazakhstan before handing over the vehicles to
healthcare providers in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar.
The team, made up of volunteers from the
London Ambulance Service, international aid charity Go Help and
children’s charity MERU, will take around five weeks to complete
the trip, as part of the Mongolia Charity Rally.
London Ambulance Service volunteer Tim
Saunders, one of the trip team leaders, said: “These ambulances
have reached the end of their active life in London and so we’re
taking them where they can continue to help people on the other
side of the world.
"It's great to see that the hard work that the
teams have put in over the last few months has paid off up to this
point, and we're now ready to go.
“We’re still raising as much money as possible
to get the ambulances out there. We’re also raising money for
children’s charity MERU.”
To donate money, please visit the team’s blog
http://www.ambostomongolia.blogspot.com/.
The team will be regularly posting updates on their progress.
More photos of the launch can be found on the
London Ambulance Service Facebook page.
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
- For further information about the London Ambulance Service or
this news release please contact the communications department on
020 7783 2286.
- Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ldn_ambulance
or visit us on facebook at www.facebook.com/londonambulanceservice
- MERU is a small charity based in Epsom, Surrey, and is the
London Ambulance Service Chief Executive’s nominated charity. They
design and manufacture bespoke equipment for children and young
adults with disabilities, where there is no other mainstream
solution available on the market.
- Go Help is a small UK charity that develops innovative
fundraising events to fund sustainable health and education
projects across Central Asia. The Mongolia Charity Rally and the
Roof of the World Rally are Go Help’s two major fundraising
events.