Local firefighters recognized
Kamloops firefighters have been recognized for their Operation Nicaragua organization, which will receive a global co-operation award from the British Columbia Council for International Co-operation (BCCIC).
The award is one of three the council will present this year.
The partnership of firefighters, volunteers and businesses has worked for years sending eight shipping containers and nine emergency vehicles to its Nicaraguan partners, firefighters in Cinandega and their fire chief, Gerry Caceres.
There are two containers and three more emergency vehicles en route, adding to the total.
The Nicaraguan firefighters work with communities in the country to make sure household goods are delivered to people who can’t afford them.
The B.C. group works with Gearbulk Shipping and the Conconi Family Foundation to reduce the cost of sending the donations to Nicaragua and to complete other projects on the ground there, including construction of a community centre and fire station, equipping five hospitals with medical supplies and equipment and installing water-filtration systems that help hundreds of Nicaraguans.
Also receiving awards are Alaina Podmorow, a 15-year-old Kelowna resident and Grade 10 student who created Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan, which assists libraries there, and Jessica Fraser of Vancouver, founder of Mobile Movement, which works with impoverished groups in Kenya.
Its first project was to provide mobile phones to 14 youth groups who live in slums in Nairobi.
BCCIC is a coalition of non-governmental organizations that work to achieve sustainable human development.
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