TWO forty-foot containers filled with medical and educational supplies are finally on their way from Tavistock to Africa. On Friday the containers that have been standing in the lorry park at Pixon Lane were lifted onto a freight lorry and began their journey to Western Uganda. The supplies are being sent under the care of Great Lakes (Africa) Mission (GLAM), the mission arm of Tavistock Community Church at the King?s. Colin Bond, pastor of the church at King?s, said: ?We?ve been so blessed by the generous support and encouragement this project has received from the townsfolk in Tavistock and the South West. ?We?ve received financial help for the containers from the Lion?s Club in Tavistock, people local to the area and from further afield, and of course from Tavistock Community Church.? Most of the supplies and equipment going to help in Africa were donated by hospitals, clinics, businesses and private individuals in the South West and across the country. An especially vital donation was a Landrover ambulance, given by St John Ambulance Brigade in Lytham-St-Annes. Colin expressed his thanks to Mark-Kelly Landrover Services for their help in preparing the vehicle for its new life in Africa, and to Superwinch for the gift of a very useful front-mounted winch for the vehicle. ?This Landrover ambulance will bring hope to expectant mothers awaiting delivery, and to children needing blood transfusions. ?Many have died because they couldn?t get to the hospital in town,? he said. The ambulance, along with the clinic set up in Western Uganda with the help of GLAM, will serve a population of 250,000, plus refugees from the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The container contents will be distributed to help set up and equip clinics and schools in Western Uganda and two First Aid posts in the slums of Nateete in Kampala, as well as restocking and equipping a clinic that was bombed in the Congo.
RIGHT: Pastor Colin Bond (front far left) with members of Tavistock Community Church at the King?s in front of the Landrover ambulance that?s now on its way to Africa.