The BRAVE Foundation spent this past weekend at the Western Region EMS Conference at Ocean Shores, WA. THANK YOU to Olympic Ambulance for their donation of booth space. Your support is greatly appreciated! We made lots of new friends and had a wonderful time.
Thank you to all who stopped by our booth to show your support by making a purchase, signing up for upcoming events, donating supplies and equipment, offering to travel to Guatemala to support the bomberos through our training efforts, or just to say hello. We enjoyed meeting you all and sharing information about the important work of the BRAVE Foundation. We will be in touch soon with more information about upcoming events and travel dates.
If you have donations of supplies, equipment, or surplused vehicles, please contact us through our website at www.bravefoundation.org or at 360-704-8450.
Through our website you can also make a cash donation, purchase t-shirts, coins, or coffee to support our many projects.
Thanks, again, for your support of the BRAVE Foundation and the bomberos of Guatemala!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
CNN New York comes to Guatemala!
We have received some VERY exciting news. CNN New York will be in Guatemala this week interviewing our founder and President, Capt. Paul Embleton, for their CNN HEROES segment! Paul is very deserving of the honor to be nominated for this distinguished award and we are all very proud of him. He has worked tirelessly to improve the fire and lifesaving efforts of the bomberos. Stay tuned to our website and blog for information on when the segment will air. www.bravefoundation.org
Thank you all for your support. We couldn't do it without you!
Thank you all for your support. We couldn't do it without you!
Jeff's Final Blog Entry for the Road Trip
Well we made it. It was nice not having to drive after we made it into the country, but getting through the border was a long and arduous process. We sat for most of the day on the Mexican side going through the paperwork, making sure that the vehicles that we brought into Mexico were the same ones we were trying to take out. Did anyone know there is a number on the motor (different from the VIN) that is specific to that vehicle? Obviously it was a hard number to find because we had a least 10 people try and find it on the engine.
We were parked first, in a long line of transmigrates who are waiting for the same thing and I didn’t know what that was. We had to pay, "a company" a good amount of pesos to do something for us while we were at the border. I can't remember if we even saw them again after paying them? It made our job a lot easier having several of the Bomberos from the 10th Company who were there to assist us through the process.
The border was a strange place. As we pulled up to the,"frontera" people began jumping onto the rigs. They were in the backseats, hanging from the mirrors and on the backs of the vehicles. The only reason I didn't start shoving them off was that Eduardo was allowing them to do it on his rig in front of us. They were all telling us to give them our papers. Come to find out they are the Transmigrate Company that would end up charging us an exuberant amount of money for as far as I could tell a free ride down the street. We parked next to a large wall, on a dirt street that had no shade. The street was lined with several small shops and a billiards hall. The border seemed to be a place of complete chaos. People were walking and running in all directions. It appeared that if you wanted to you could just walk right through the border without a second look. We made our way through the swarms to immigrations where they would stamp us out of Mexico.
The wait was long and there isn't a lot of stuff to do around there. Eduardo and Wyatt decided to order a seafood medley from a bicycle street vender. That provided us with some good laughs as we predicted what their futures would entail.
As quickly as we had arrived we were released. Just as I was about to go insane from boredom, a person walked up to us with paperwork and said we were free to go through. We jumped into the engines and drove through without anyone ever checking anything further. We crossed the small bridge that spans the two countries and we were at the border of Guatemala. This is were we entered another parking lot to wait for the Guatemalan Government to get us in. We were in, “No Mans Land” the place that’s between here and there.
When we discovered that we wouldn’t make it into the country that night we opted for some hotel rooms and sit down dinner. Once again this, “No Mans Land” was a strange place. It had a couple of hotels, a couple restaurants and a bunch of people asking you to change money. The parking lot was similar to a jail for cars; large walls surrounded us with gates and guards ensuring that you didn’t leave. Your vehicles were guilty until proven innocent. Hearing stories from Paul about vehicle being stuck in there for weeks and having equipment stolen from them wasn’t lifting my spirits.
The hotel was plain and the dinner was somewhat tasty. We were all beat after the long day in the rigs. The next day would prove long as well.
We were parked first, in a long line of transmigrates who are waiting for the same thing and I didn’t know what that was. We had to pay, "a company" a good amount of pesos to do something for us while we were at the border. I can't remember if we even saw them again after paying them? It made our job a lot easier having several of the Bomberos from the 10th Company who were there to assist us through the process.
The border was a strange place. As we pulled up to the,"frontera" people began jumping onto the rigs. They were in the backseats, hanging from the mirrors and on the backs of the vehicles. The only reason I didn't start shoving them off was that Eduardo was allowing them to do it on his rig in front of us. They were all telling us to give them our papers. Come to find out they are the Transmigrate Company that would end up charging us an exuberant amount of money for as far as I could tell a free ride down the street. We parked next to a large wall, on a dirt street that had no shade. The street was lined with several small shops and a billiards hall. The border seemed to be a place of complete chaos. People were walking and running in all directions. It appeared that if you wanted to you could just walk right through the border without a second look. We made our way through the swarms to immigrations where they would stamp us out of Mexico.
The wait was long and there isn't a lot of stuff to do around there. Eduardo and Wyatt decided to order a seafood medley from a bicycle street vender. That provided us with some good laughs as we predicted what their futures would entail.
As quickly as we had arrived we were released. Just as I was about to go insane from boredom, a person walked up to us with paperwork and said we were free to go through. We jumped into the engines and drove through without anyone ever checking anything further. We crossed the small bridge that spans the two countries and we were at the border of Guatemala. This is were we entered another parking lot to wait for the Guatemalan Government to get us in. We were in, “No Mans Land” the place that’s between here and there.
When we discovered that we wouldn’t make it into the country that night we opted for some hotel rooms and sit down dinner. Once again this, “No Mans Land” was a strange place. It had a couple of hotels, a couple restaurants and a bunch of people asking you to change money. The parking lot was similar to a jail for cars; large walls surrounded us with gates and guards ensuring that you didn’t leave. Your vehicles were guilty until proven innocent. Hearing stories from Paul about vehicle being stuck in there for weeks and having equipment stolen from them wasn’t lifting my spirits.
The hotel was plain and the dinner was somewhat tasty. We were all beat after the long day in the rigs. The next day would prove long as well.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
FINALLY IN GUATEMALA!!!!!
They are across the border after waiting for 2 whole days. They are driving the apparatus that is going to the lake...to the lake and the 10th company Bomberos are taking their engine to the city. so they are STILL driving. Whew!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Border time...
It has been a long time without emails and we have been calling in our blogs to Adam and Vanessa. Wow, what a trip it has been. When you’re in the U.S.A. you can take a map, measure out how long it will take you to get somewhere, and it will take you that long to get there. Not So in Mexico!!!!! We thought it was going to take us 3 days to make it through Mexico and we were wrong. The road can be great for a bit and then just become a mess of pot holes, “topes”(multiple speed bumps) that last for miles. When you’re driving in older engines those small bumps are magnified x 1000 and transferred into your back and neck. My chiropractor will be busy for a while
We are now in the border town of Tapachula and should be leaving Mexico tomorrow. Yesterday we began having trouble with the water pump leaking in the ambulance after going over a long stretch of bumpy roads. We began filling the radiator every time we would stop thinking that it would last for a while. The pump was worse today leaking pretty heavily and since its Sunday, there are no stores or shops open to repair or buy another one. About 200km from Tapachula the pump completely cracked on the side of the “highway”, and we weren’t able fix it. We ended up towing the ambulance with the engine using and a piece of rope we luckily had brought along. The going was slow since we had someone in the ambulance being towed. It was extremely hot today(no air conditioning) and the trip took us almost the entire day. We are planning to do some work on it tomorrow so that it will be drivable before crossing the border.
The food here has been unbelievable and inexpensive too. Almost every night we have some type of meat dinner with beers, and all the fixings for under $30. The road trip has taken us through place that I’m sure don’t get many travelers. We get looks, people pointing, and kids laughing at us as we drive through there cities. Everyone here is very pleasant and interested in what we are doing. There have been many questions and they seem very happy after we tell them what we are doing. I showed 5 kids a magic trick and I think they liked it, or maybe they were just laughing at me.
Well, I hope we make it tomorrow. We should have a welcoming party on the other side of the border waiting for us.
Jeff Palensky
We are now in the border town of Tapachula and should be leaving Mexico tomorrow. Yesterday we began having trouble with the water pump leaking in the ambulance after going over a long stretch of bumpy roads. We began filling the radiator every time we would stop thinking that it would last for a while. The pump was worse today leaking pretty heavily and since its Sunday, there are no stores or shops open to repair or buy another one. About 200km from Tapachula the pump completely cracked on the side of the “highway”, and we weren’t able fix it. We ended up towing the ambulance with the engine using and a piece of rope we luckily had brought along. The going was slow since we had someone in the ambulance being towed. It was extremely hot today(no air conditioning) and the trip took us almost the entire day. We are planning to do some work on it tomorrow so that it will be drivable before crossing the border.
The food here has been unbelievable and inexpensive too. Almost every night we have some type of meat dinner with beers, and all the fixings for under $30. The road trip has taken us through place that I’m sure don’t get many travelers. We get looks, people pointing, and kids laughing at us as we drive through there cities. Everyone here is very pleasant and interested in what we are doing. There have been many questions and they seem very happy after we tell them what we are doing. I showed 5 kids a magic trick and I think they liked it, or maybe they were just laughing at me.
Well, I hope we make it tomorrow. We should have a welcoming party on the other side of the border waiting for us.
Jeff Palensky
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Day Ten
Well...the roads were the worst yet. They pushed through to the pacific side. They are staying the night in a town called San Tapeka(?spelling) about 500 miles from the border. The radiator on the medic unit cracked from the bumpy roads so they have to stop every so often to fill it up. The plan is to get to the border today, stay the night and then cross on Monday because the border is not open on Sunday.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Day Nine
Driving about 5mph in most places. Bad roads. Broke a hitch and made it to the next town to repair. When they arrived at the small town just outside of Tampico, the local firefighters were standing outside their station asking the public for money to buy EMS supplies. They identified themselves as 4 paramedics. They helped the guys repair the hitch. Jeff left them with a Brave business card and some supplies: 1 backboard, several c-collars and a bag of bandages. The Mexican ffs were very grateful. Jeff said that it's the hardest thing to drive by another dept in need with a truck full of supplies. Jeff said that he saw what they had and it was nothing.
Thank you to the Mexican FF for helping our group get back on the road! Right now they are about 120km N of Vera Cruz.
Thank you to the Mexican FF for helping our group get back on the road! Right now they are about 120km N of Vera Cruz.
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