Could I please ask if you can share the below as widely as possible within your force or organisation and contacts? Thank you, Aidan
In September 2022, a large group of volunteers set out from across Europe on the first Operation Zephyr Aid Mission to The Gambia.
This team comprised mainly of serving and retired emergency services personnel, many of whom were IPA members, and between them were successful in delivering 17 emergency vehicles to partner agencies in The Gambia.
This included 6 fire engines, a massive achievement when at the time the country only had 12 engines nationally. The remaining vehicles were ambulances, which were distributed to hospitals in need throughout the rural areas of the country.
To do this, the team drove from the UK, across Spain, and down the west coast of Africa, crossing Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal, before finally reaching their destination in Banjul, the Gambian capital.
(You will likely read some excerpts of this adventure in a future 'Police World'!).
Following from this success, a second Operation Zephyr Mission has been planned, known as Task Force Sirocco, and the Emergency Services Aid Charity would like to invite you to join us in September 2024 to complete this amazing project and have the adventure of a lifetime along the way.
If you are interested in an information pack or applying, please email:
Please feel free to share this within your forces, or with any colleagues who you feel may be interested.
Thank you.
This is not an IPA event, but more than half of the participants last time were members, with many joining because of it, and it is a great opportunity to highlight the IPA to many who have not heard of it.