Spire Healthcare donate hospital equipment

Yorkshire Aid Convoy would like to say a big thank you for their continuous support. We have just picked up a selection of retired hospital equipment that will be put to good use in Romania. Our next trip is due to set off 8th March 2011 so watch this space!

Romania 2011

Our next trip is to Romania in March 2011. Setting off from Leeds on Tuesday March 8th and returning on Thursday 17th. We are taking 7 trucks of much needed aid to various parts of the country, the drivers will be:

Mark Murphy - Wetheralds Painters & Decorators

Charlie Lister - W G Search

Jamie Search - W G Search

Gary Dooley - PURE Creative Marketing

Andrew Hillas - Otley

Terry Roscoe - Central Catering

Ian McKenzie - Harrogate

Guy Hudson - Lynx Clothing Harrogate

Graham Nixon - Nixon Hire

James Ruddy - Eclipse Colours

James Rycroft - Winston Construction

Richard Rawlins - Finn Communications

Jonathan Howarth - Central Catering

Les Charneca - Harrogate

We are very grateful to our drivers new and old and look forward to a successful trip!

Thanks to PURE!

A big thank you to PURE for the support with the website, blog, photography and video work - it has been a great help - and we look forward to your continued support!!

www.purecreativemarketing.net

Image Gallery

Here is a link to the pictures from the trip

Leeds aid convoy back from its Romania mission

Misson accomplished – that was the message as a team of charity workers returned home after doing their bit for Romania's poor and needy.

Trustees and volunteers from Yorkshire Aid Convoy completed a gruelling 4,500km round trip when they arrived back at their base in Hunslet, Leeds, yesterday.

They had set out from Leeds on March 1 in five lorries laden with 93 tonnes of hospital equipment, clothes and household items, all donated by local businesses and worth more than £2m.

The lorries were driven across Europe to the Romanian city of Sfantu Gheorghe and their contents are now being distributed among disadvantaged communities by local charity Caritas.

Yorkshire Aid Convoy trustees Jamie Search, Charlie Lister and Mark Murphy made the journey to Romania with seven volunteers.

The charity organises two trips a year to either Romania or the Ukraine.

* For more information visit: www.yorkshireaidconvoy.co.uk

Link to story on Yorkshire Evening Post

Nearly home!

We are nearing the end of our journey now, on the overnight ferry back to hull.

It has been a long hard slog but worth it in so many ways. Just seeing up close the people/children we are helping brought everything home. Giving shoes to kids who literally don't have any. Old bikes that would be scrapped in our country giving so much joy...



Then in the hospital, seeing abandoned children, sick with nowhere to go, nobody to look after them being cared for solely by donations was heart wrenching. Again, every bit of aid we delivered will be put to use, from medical equipment to washing powder and baby wipes. We must thank Proctor & Gamble for their kind donations.

We take so many things for granted, until you see life like we've seen it you just can't imagine it. Mimi, a lady who runs the childrens hospital pleading with mark to keep coming as often as possible, and as mark says, "if we didn't come, who would? They have got nothing.."

That is why it is important that it carries on, people and lives depend on the Yorkshire aid charity, so we would like to thank all of those or supported us with various donations and hope that you can carry on doing so! It just shows you, 10 guys took time out of their busy lives to deliver 5 wagons of over £2 million worth of aid, and it will go on to help literally hundreds of people over the coming months.

If you feel you could do anything to help the charity please get in touch. We will be updating the main website soon so please keep an eye out for that!


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Location:Land of Green Ginger,Hull,United Kingdom

An upgrade

Terry and my shared bathroom fan was very noisy so we managed to blag an upgrade to a room with a view, shame it is dark the whole crossing and nothing but water to see anyway!! Even with the upgrade it is not exactly a suite.



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Gary leads us aboard

Gary is first on the ferry on our way home!


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HAPPY BIRTHDAY FREDDIE!!!

Happy birthday freddie...

It really doesn't seem 6 years since you arrived!



Can't wait to see you tomorrow matey!!

Love daddy!


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Location:Brechen,Germany

Crossroads motel

Almost a leisurely start this morning, breakfast at 7am then on our way to zeebrugge for the overnight ferry.

Motel was just like crossroads, even had a german benny and miss dianne on reception!

Nice clear morning today and only 8 hours driving - easy!



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Location:Brechen,Germany

-8!!

A rather cols start to our last day this side of the channel.



Happy 6th Birthday Freddie from all of us the convoy.

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Another 1st class evening!

A few drinks at a top class bar near Frankfurt, looks a bit like service station.... Yep it's a service station...!






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Location:Steinach,Germany

How many in a taxi

This would not happen in England!!





















We managed all 10 of us.

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Caught in the act

They thought they could get a free ride to England, but we caught this bunch of lads and sent them packing.


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Groundhog day..........

8 hours so far today at a steady 56mph, another 4 to go... Stuck against the speed limiter!!!


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Location:Steinach,Germany

TPA in Austria

Terry north of Vienna. Thinks there are options a new depot here or in Hungary!!


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Grüß Gott from Austria!

Lunch break in Austria..

Seem to be very large portions though, could do with a sleep now!

Marks looks happy, think he's just seen that we've got another 600km to go today...











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Location:Sankt Pantaleon-Erla,Austria

Another pit stop for fuel and adblue

Austria is officially freeeezing..!

Well -6 actually along with a nice cover of snow...

Is this Charlie I see about to spray on some of his secial home made de-icer, funny yellow colour to it!





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Location:Wiener Außenring-Autobahn,Klausen-Leopoldsdorf,Austria

A long day ahead

An hour in to our day and we still have 960kms to go and it is -7!!


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5.30am and we're off

A big thankyou to Athenaeum for looking after our wagons and us so well last night!



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Early start

Another early morning Jamie forgot to tell me about!! A 4.30am alarm call is not what I expected on the way home.



Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday night Amanda, Billie & Corrie!

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A decent meal at last

Thanks to Ian for arranging a nice restaurant for tonight, the first proper meal since we left England!!


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Arrived at Budapest

We're here at last!

Staying at le meridien in the centre of Budapest. A stay kindly donated by a sponsor of the trip and it's fantastic to have a proper wash at last...!



Going out to sample some Hungarian culture now!



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It is cold

You can see from the on board computer in the truck it was still -3C when we were 1 1/2 hours into our journey today.


Hi Charlie, Alistair & Toby, thanks for being good boys for mummy!!

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1 hour to Budapest!

Not long now before today's driving is over, 12 hours on the go (apart from a big mac stop).

Weather is nice, but chilly. Snow all gone.

Me and andrew here enjoying the luxuries of our plush cabin, all the mid cons you know!







(Well done at swimming today freddie and Georgina! Daddy misses you and will see you soon! X)

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Location:Kunszállás,Hungary

Quick gas up at the Hungarian border

Fuels a bit cheaper here - not too far to Budapest now! (Charlie - get your walkie talkie on!!)

Location:E68,Nădlac,Romania

Opening day!

Just a quick note to anyone in the Harrogate area... Guys new penny black shop opens this morning at 9.30!


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Roads are clearing!

2 hours in to the drive from brasov, Romania to Budapest, Hungary. Roads are clearing a bit now but it's still -4 degrees outside.. We're having to through water on the windscreen from plastic bottles on the move!



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Location:E68,Făgăraş,Romania

Ever seen ice road truckers?!

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4am and it's waggons roll..

But very slowly, unfortunately snowed last night so it's going to be slow progress I think...



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Dracula!!

The building with the spire was the home of count Dracula!


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charlie....charlie...charlie...!

Snowy roads!

As you can see the roads are getting covered and we have 850kms to go tomorrow to Budapest. The first 500 or so on single carriageway roads, so should be another interesting journey.




It was comforting to see a gritter on the roads, until.......... we saw one man throwing it off the back of the truck by HAND!!!!!!!!!


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What it's all about...

Just spent the day visiting projects that the charity supports. Quite a humbling experience...



We started off by visiting a gypsy camp. The charity helps a school in the middle of the camp, here the kids get a hot meal every day so there is less need for them to go begging.



Some of the classes have children and their parents learning together... The charity helps by providing clothes, shoes, school equipment etc.


In the gypsy camp itself there is real poverty, this is where they get their water. Official figures say there are 500,000 gypsies in Romania unofficially they reckon it's nearer 4 million.



Next stop was a childrens hospital. This place is solely funded by aid, the state offers no help for these sick children. Often kids are dropped off then their parents refuse to take them back... It really makes you think how lucky we are...



The lads are great though, they had a whip around over lunch to get enough to buy the hospital a new washer and dryer...



We also unloaded the last lorry here which had alsorts from old bikes, tv's, computers to clothes, shoes and gowashing powder... Literally everything we've brought will be used... You can really see that all the effort mark, jamie and the rest of the guys makes a massive difference to the lives of these people....

Just setting off back to base camp as the snow is settling in and it's about 80 miles back. This is count draculas house!


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Little word of advice!

If you ever come to Romania don't hire this mini bus!



We've just had a 2 hour drive round windy snow covered roads.. Wasn't too bad until the driver thought he was michael Schumacher, not going to even tell you about the sliding sideways around corners out of control... Oh I just have !

10 guys all say hail marys!!


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Location:Str. Vasile Goldis Ut,Sfântu Gheorghe,Romania

Our accommodation

Don't you just love bunk beds!


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Location:Str. Vasile Goldis Ut,Sfântu Gheorghe,Romania

Couple of quiet beers then bed!

This is the local delicacy - Ciuc (pronounced chuc!)

Don't worry - only had a few!



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Location:Puskás Tivadar,Sfântu Gheorghe,Romania

Jamie and Terry just dieing to get back behind wheel!

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Location:Str. Vasile Goldis Ut,Sfântu Gheorghe,Romania

Our accommodation

Our excellent accommodation, a church with bunk beds






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Location:Str. Vasile Goldis Ut,Sfântu Gheorghe,Romania