Excited about the Nepal School Project 2019

Meet the team heading out to Nepal in March 2019
Eleven firefighter and community safety apprentices and three team leaders are going to Nepal on 16th March to help finishing building a school out there.

We've been working hard for the last 14 months to raise the £30,000 to build the school. 

Before we fly out there, here are our thoughts::

Matthew Scanlon

I’m 29 years old and currently live in Lancashire, but work between Winsford and Halton with the prevention team. I’m a firefighter and community safety apprentice and my daily duties include operational firefighter training and working in the communities of Cheshire promoting fire and road safety.

I am excited to help and support the tremendous ongoing efforts in Nepal and to assist in building the early learning centre in Bung that will help the development and transition of many generations to come.  

Ben Burgoyne

I’m 29 and I currently work out of the Cheshire West and Chester fire safety office as a firefighter and community safety apprentice. I  live on the Cheshire-Welsh border near Chester and I’m most looking forward to seeing all of the team’s hard work raising funds being transformed into a place of education for young people, which will be there long after we are gone.

When I have spoken to apprentices that went on the trip last year they say that some of their most beautiful and meaningful moments occurred when they stepped outside of their comfort zone so I’m looking forward to pushing myself both mentally and physically.

Louie Burton

I work out of Macclesfield Fire Station where I work as a firefighter and community safety apprentice. I am 20 years old and currently live in Stockport. For me, the most exciting part of the Nepal project will be meeting the children and seeing first-hand the benefits our fundraising has had on their lives. Having the opportunity to see Mount Everest is also another reason I cannot wait to go, as this will be an amazing and once in a lifetime experience.

Sean Coles

I’m 27 years old and currently live in Macclesfield. As part of my firefighter and community safety apprenticeship I have completed firefighter training and will become a whole time operational firefighter once my apprenticeship is finished. As well as learning the operational side of the Service I work closely with the prevention team and go out into the community providing current and relevant home fire safety and road safety advice to people. When in Nepal

I am looking forward to seeing the impact our fundraising and planning will have on the local community and to finding out what this Early Learning Centre means to their community.

Jonathan Dutton-Guiver

I live in Manchester and am a 20 year old firefighter and community safety apprentice, working with the prevention team in Warrington and at Sadler Road in Winsford. I’m most looking forward to meeting the Nepalese people as I have heard that they are a bright and vibrant community by people who have travelled there before.

Ollie Myers

I'm 24 and live in Stockport. I work as a firefighter and community safety apprentice. Prior to this I was working as an outdoor instructor with children and adults around the UK for various companies. My apprenticeship has given me some amazing opportunities such as new training and qualifications, skills and knowledge, but especially the chance to visit Nepal.

I'm really looking forward to the challenges we'll face in over there. New cultures, food, environments, experiences and being pushed out of my comfort zone. I'm especially excited to see the school in Bung finished after all our hard work as a team raising the funds to build it.

Shaun McCloskey

I am a firefighter and community safety apprentice. I live in Liverpool and currently work in Runcorn assisting with the Halton Prince’s Trust Programme. I am most looking forward to helping people who are less fortunate than I am as well as experiencing their culture and way of life.

Ellie Ditchfield

I am 20 years old and live in Preston, Lancashire. I am a firefighter and community safety apprentice which involves me getting involved in many activities as part of this role. Apart from the compulsory operational training to become a firefighter, I work in the local community delivering safe and well visits in and around the Warrington area. I also work with the youth engagement team as a Prince’s Trust programme leader.

There are many things I am looking forward to in Nepal including meeting the local community of Bung and seeing how the learning centre that we have helped to build will impact on and benefit the lives of the schoolchildren.

Tomos Avis

I work at Crewe and Alsager Fire Stations as a firefighter and community safety apprentice. I live near Alsager and I am most looking forward to trekking to the school that we’ve helped to fund and also camping in a part of the world I’ve never seen or been to previously.

Olivia Lovatt

I am 19 years old and live in Staffordshire. I am a firefighter and community safety apprentice currently working with the Crewe prevention team which involves me helping to deliver safe and well visits to Cheshire East residents. As well as this, I also work as a Prince’s Trust team leader, a Ranger at Safety Central in Lymm and, most excitingly, as a firefighter! I am really looking forward to going to Nepal to see how the culture differs from ours and how the early years centre in Bung will change the lives of many children both now and in the future.

David Kirk

I’m a firefighter and community safety apprentice and I work out of Warrington, although I’m from Ramsbottom. I am 37 and work with the prevention team which involves me going out and about promoting fire and road safety. I am most looking forward to seeing how our fundraising impact the lives of both the children and people of Nepal.

I’m sure the project will give me some fantastic memories to last a lifetime and I’ll get the chance to experience lots of new and exciting opportunities while I’m in Nepal.

Leaders

The leaders going on the trip are:

Ant McCarthy

I am an operational watch manager based in Chester and have worked for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service for 20 years. The trip to Nepal in March will be my third visit to the country, assisting as a team leader. During my previous visits I have seen the benefit of raising money to build valuable educational facilities and schools in the remote villages in the Solukhumbu region.

Living in North Wales, I spend much of my time walking in the mountains of Snowdonia, so getting the opportunity to do this in arguably the most famous mountain region in the world is amazing.

Recently I watched a short film about the mountains of Nepal and heard a quote that perfectly sums it up: “The beauty of Nepal is not the giant mountains but the people that live within their shadows.”

Trisha Healey

I have been a youth worker with the Service for almost seven years and I currently deliver the RESPECT programme to young people aged 13-16. I was a leader on the first Nepal project in 2015 where I assisted a group of Cheshire Fire Cadets on a trip.

My main role within this team of apprentices will be to support the group and encourage them to push and challenge themselves. Some of the conditions that we will face in Nepal will be difficult so I will be supporting the other leaders ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of the group is catered for and any risks minimised.

My role will also be to boost morale within the team, especially when feet are achy and tiredness sets in.

Richard Whitley

I’m an operational firefighter with the Service and am fast approaching my 30th year in the job and retirement in August. I hope my role will be as a mentor and guide to the apprentices as they look forward to becoming wholetime firefighters.

I'm looking forward to sharing knowledge, expertise and passion for a career I've thoroughly enjoyed.

Last updated: Monday 18 March 2019

Last updated: Monday, 6 March 2023


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