Jalapa, 2016. – St. Catharines’ own Luis Pimentel knew exactly what to do when he saw four crates full of used firefighters’ equipment. He contacted Scott Maxwell, chairman of Wells of Hope, who coordinated its pick up, which was just in time for the next relief aid container heading to Jalapa in Guatemala.
Ted van der Zalm, founder of Wells of Hope, was at camp when the container arrived carrying the firefighters’ equipment and made sure to bring the good news to the Volunteer Firefighters of Jalapa, where the donation was happily received – like Christmas in July!
José Tellez, Director of Station 44 in Jalapa was the recipient of many pairs of boots, gloves, firefighter’s uniforms, helmets, tanks, masks, tools, etc., and was very grateful on behalf of his team as volunteer firefighters in Guatemala have to fundraise to acquire their own equipment. The one request of Wells of Hope was to share the gift with other Volunteer Firefighter Stations that may need it.
On September 7, Wells of Hope learned that Jose Pimentel’s donation has travelled all the way to another province in Guatemala – about 300km away from Jalapa, as Station 44 donated equipment to Station 97 in Suchitepéquez. (See youtube video below.) This is a great example of how far the gift of giving can go. Thank you to everyone involved!