Fire cadets back from mercy mission to Nepal

THE education of children in a secluded village in Nepal has been changed for generations thanks to Cheshire Fire Cadets who have just returned from a two-week trip to the country.
Fifteen cadets, including two from Warrington, and eight leaders, including one from Stockton Heath, went on the trip.
They were helping to build much-needed new classrooms on the side of an existing school in Kangel, which is in the Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of North-Eastern Nepal.
They trekked for five days to get to the village before starting work getting the new classrooms ready for children to use. In total the project cost £80,000 which was all raised by the cadets and leaders.
Accompanied on the trip by a doctor from the United Kingdom and Dawa Geljen Sherpa and his team of Sherpas the money paid for building the classrooms, the group’s flights, accommodation and the equipment needed to finish off the project, which was delivered through the charity Classrooms in the Clouds (CiTC).
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mark Cashin is a trustee for CiTC. He said: “Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is dedicated to developing our Fire Cadets and young leaders and this project is evidence of the commitment we have to enhancing young lives both here and in Nepal.
“This is the second school project that Cheshire Fire Cadets have been involved in with CiTC and we are planning another next year with a group of apprentices because the projects have been such a success.”
Many Nepalese children receive inadequate education or in many cases, no education at all. Head of prevention at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, Nick Evans and cadet manager Vicky Wrest have been involved in two Nepalese projects. In 2015 they helped cadets build new school in the mountain village of Thulodhunga. This year’s group visited the school to catch up on how it was going.
The two cadets from Warrington were Joe Shevelan and  Nathan Webb, The leader from Stockton Heath was Vicky Wrest, the fire cadet manager