The Log Book is a weekly rundown of human-interest stories related to the transportation industry. This week: Cargostore and Kuehne+Nagel employees skydive with Red Devils for various charities, DHL successfully delivers 4 million donated vaccines from the U.K. and truck art helps find missing children in Pakistan.
Cargostore Worldwide, Kuehne+Nagel employees skydive for charity
On Thursday, team members from container supplier Cargostore Worldwide and global logistics provider Kuehne+Nagel will join the Red Devils Army Parachute Display Team at Netheravon Airfield in Wiltshire, England, in a skydive challenge to raise money for charities of their choosing.
Cargostore Worldwide intermodal director Kevin Cudby will be raising funds for the Great Ormond Street Hospital, which provided treatment to one of his rugby teammate’s daughters for her high-grade glioma. The daughter has undergone seven rounds of chemotherapy at the facility.
“When a child suffers from a life-threatening illness, their family life turns upside down,” said Cudby. “After seeing the effects this had on my friend and teammate, I decided to fundraise for the Great Ormond Street Hospital so I could help others going through a similar difficult situation.”
Three Kuehne+Nagel employees — project manager Tony Burcham and logistics operations specialists Conor Stripp and Gemma Dunbar — will make the 13,000-foot fall for ABF The Soliders’ Charity, the Welsh Air Ambulance Charity and the domestic abuse resource group Refuge, respectively.
”Our soldiers potentially put their lives at risk every day, but unfortunately, the impact on their families at home often goes unnoticed. The ABF Soldiers’ Charity recognizes this and provides support where it is needed,” said Burcham.
“I have had a personal experience of having to start again by myself, so I feel strongly about raising awareness for this fantastic charity,” said Dunbar of Refuge. “Most people still do not recognize the signs of abuse and controlling behaviour, which is not always physical. Therefore I would like to raise awareness and let people know that there is support available out there.”
“A few years ago, I experienced first-hand how such a service like Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust operates,” said Stripp. “They are dedicated and determined to help and support those in life-threatening situations no matter the obstacles they face. No one should experience having a close friend or relative who has a serious accident without the necessary emergency service available, so I would like to thank everyone who’s donated to support!”
The fundraising event will be hosted by Cargostore Worldwide, which also sponsors the Red Devils.
“As a strong supporter of the British Armed Forces, we were proud to continue our sponsorship of the Red Devils. We recently renewed our two-year sponsorship by providing them with a fleet of Cookie G4 helmets, the safest skydiving helmet currently on the market,” said Nicky Milan, head of marketing at Cargostore Worldwide.
“We are excited to book a day out of the Red Devils’ busy schedule and offer this fundraising experience to Kuehne+Nagel, giving them a unique opportunity to fundraise for their worthwhile causes.”
DHL delivers 4M COVID-19 vaccines to 15 countries
On July 28, British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab announced Great Britain would donate 4 million COVID-19 vaccines to various countries through the nonprofit organization Crown Agents.
This week, DHL Global Forwarding announced it had successfully completed the transportation of the vaccines to 15 countries worldwide, including Indonesia, Jamaica and Kenya.
“We are very pleased to have been able to organize the complex logistics of these shipments on behalf of the UK Department for Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development Cooperation. Working closely with DHL, we ensured that the vaccines arrived safely at their destinations,” said Fergus Drake, CEO of Crown Agents, in the release.
Providing logistical support to vaccination distribution is a specialized service at DHL, which works with more than 150 pharmaceutical companies to leverage its international network to deliver health care products to over 220 countries and territories.
Using this network, the global logistics company has delivered more than 731 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to over 150 countries.
“We are incredibly proud to have DHL Global Forwarding entrusted with the complex logistics for these vital vaccine doses,” said Paul Chinery, vice president of air freight at DHL Global Forwarding UK.
“Our life sciences and health care teams in the UK and recipient countries have worked around the clock to ensure the life-saving vaccine could be delivered quickly and safely to [these] countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.”
Truck art helps find missing children in Pakistan
Contrary to the common white walls of a van trailer in the United States, in parts of Asia and the Middle East, truck art is a popular form of vehicle decoration often seen in floral pattern and calligraphy themes.
These art formations often consist of elements of drivers’ hometowns, as well as historical scenes and poetic verses painted with vibrant color schemes.
As these paintings attract looks from passersby, filmmaker and human rights activist Samar Minallah came up with the idea to use the trucks to spread awareness for an unfamiliar purpose.
In 2019, Minallah partnered with the nonprofit organization Roshni Helpline and multinational paint producer Berger Paints to paint the faces of missing Pakistani children who are often abducted to be trafficked or sold to childless families in the region.
“Truck art is a strong medium that is loved and owned by Pakistanis. In the case of missing children, the ‘talaash-i-gumshuda’ messages painted on random walls are not enough to spread the word,” said Minallah in an Arab News report.
“We teamed up and painted not just the information and helpline of missing children but also got their portraits made on the trucks. The pictures were provided by the families of the missing children to Roshni. The trucks became mobile billboards that were moving from one part of Pakistan to another,” said Minallah.
Over 3,000 children are reported missing from the country every year, and with more than 20 painted trucks on the road, the initiative has been able to help find at least seven children since 2019.
“So, it is at times hard to get the word out about these cases,” said Amna Baig, assistant superintendent of Islamabad Police Kohsar. “Campaigns like this, I can only imagine how much visibility they bring. The trucks, you can see them on the roads, across so many commercial hubs. I think it’s brilliant and it should be continued.”
Have a transportation-related human-interest story to share? If so, please contact gsharkey@freightwaves.com.
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