'We're helping save lives': Grande Prairie philanthropists drive emergency vehicles to Mexico

Highway to Mexico co-leaders Norm Lafleur, left, and Mark Marcotte are heading to Mexico with the rotary clubs of Grande Prairie in an ambulance that will be delivered to a community in Mexico. Pictured in Grande Prairie, Alta. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (Jesse Boily)

Sixteen Grande Prairie rotary club members are taking a road trip to Mazatlán, Mexico, in eight specialty vehicles to be donated to local groups there.

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The eight-day, 5,500-kilometre journey includes six school buses, a fire truck and an ambulance.

"We're helping save lives; the extent of it is unreal when you get down there and you see what it actually accomplishes," said Mark Marcotte, co-leader of the Highway to Mexico project.

The vehicles are loaded up with equipment including sports jerseys, firefighting gear, medical supplies, wheelchairs and, this year, an x-ray machine.

Norm Lafleur, Highway to Mexico co-leader, said the trip has helped students for years and saved lives with medical and firefighting equipment.

"The very first trip I went on is what sold me on this project," said Marcotte.

"I was driving a fire truck that year, back in 2014, and we took it to what they deemed a small town. It would be their first fire truck."

Marcotte said that since the town had police vehicles and no ambulance, he expected something very small. They arrived in a town of about 70,000 people.

"It was Grande Prairie, and it was their first fire truck, and they still didn't even have an ambulance. So when people wonder what are we accomplishing down there, I don't know if I can put that (in) any better perspective than (to say) 70,000 people got their first fire truck."

Highway to Mexico has brought about 125 vehicles to Mexico in the past 22 years; all but seven are still on the road.

Once the vehicles arrive in Mexico, they are dispensed by the local Mexican Rotary Clubs to places in need.

The vehicles are all donated or bought for a low cost, as they are considered at the end of their lifespan in Canada. In Mexico, they are just beginning their life.

Marcotte said there are places where the club has seen a pick-up truck with a water tank and garden hose hooked to a water pump being used as a fire truck.

"They ran into fires wearing sandals, shorts and T-shirts, and now, 20-some years later, they have full-fledged fire departments.

"Their fire departments are still all volunteers, but the government is finally putting money into the fire departments where they can now hire a fire chief," he said.

Getting the vehicles is the hardest part for many communities, and maintenance is less of an issue.

"They don't have a problem repairing and keeping the stuff going, whereas here we're like, 'No, it's too expensive to keep it going.'" Marcotte said.

He noted that when he brought the firetruck in 2014, the clutch and some lights were not working well.

Within a few hours of receiving the truck, crews had the clutch repaired, equipment dry-cleaned and pressed, and the truck cleaned and polished.

A long journey

The journey takes a long time since the vehicles are older and travel slowly; blown tires and maintenance issues are abundant in the eight days to Mexico.

"Last year, we had seven tires blow on us, so you know, you're finding places along the way to stop and get a tire repaired before you can continue, so it's an eight-day journey of 12-hour days," said Marcotte.

Still, he said appreciation is shown when they arrive, as ceremonies and parades are held for the arrival of the new equipment.

"You end up having to do a ceremony for each and every vehicle where they get to say thank you probably about 1,000 times," Marcotte said.

"It just shows the extent of the gratitude that they have for us as Canadians and as Rotarians for doing this."

This year, rotarians from the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie Swan City, the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie After Five, and the Rotary Club of Edson are all part of the journey.

"Highway to Mexico would not be possible without the generous support of numerous municipalities, industrial safety companies, and donations and gifts in kind from suppliers," said a media release.

"These entities provide us with fire apparatus that is being replaced with new vehicles and gear and clothing that is no longer safe in Canada but can provide many more years of service in Mexico.

"Funding for travel, fuel, and insurance is provided by the individual rotary clubs involved, while the drivers donate their time to drive and distribute the vehicles in Mexico."

The idea for Highway to Mexico sparked in 2001 when Rotary Club of Grande Prairie member Lou Albinati noticed many people in wheelchairs while he was vacationing in Mazatlán.

After confirming the need with the Rotary Club of Mazatlán AC, Lou acquired many wheelchairs upon his return to Alberta and a school bus to drive them down in, which he did in 2002.

The Highway to Mexico project became official in 2003, led by Allan Kuechle, with two more school buses delivered in 2004.