Dakar charity delivers on time to Mauritania.
The Dakar Solidario caravan, accompanied by Repsol riders Marc Coma and Nani Roma, finally made a delivery of 14 tonnes of medicine and related supplies to Nouakchott as promised, despite the last-minute cancellation of the desert raid at the start of the month.
Repsol and the Fundación Dakar Solidario were quick to confirm that the planned delivery of medical supplies would still go ahead at the hospitals previously agreed, and according to the same schedule as initially planned, despite the problems that caused the rally itself to be canned.
Several different possibilities were mulled over, from taking the trucks on roads across Morocco and Mauritania to using ships but, in total secrecy after advice from the governments of Spain, France and Mauritania so as not to endanger the expedition after the terrorist threats, Dr Xavier Mir, members of the Fundación Dakar Solidario, Jordi Arcarons and the Repsol riders Nani Roma and Marc Coma, travelled 435km from Barcelona to Marseille airport in a convoy made up of two trucks and two cars so that the supplies could be loaded onto an Antonov cargo plane chartered by the Fundación for Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
"The primary objective that we had since the rally was suspended was for our riders, as ambassadors of Repsol, to be supported and helped at all times," Repsol sponsorship director Javier Inclán commented, "And the second objective, very important for us, was the Dakar Solidario. Their will power is what made us reach Mauritania and so comply with our objective."
The convoy returned to Barcelona the same day, resting just a couple of hours before going to Barcelona airport at 7m to fly, together with several journalists, on a charter to Madrid. There, representatives from Repsol and other members of the national press got on the plane and, together with Dr Mir, Jordi Arcarons, Roma and Coma, travelled all day to land in Nouakchott at 9pm - having made two stops for technical reasons in Málaga and Lanzarote.
When they arrived in Nouakchott, the group was welcomed by representatives from the Spanish Embassy and for Mauritania PM and current ambassador to Spain Ahmed Boubakar, who personally thanked the Fundacion for the efforts made to get the supplies to his country in spite of the dangers.
Nouakchott National Hospital and the Hospital Infantil Pequeño Mauritano will both benefit from some of the supplies, which were personally unloaded by the travelling party between visits. The first stop will be the Spanish Embassy, where the supplies will be divided into different batches in the presence of members of the Mauritanian government, before being collected by representatives from hospitals in Nouakchott, Chinguetti, Nema, Ayoune and Kaédi.
"I value the fact that the Dakar Solidario has been able to reach Mauritania, as it does every year, very positively," Alejandro Polanco, Spain's ambassador to Mauritania, admitted, "Once again, it has brought valuable supplies for hospitals in Mauritania, as well as for schools. This is very important, both the commitment shown by the members of Dakar Solidario as well as the commitment of Spain with this country at this difficult time."
