Dear AFM Team Members and Partners:

As the COVID-19 Vaccine is becoming available to many of us, we have received a number inquiries from team members about that vaccine and AFM's position/policy on the vaccine. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you AFM's policy on vaccinations and the information that AFM is receiving from our partners around the world.

AFM does not require or proscribe that team members receive certain or any vaccinations to be a part of a team traveling overseas. We provide all team members with the CDC recommendations for vaccines for the area a team will be traveling and encourage each team member to consult with their personal doctors and make the decision they feel best suits them individually.

The only time a vaccine is required to be a part of a team is when it is required as a condition of entry into a country our team will be working in. For example: many countries do require proof yellow fever vaccine for entry. In those cases, a team member would need to have the correct yellow fever vaccine to be a part of the team so that they could enter the country.

At this time, no country we are working in requires the COVID-19 Vaccine for entry, although almost all require a quarantine period upon arrival. The feedback AFM is receiving from our partners in many of the countries we are working in is that in the near future, the COVID-19 Vaccine may well be required for entry into the country or to enter the country without having to first go through a quarantine period.

I wanted to share the information that we are receiving from our global partners with you so that you may consider this information as you make your decisions about taking the COVID-19 Vaccine when it becomes available to you.

We are optimistic that we will be able to put a team or two on the ground in Africa in the autumn of 2021. AFM is actively working with our partners to stay up to date on entry and other requirements for the countries we are serving in and we will pass that information on to potential team member so that they can make informed decisions.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. We know that many questions do not have definitive answers yet but we will do our best to find answers to questions you may have.

Thank you for all you're doing to support AFM and firefighters across the world.

Sincerely, Dave Moore, Executive Director

For additional information on the COVID-19 Vaccine and other travel related Health and vaccine questions we recommend visiting the Center for Disease Control, Traveler’s Health

On October 10, 2020 Africa Fire Mission during our Annual Fundraiser, Africa Fire Mission was pleased to honor Amelia Smith and Jonathan Seastone. (watch the 2020 Chama on Facebook >)

Africa Fire Mission thrives on volunteers. Volunteers are really the heart of our organization. We have dozens and dozens of volunteers. We have volunteers from all across the United States, Africa and Europe that help to make AFM run on a daily basis. In 2019, Africa Fire Mission logged 8851 volunteer hours! These men, women, firefighters, civilians and children are all a vital part of Africa Fire Mission being able to achieve its goals and objectives.

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Amelia Smith – Volunteer of the Year

Amelia is resourceful, relentless, takes on tasks with little direction, helps us to implement new projects that expand our mission. Amelia traveled with LifeSpring Christian Church and Africa Fire Mission to Kenya several years ago and since then has been a dedicated volunteer along with her husband, Andy. Thank you Amelia for all that you have done and all that you will do for Africa Fire Mission and those that we serve around the world. Amelia says: “It has been great to watch Africa Fire Mission grow and adapt through the years. I’m grateful to be able to support AFM behind the scenes.”

When Africa Fire Mission travels with a team to provide training in Africa or other parts of the world, our team members volunteer their time, talents and treasures to provide world class training to our partners. Our instructors, undergo training in advance of the trip to prepare of the mission and prepare the lessons that they will teach in our week long fire training events. We have been fortunate to have many instructors return year after year and continue to build each year on the training that they have been providing as well as to build strong relationships with firefighers and our overseas partners.

Jonathan Seastone, Trainer of the Year Denver Fire Department –

Jon has gone above and beyond the call of duty. He has been on multiple missions and has recruited instructors for our work in Kenya, Zambia and Ukraine. He has led new instructors to challenge themselves to teach the right material at the right level for the firefighters we serve. Jon pushes and encourages the firefighters he teaches at our training events to push themselves beyond their limits, to be stronger than they think they are. Jon is not afraid to hold Chief Fire Officers, in the countries where we serve, accountable for safe and advanced training for their firefighters so that their firefighters are able to serve their communities and to protect themselves from the dangers of fire. Jon and his wife Shandy, who serves as AFM’s volunteer Mission Teams Coordinator, have both helped to grow AFM’s programs in countless ways. Jon says: “With every trip I’ve wanted to something bigger (with the training) and we are accomplishing that. This award means alot.”