The president of the Freight Transport Association, Stewart Oades, has presented Gary Forster, chief executive of international development charity Transaid, with a cheque for £150,000 to mark the total funds raised by FTA’s membership renewal fundraising scheme and the Cycle Challenge event which took place last summer.

FTA gives its members the option to make a donation to Transaid along with their annual FTA membership fees, to raise vital funds and awareness for the Professional Driver Training Project run in Zambia and Tanzania, which is helping to save lives on Africa’s roads through the training of truck and bus drivers and technicians.

Transaid’s latest fund-raising event is a charity bike ride from London to Paris, organised in conjunction with FTA, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the Road Haulage Association and Transport for London. Together, the five organisations have recruited a team of transport and logistics professionals to cycle to the French capital between 5 and 8 October, with the aim of collectively raising £100,000 for Transaid.

Oades said:“We are delighted that FTA members, staff and colleagues have shown such amazing generosity in raising this fantastic sum over the past two-and-a-half years or so, in order to support the important work that Transaid carries out. But we are not resting on our laurels and are determined to carry on with our fundraising efforts in order to save lives in Africa and the developing world.”

Forster said:“Over 1.3 million people are killed globally on the roads each year, and 90% occur in developing countries. Over the past few years FTA has given us tremendous support in addressing these dramatic issues for which we are very grateful. Our London to Paris Ride this October aims to reduce the economic and social impact of road crashes across Africa and the developing world; FTA’s help to organise this ride is yet another vital contribution to our work and to the international road safety agenda in this UN decade of road safety.”