POULSBO — Poulsbo Fire Department Lt. Edward Wright is no stranger to the strenuous conditions in East Africa, but this last trip was by far “one of the most difficult experiences of my life,” he said.

On Nov. 11, Wright, who leads the coordination of a team dedicated to providing volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) and firefighting capabilities to the struggling community of Mubende, Uganda, found himself at the mercy of armed bandits.

Wright explained that as his team was driving from the airport to Mubende, loaded with much-needed medical equipment, teaching supplies and luggage, they were ambushed. Armed bandits stopped them on the highway, 24 miles from Mubende.

“All our money and goods were taken,” he said in a report by the Poulsbo Fire Department public information officer. “It is rather humbling to have a machete held to your throat while you are being restrained on the ground. A rogue police intelligence officer stood guard with an AK-47 machine gun.”

Wright was traveling with Mubende city’s mayor, a city clerk, and paramedic Chris Huskinson of the Madison County Fire Department in Rexburg, Idaho. When they were finally freed, the mayor was able to contact his town’s police commander.

“The police obtained a sniffer dog from a neighboring town’s barracks and had four of the five bandits arrested,” Wright said. “Most of our items and money were returned in four hours — wildly unheard of in that area of the world. The suspects were marched in front of national TV cameras and handed to the military for court martial, as one was also a deserter from the military and they all had worn army jackets. I pray for their souls, as they face a very dark and brief future under Ugandan law. The fifth bandit, the intelligence officer, has a price on his head and is thought to have fled to the Congo.”

The Poulsbo Firefighters Association, along with several other local departments and individual donors, has partnered to aid the Ugandan city in providing their own fire brigade and emergency medical protection. Partnerships include Port Ludlow Fire Department, Orcas Island Fire Department, and the Tumwater Sister City Association.

“The recent ordeal was a really tough thing to go through and quite humiliating for the Mubende community,” Wright said. “I encouraged the mayor to get through this and not let what happened deter us from the really neat things that are taking place. The team completed two weeks of basic emergency medical training for 15 very enthusiastic volunteers. This training is just a start, as there remains much work to do to build a sustainable, functioning emergency services agency. In addition to the training, we were able to build a strong organizational foundation with a broad-based public safety committee and dedicated public funding. Land has even been acquired for a new fire station.”

The effort to help the people in Mubende, located in west-central Uganda, occurred after a fire broke out in an orphanage and residents had no way to save the children. The closest fire brigade was about 100 miles away. Wright said he has been working with volunteer organizations in Africa for more than 20 years and this community has one of the strongest, deepest commitments to improving their community than he has ever seen.

“This project is a people-to-people program funded with donations and undertaken by volunteers. It will improve the quality of life of the more than 40,000 residents of Mubende, which has no emergency services.”

Wright left Uganda on Thanksgiving Day.