Programs & impact

What happens after the call.

Four specialised branches, one shared purpose. Here's how our volunteers search, respond, teach — and what it takes to keep them in the field.

120+

Field call-outs & exercises yearly

Active trained volunteers

Certified K-9 teams

3,500

People reached by workshops

Approximate annual figures, including training exercises and joint operations with partners.

U-01Operational branch

Wilderness Search & Mountain Rescue

Deploying highly trained field volunteers, navigation tech, and specialized search teams to locate lost individuals in dense forests, mountain routes, and rural regions surrounding Banská Bystrica.

When a hiker misses a check-in or a mushroom picker doesn't come home, our teams move fast. We work from a mobile command post, divide terrain into search sectors, and send out teams equipped with GPS trackers, radios, thermal optics and first-aid kits. Every footstep is logged so no area is missed — and so families know exactly what's been covered.

Grid & hasty search techniques
GPS tracking and digital mapping
Rope access and steep-terrain evacuation
Night operations with thermal imaging

U-02Operational branch

K-9 Search Unit & Specialized Tracking

Utilizing trained search-and-rescue dogs for air-scent tracking, disaster rubble search, and trailing missing children and elderly citizens.

A trained dog can cover in an hour what a line of volunteers covers in a day. Our handlers train their dogs for years — practising air-scent work across open hillsides, trailing a single person's scent through town, and searching collapsed structures. When the missing person is a child or an elderly neighbour with dementia, this speed can make all the difference.

Air-scent area search
Mantrailing (scent-specific trailing)
Rubble and disaster search
Ongoing handler and dog certification

U-03Operational branch

Disaster Relief & Crisis Intervention

Providing immediate boots-on-the-ground emergency assistance during severe weather events, floods, land slumps, and civil emergencies in Slovakia.

When rivers rise or storms tear through a village, we support professional emergency services with additional trained hands: sandbagging, evacuation help, welfare checks on vulnerable residents, logistics and supply distribution. We stay as long as we're needed and help communities take their first steps towards recovery.

Flood response and sandbagging
Evacuation assistance & welfare checks
Emergency logistics and supply support
Landslide and storm-damage search

U-04Operational branch

Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Workshops

Educational outreach programs for schools, local hiking clubs, and communities teaching outdoor survival skills, first aid, and preventive safety practices.

The best rescue is the one that never has to happen. Our volunteers visit classrooms, scout groups, hiking clubs and senior centres to share practical knowledge: how to plan a route, what to pack, what to do if you get lost, and how to give first aid until help arrives. Every workshop is free and adapted to its audience.

'Hug a Tree' lost-child safety for schools
Basic first aid & CPR
Trip planning and mountain weather
Community preparedness for floods & storms

Equipment needs

Gear that brings people home.

We're volunteers, but our equipment can't be. These are our current priorities — each one funded by people like you.

Planning a search inside the command vehicle

Item	Why it matters	Est. cost
Thermal imaging camera	Finds people in darkness and dense forest	€4,800
Handheld digital radios (×10)	Reliable comms where mobile signal drops	€3,200
GPS trackers for teams	Live sector tracking from command	€1,900
Rope rescue kit	Safe evacuation from steep terrain	€2,600
K-9 vet & training fund (per dog / year)	Keeps our dogs healthy and certified	€900
First-aid & trauma packs	Restocked after every deployment	€150 each

Fund equipment