Welcome to this month’s enews!
When disaster strikes in the world’s hardest-to-reach places, roads often disappear, bridges collapse, and communities are cut off from the help they desperately need. It’s in these moments that access from above becomes life-saving.
For over 50 years, MAF has stood ready to respond – deploying aircraft, pilots, and surge teams to bring emergency relief when and where it’s needed most. From the tsunami in Indonesia to hurricanes in the Caribbean, from earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal to Ebola outbreaks in the DRC – MAF has been there
And we are still there today, serving on the frontlines of emergencies across the globe.
Myanmar (2025): After a devastating 7.7 earthquake, MAF brought food parcels to families in Tada-U, greeted with shouts of joy as rice, noodles, and vital supplies arrived.
East Arnhem Land, Australia (2025): When floods cut off 25 homelands, isolating more than 550 people. MAF flights became the only way in or out, delivering over 1,100kg of food and fuel.
Kenya (2024): After destructive flash floods, MAF flew survey team and ministry workers into Marsabit, where submerged roads made land access impossible.
South Sudan / Uganda (2024): In Uganda, home to 1.9 million refugees, the largest refugee community in Africa, the needs remain urgent. Many families have fled conflict in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, arriving with nothing but the clothes on their backs. “It’s absolutely desperate”, shared Ruth Jack, MAF’s Deputy Director for the Africa Region.
These flights carry more than food and supplies, they carry hope, dignity, and connection.
And while these are just a few recent examples, they represent decades of faithful service in disaster zones around the globe.
Every hour matters in an emergency. Thanks to your prayers and support, MAF can launch within 48 hours, helping communities not only survive, but begin to rebuild.
READ MORE STORIES OF MAF’S GLOBAL RESPONSE LEGACY:
Chad, 1985: FAMINE
In the early 1980s, Chad was struggling to recover from years of war when severe drought struck, leaving thousands facing starvation. By 1985, desperate families were walking over 1,000 miles into neighbouring Sudan in search of food. Hundreds of children were dying each day.
Flying across southern Chad, MAF pilots witnessed the crisis unfolding from the air – villages parched, crops failed, and families without hope. Urgent action was needed.
Thanks to the generosity of supporters, a large-scale relief operation was launched alongside local churches, mission workers, and the Bébalém hospital. MAF delivered grain to the hardest-hit communities, while teams on the ground provided vital medical care and vaccinations.
By the end of the operation, 2,460 tonnes of grain had been distributed, saving an estimated 55,000 lives and helping to avert a measles outbreak. What began as a desperate fight for survival became a powerful story of faith, teamwork, and hope taking flight.
Rwanda, 1994: GENOCIDE
When Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down in April 1994, it triggered one of the darkest chapters in modern history. Within hours, Hutu extremists began a brutal campaign of genocide against the Tutsi people. As the violence spread, tens of thousands fled across the border into Tanzania, where a massive refugee camp quickly formed near Ngara.
MAF was among the first to respond, flying UN officials, medical teams, and urgently needed relief supplies into the region, and evacuating Rwandan missionaries to safety. Recognising the growing scale of the crisis, MAF pilot John Clifford identified a stretch of tarmac road just 5.5 miles south of Ngara that could serve as an airstrip. Within days, MAF aircraft were landing there, helping coordinate a global relief effort that would continue for many months.
Planes and crew from four MAF bases across three countries joined the response, providing critical transport and logistical support amid chaos and tragedy. The Rwandan genocide would become known as one of the most horrific human massacres since the Holocaust and MAF’s presence ensured that hope, help, and compassion reached even the hardest places in that desperate time.
Indonesia, 2004: Tsunami
On 26 December 2004, a massive undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra’s Aceh province in Indonesia triggered one of the deadliest tsunamis in history. The disaster claimed more than 225,000 lives and displaced over half a million people across 12 countries. Roads and bridges were destroyed or buried under debris, leaving many communities completely isolated.
Having served in Indonesia since the 1950s, MAF was among the first on the scene. Our aircraft carried out vital survey flights and delivered urgently needed food and medical supplies to the hardest-hit areas. With multiple agencies responding, MAF was asked to help coordinate the air relief effort.
Two aircraft were deployed immediately, making daily flights into cut-off regions. They were soon joined by an amphibious de Havilland Turbo Beaver from MAF Bangladesh, able to land on rivers and coastlines where no airstrip existed.
With communication networks down, MAF also established temporary radio centres, enabling relief workers to connect with their headquarters and coordinate aid distribution. In the months that followed, MAF continued to fly, delivering building materials, water pumps, and other essentials to help communities begin to rebuild their lives.
Papua New Guinea, 2018: Earthquake
On 26 February 2018, a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea, triggering landslides, destroying homes, and cutting off entire communities from clean water and food.
With MAF already serving in-country, our national staff, the MAF Technologies team, and Disaster Response specialists mobilised immediately. Within hours, MAF was in the air conducting survey flights to assess the damage, information that was quickly shared with the PNG Government, Australian Defence Force, and other responding agencies. One Defence Force leader remarked, “MAF will pretty much determine which direction resources go, for they currently have the most information.”
Thanks to the incredible generosity of supporters across Australia, more than $265,000 was raised to help fund this response. Those gifts enabled MAF to perform 248 flights, transporting over 200,000 kilograms of cargo and more than 400 passengers, including medevac patients, relief workers, and displaced families.
In the months that followed, MAF continued to deliver food, water, and shelter materials to those most affected. Even today, our teams remain committed to serving these communities, a powerful reminder that when crisis strikes, hope can still take flight.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC), 2018-2019: EBOLA OUTBREAK
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains one of the world’s most high-risk regions for Ebola, facing multiple outbreaks over the past decades. Each time, MAF has played a vital role in helping coordinate and deliver the emergency response.
During the 2018–19 outbreak in North Kivu, near the city of Beni, MAF provided critical logistics and flight support from our bases in Nyankunde, Bunia, and Kinshasa. Working in partnership with the World Food Program Logistics Cluster, the DRC Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, the UN, and other aid agencies, MAF flights became a vital link in the fight against the spread of the virus.
Over a 17-month period, MAF aircraft transported medical teams, sanitation supplies, and essential cargo, including more than 1,200kg of Ebola vaccines, oxygen bottles, tents, and even motorcycle parts to keep ground teams moving. Each flight carried hope and help into areas few others could reach, demonstrating the power of partnership in times of crisis.
BAHAMAS, 2019: HURRICANE
In 2019, Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas, leaving entire neighbourhoods destroyed and thousands without homes, food, or hope. In response, MAF’s Disaster Response team partnered with Missionary Flights International to coordinate relief operations and deliver life-saving supplies to those most affected.
Working alongside the Salvation Army and Rev. Fredrick McAlpine, Member of Parliament for the Pineridge Constituency and pastor of a local Baptist church in Freeport, MAF helped ensure aid reached those in desperate need. Rev. McAlpine established a distribution centre at a primary school in Freeport, as well as a counselling centre to support families grieving the loss of loved ones. Members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force also joined the effort, lending critical manpower in the aftermath.
One of the hardest-hit areas was the Regency neighbourhood, home to over 12,000 people. Every house was severely damaged, and residents lost nearly everything except what they carried when evacuated. In the face of such devastation, MAF’s support helped bring order, care, and comfort, a tangible reminder of God’s presence amid the storm.
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