eNews – June 2025

Tensa’s story from suffering to strength

In late 2023, 30-year-old Tensa faced a devastating ordeal in her remote rural community. After enduring three days of difficult labour at home without access to a hospital, her baby, a large eighth child, could not be delivered safely. When transport finally arrived, Tensa was carried to the hospital, only to discover that her baby had already died inside her. The trauma didn’t end there: she developed a fistula, a painful childbirth injury causing uncontrollable urine leakage, and suffered paralysis in one of her legs. Facing overwhelming physical pain, emotional grief, and the fear of being separated from her children, Tensa’s future seemed uncertain.

With the support of her community and family, and the care of local missionary doctors, Tensa was referred to the Reconciliation Hospital in Juba, South Sudan, where specialist fistula surgeon, Dr Andrew Browning operates. Thanks to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), she was flown hundreds of kilometres from the Nuba Mountains to receive the expert surgery she desperately needed. Despite initial setbacks, including a typhoid infection that postponed her operation, Tensa’s surgery was ultimately successful. She began regaining strength, learning to walk again with a walker, and finding hope after months of suffering.

During her hospital stay, a remarkable reunion also unfolded. Through the resourcefulness of hospital staff using social media, Tensa was reunited with siblings she had not seen for eight years, a joyful moment that would not have been possible without the journey on the MAF flight.

Now recovering, Tensa encourages other women living with fistula not to fear seeking help, assuring them of the compassionate care available. Her story is a powerful testament to resilience, community support, and the life-changing impact of partnerships between MAF, medical teams, and local ministries in bringing healing to women from isolated communities in South Sudan.

KOko flies home with new eyes and a new hope

Seventy-year-old Ngoita Olemardadi, affectionately known as Koko, was recently flown by MAF from Arusha to her village of Malambo, Tanzania, after life-changing cataract surgery restored her vision. Once completely blind and reliant on others for survival, Koko’s journey to restored sight began through Help for the Maasai, a partner organisation that had supported her since 2018. Her surgeries, performed in Arusha, repaired both eyes, giving her the gift of sight once more.

Before the 35-minute MAF flight home, Koko faced a future clouded by loss, poverty, and isolation. A widow with only two surviving daughters, she had no stable home and relied on community kindness. Without MAF, her return would have meant a gruelling 8-hour trip involving bus transfers and a rough motorcycle ride. Instead, she arrived refreshed, walking unassisted, beaming with joy. “I can see… don’t hold my hand!” she exclaimed. Koko’s story is a powerful reminder of how one flight can restore dignity, independence, and hope.

A medical mission reaches mansare

For more than a year, Mansare Nankoria lived with the painful effects of leprosy, her hands and feet bearing stubborn wounds with little hope of healing. In her remote village of Fouroubouria, central Guinea, Mansare had sought help from numerous clinics but found no lasting relief, until a dedicated medical team from Mission Partners for Christ arrived, made possible by a crucial flight from MAF.

MAF transported the healthcare team from the capital, Conakry, to Faranah, bypassing what would have been an exhausting two-day overland journey. From there, the team traveled by road to reach Mansare’s village, bringing essential medical treatment, medicine, and health education to communities isolated from quality healthcare. “Without MAF’s flights, reaching these remote areas would be a difficult and tiring challenge for our team,” explained Sheri Postma, the mission leader.

Grateful local leaders and villagers welcomed the outreach, which provided not only physical healing but also hope and encouragement. For Mansare and many others in the Kuranko region, MAF’s air services are more than transport, they are a vital connection to life-changing care and the love of God.

MAF opens the skies to healing for nine tiny lives

In South Sudan, nine babies diagnosed with hydrocephalus and spina bifida were given a new chance at life, thanks to a flight that carried them and their carers across the border to Uganda for specialist treatment. For many families, like that of baby Nanok, the journey to an accurate diagnosis had been long and uncertain. Initially told it was just malaria, her family soon realised something more serious was unfolding.

Local hospitals couldn’t offer the advanced care needed, and the only suitable facility, CURE Children’s Hospital in Uganda, was located far away and difficult to reach. MAF’s three-hour flight from Juba to Tororo spared families the hardship of a nearly two-day trip on rough, remote roads, helping them arrive safely, swiftly, and in time for surgery.

“These are some of the most important flights we do,” said MAF Uganda Country Director Ruth Jack. “They reflect the heart of our mission.” For mothers like Ayen, who discovered a community of others walking the same road, the experience brought relief, solidarity, and new strength. Through collaboration with local partners, MAF continues to make these critical connections possible, bringing hope to some of South Sudan’s most vulnerable families.