Welcome to this month’s enews!
The love of a father can move mountains… and fuel keeps it flying.
In the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea, Jamie Gudego lives that truth every day. As a father of five, he not only cares for his own family but also for 1,500 people in Honinabi, an isolated village surrounded by jungle and mountains. As the local health worker, he treks hours for medicine, extracts teeth, delivers babies, and prays for safe flights.
When a child is sick, Jamie is the first to respond. But without fuel in a MAF plane, Jamie can only go so far. It’s fuel that makes the difference between a 4-day trek through mud and a 35-minute flight to urgent care – turning fear into hope and giving life a fighting chance.
Because of this, every litre of fuel carries more than an aircraft, it carries medicine, relief and the hope that no child or parent in these remote places will be left to suffer alone.
Thank you for continuing to fuel our mission, one life-changing flight at a time.
Check out the stories below to see what’s been happening around the world!
THE HEALTH WORKER WHO NEVER GAVE UP
Deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, Jamie Gudego has been a lifeline to the remote village of Honinabi for the past nine years. A father of five, church leader, and trained Community Health Worker, Jamie cares for more than 1,500 people who have no other access to medical care.
Honinabi is only reachable by MAF flights, with the nearest town four days’ walk away. Jamie treats malaria, tuberculosis and respiratory illnesses, provides antenatal and family planning clinics, and even performs emergency dental extractions. When the local airstrip is closed or unsafe, he treks three hours through mud and jungle to collect medical supplies, sometimes carrying heavy cartons back on foot.
Despite the hardships, Jamie continues to serve with perseverance and humility, knowing that MAF’s flights keep his work and his community connected to the outside world. Whether delivering babies, trekking for medicine, or comforting the sick, his story is a powerful reminder that every safe landing brings hope to those who need it most.
HOW A 24-minute flight saved a mother
In Papua New Guinea’s remote Western Province, 24 minutes made all the difference for Shimbil Deisi. When the young mother of two faced life-threatening complications during childbirth, the nearest hospital was hours away by boat or canoe, a journey that has cost many mothers and babies their lives.
By God’s grace, MAF’s amphibious floatplane was already on the waters of Lake Murray when the call for help came through. Within moments, pilot Chad Tilley and the team were ready. Shimbil was quickly airlifted to Kiunga, reaching the hospital in just 24 minutes, where she received the life-saving care she desperately needed.
While her baby could not be saved, Shimbil’s life was spared. Today, she has returned home to Boboa, supported by her sister Gensy, and is continuing her journey of healing.
MAF’s floatplane project, a partnership with Sustainable Development Program (SDP), is not only a lifeline for medevacs like Shimbil’s, but also a crucial link for delivering vital medical supplies to isolated clinics bringing hope, health and help to communities that can only be reached by air.
The transformation of one refugee’s life encourages maf to keep flying
Three years ago, Elizabeth Andrew Gatluak arrived at Uganda’s Rhino Refugee Camp carrying nothing but trauma and the determination to survive. Orphaned at nine, forced into marriage at 15, and brutally attacked while pregnant with her youngest child, she fled South Sudan after her husband was murdered and her home was raided by rebels. Crawling to safety with life-threatening injuries, she eventually escaped to Uganda with her five children, desperate for a new beginning.
Today, Elizabeth’s life looks completely different. Through the support of MAF partner Khayamandi Foundation, she began working as a cleaner at New Life Children’s Ministry Centre and has now become a teacher, inspiring hope for other young lives, even as she rebuilds her own.
For MAF, stories like Elizabeth’s are a powerful reminder of why we keep flying. By turning a 12-hour road journey into just over an hour by air, MAF flights multiply the impact of partners like Khayamandi, delivering water, education, and life-changing opportunities to those who need them most. Elizabeth’s journey from trauma to teacher is a testament to resilience, hope, and the life-transforming difference these flights make.
Steven biggs on faith, family and flight
Former Brisbane police officer Steven Biggs has spent more than a decade flying for MAF, fulfilling his boyhood dream of being a bush pilot, while helping some of the world’s most isolated people. From emergency medevacs in Liberia to training the next generation of MAF pilots in Mareeba, Steven’s flying career is as much about family and faith as it is about aviation.
As a father of three and now a grandfather of four, Steven reflects that his proudest moments are not his own achievements, but watching his sons grow into fathers themselves. His role with MAF often takes him far from home, even over Father’s Day, but he finds purpose in helping other dads across the world keep their families safe through MAF’s life-saving flights.
One moment that has stayed with Steven was a 2020 medevac in Liberia, when he airlifted a young missionary family to safety as the country went into pandemic lockdown. “It happened to be my son’s 21st birthday that day,” Steven recalls. “I was missing my own family, but helping another father protect his family made every sacrifice worth it.”
Steven is proud to support MAF’s Fuel for Father’s Day campaign, which invites Australians to honour their dads by donating a jerrycan of fuel, keeping MAF planes flying to remote communities where every minute matters. “I don’t need gifts anymore,” Steven says. “But fuel for MAF really does make a difference for fathers and their families across the world.”
Learn more about Fuel for Father’s Day and how you can get involved by clicking below.
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