Latest News Archive - MAF Australia MAF Australia

(P)reaching out in Saluk – MAF in Papua New Guinea

The MAF PNG Ministry Team goes out on invitation of churches and communities and as capacity and flight programming allow. The ministry is one of sharing information about MAF, encouragement of the local congregation and community, evangelism, teaching and training.

The team forms itself by invitation of its coordinator and can include any staff member and there’s always a rich variety of personal skill sets, experience of God’s grace and work shared.

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A Privilege to Help – MAF in Papua New Guinea

The story of a recent medevac for a pregnant lady in Papua New Guinea and the extent our MAF staff will go to, to save the lives of the people they serve.

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Ride for Fuel – South Coast Dreaming 2019

540km, 9500m, 24 awesome riders, 7 phenomenal support crew and most importantly $85k raised this far!

Congratulations to all our amazing riders who have completed the first of two Ride for Fuels this year – “South Coast Dreaming”.

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Students Embrace Taking to the Skies for God!

We want every Christian in Australia to know about what we do. In the past 12 months or so MAF has had the pleasure of being invited into 21 schools throughout Australia and given the opportunity through creative and interactive presentations to educate students of the work of MAF; informing them of the plight of the isolated and inspiring them to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

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The Greatest of These is Love

Article by Divyan Ahimaz, Area Communications Officer – Asia Pacific Region and Roshni Ahimaz Based on an account by Francis Wayambo, LAME Photos provided by Francis Wayambo, LAME Francis Wayambo and his family moved to Australia from Papua New Guinea two years ago. They live in the Yolngu community of Yirrkala and have established good […]

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The Life of a MAF Wife

An amazing recount of her time serving with MAF in Arnhem Land and on a remote outstation in Papua New Guinea by Mif Little. Mif is the wife of Andy Little, who is now Head of Training at the MAF Mareeba Training Centre after several years on the field as a MAF pilot. Read about their adventures here.

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A Royal Legacy – Demining Angola with MAF Partner HALO

You never know who you will meet in the course of a day of flying with MAF! on 27 September 2019, MAF pilot Marijn Goud had the privilege of meeting HRH Prince Harry while he visited a minefield being cleared by The HALO Trust in Dirico, Angola. Marijn shares: “It’s been an absolute honour to meet him there and be a part of the incredible work HALO is doing in Angola. This will benefit so many of the isolated people we serve.”

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MAF in Papua New Guinea – visit by the Swiss Ambassador to PNG

On Monday, 16 September 2019, when Papua New Guinea celebrated it’s 44th Independence Day, the Swiss Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Yasmine Zwahlen and her husband Pedro Zwahlen, Swiss Ambassador to Australia visited our MAF operations.

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Timor Leste: Health in Isolated Communities

Isolation is caused by many things in Timor-Leste! Some people here are isolated by jungley forests where no clear road has been made. Other people live perched high on the sides and ridges of mountains, with roads that often are impassable due to landslides, mud or generally poor condition. MAF Timor-Leste loves partnering with organisations like SHARE who bring health and education to some of the most difficult to reach places in our world.

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Translators Unite for the Indigenous Bible

It is 2019 and there is still a long way to go to complete translating the whole Bible to Yolngu-Matha, the heart language of the Yolngu people. The encouraging news is that there are both indigenous and non-indigenous translators in North East Arnhem Land who have invested years in building relationships and learning language to effectively translate the Bible.

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Gloria’s First Flight

Gloria Kukyuwa is the first student to go through the full time MAF training centre’s Commercial Pilot License (CPL) course for Papua New Guinea nationals. After 2 weeks of ground school, she went up in the air in VH-WMC for her first flight. Gloria described the experience as exhilarating.

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A MAF Australia & NZ Alumni Reunion

The value of any organisation can, in part, be measured by the depth of its history. As MAF worldwide gears up to celebrate 75 years of service in 2020, a good deal of that history (in the Asia-Pacific region at least) was on show this year in Cairns. Seventy-three former MAF Australia/New Zealand staff (almost […]

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Light for Kargi’s Kids – MAF in Kenya

Kargi is one of the many areas in northern Kenya with only a vaguely defined airstrip. Without MAF, a trip to Nairobi would take almost 9 hours to drive in a car and 11 hours on Kargi’s few motorbikes. However, for most, the only option would be a 5-day trip on foot. Now, with MAF, it takes little more than 2 hours.

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Press Release: Suspension of GippsAero GA8 Aircraft Flights in Arnhem Land and Timor-Leste

On the 20th of July 2019, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) issued a notice to operators suspending all GippsAero GA8 flights for Australian registered aircraft for a 15 day period. This has affected MAF operations in Arnhem Land and Timor-Leste.

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What do MAF Pilots Do? MAF in Papua New Guinea

Sometimes I have been asked the question, “What does a MAF pilot do?” The answer is different for each country where MAF operates, and from one day to the next. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), we do many things; on any one day I could be a mailman, an ambulance driver, a hearse driver, a taxi, a delivery man, and many other things, including being a school bus driver!

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Tali Takes to the Air: MAF’s Pilot Training Program

Tali is currently training to become a pilot at MAF Mareeba’s Flight Training Centre. Only 3% of pilots globally are women, that is about 4000 out of 130,000 pilots worldwide. It has been nearly 50 years since the first woman became a commercial pilot but as you can see the numbers are still very low. Therefore, MAF Mareeba having a female trainee pilot is particularly exciting. Read Tali’s story here.

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Verified Versatility: The MAF Shuttle Flights in Kenya

MAF’s shuttle flights are like flying busses that go from airstrip to airstrip to bring people and cargo to different locations. It requires a versatile aircraft and some planning. Sometimes rows of seats are removed or stacked on top of the cargo and reinstalled to make it all fit into the aircraft.

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PNG Earthquake: An Update

On February 26th 2018, a 7.5 earthquake hit PNG and since that time, MAF has been serving those impacted in the remote areas. MAF has received donations from individuals and businesses in PNG and around the world, in addition to funding from New Zealand Aid, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Barrick New Guinea Limited. This has allowed us to subsidise flights so aid organisations like World Vision and Care International, UNICEF, WFP and other groups, and individuals wanting to assist the people in the remote areas could get teams and supplies in more affordably. Our aircraft have flown in building supplies, food supplies, seeds and tools for replanting, water tanks and toilets, clothing and many other items.

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Makeshift Medical Church – MAF in Kenya

Instead of a nine-hour drive, One Child Matters chartered two MAF Caravans to fly a medical outreach team of 18 people from Developing Workers to Lokori. From there they drove 25 km in a bus to Elelea and set up a makeshift clinic in the local church.

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Mission Aviation Fellowship Responds to Second Mozambique Cyclone

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), operating as Ambassador Aviation in Mozambique, is once again conducting aerial assessments to determine what aid is needed in northern Mozambique areas hit by Cyclone Kenneth on April 25. MAF conducted similar assessment flights when Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique farther south five weeks ago.

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