MAF in June 2021: Serving Together Around the World to Bring Help, Hope, and Healing Through Aviation.
Arnhem Land
A recent flight story as told by Pilot Anton Zhang:
Anton writes, “last week Laynhapuy Homeland School chartered four planes to take students and their friends/family to attend their graduation ceremony. The graduation was held at Garrthalala homeland, a regular destination for MAF, where we often fly students to attend learning camps. Garrthalala is a beautiful spot, right by the beach! It was a privilege to witness some of the students we regularly fly graduate from the school. Here is a photo of all four planes.”
Papua New Guinea
Libraries around the world can quite often be taken for granted. Lots of school students would probably never even enter a library unless forced to by their teacher. However, in the remote communities of Papua New Guinea, if they are fortunate enough to have a school, a school library is a treasured privilege.
Earlier this year, Telefomin based pilot Ryan Cole had the opportunity to help build up the school library at the remote community of Bak. The Principal of the Bak primary school applied through Australian Aid for a donation of library books. He received 24 boxes containing 1,000 books. But because Bak is a very remote community, the books only made it to the closest town which is 70 miles away over mountains and through jungle terrain with no roads.
Ryan was able to fly the books to a village close to Bak in time for the new school year which started in February, then the boxes containing the books had to be hand-carried over mountain footpaths into the next valley where Bak is located.
For the school kids at Bak, these library books will be a treasured possession and will be a blessing to the students of today and tomorrow.
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A story of a recent flight from MAF Australia’s Paul Woodington serving in Papua New Guinea.
Paul writes,
“I flew the RAA survey team for a week into some of the most challenging strips in PNG.
The RAA – Rural Airstrip Agency is a joint initiative of MAF’s working with the remote communities to maintain their airstrip. Many MAF pilots have flown the RAA teams, but it seems they kept the hardest back for the old pilot (me!).
We flew into eleven closed airstrips, mostly over 10% slope and under 500 metres long.
One is just 320 metres in length. I took with me different pilots every few days to get an experience of these challenging strips. We had great weather, and some places like Ambaluwa, Dusin and Mengamau are in some of the most fantastic mountainous scenery on the planet. David Attenborough, I am sure, would have loved to come along. I have tried to capture some pictures here, but alas, I could not grab the fantastic nature, temperatures, and sounds.
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What We Fly: Store goods in – Coffee beans out
For many communities in Papua New Guinea, such as Gebrau (pictured), MAF’s aircraft often take store goods in and fly coffee back to Mt Hagen to help the substantial farmers to generate an income.
PNG coffee is famous all across the world and we are doing our part to assist the remote communities to get their produce to market.
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A flight story Paul Woodington, serving in Papua New Guinea.
Taking the Gospel to the remote communities – as Paul gets ready to fly to survey two more airstrips in the remote areas of Papua New Guinea, he also takes his Bible Box on board. There’s no bookstore or online delivery service for Christian resources in the bush so MAF tries to bridge that gap. Thanks to MAF Technologies (CRMF) and generous donors the resources provided through the Bible Box are highly subsidised and therefore affordable to pastors, students and the general public in the remote villages.
Timor-Leste
A story of a recent flight told by Mark Simmonds. Mark writes:
“In June I was working with our pilots and operations team in Timor-Leste to ensure they are safe while continuing to conduct COVID-19 Medevac flights. Not easy in the hot weather. Please remember the team in your prayers.”
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Who we help: On one particular day in Timor-Leste not long ago, there came a request for a medevac – it was a woman who gave birth to triplets and needed antenatal help and for another mother with a newborn baby.
All 4 babies were very small, and their combined weight was less than 5kg.
With four newborn babies and two mothers plus our pilots and nurses to help, this medevac needed two aircraft.
MAF Timor Leste was able to safely transport the mothers and the babies to the waiting ambulances in Dili.
The team is thankful for the opportunity to serve the people in the country to bring hope and healing.
Australia
MAF Australia recently visited Australian Christian College here in Sydney and by all accounts, a great time was had by all.
The students really enjoyed getting to know about the work of MAF and loved the virtual reality (VR) experience of being medevaced from a remote village in Papua New Guinea. As part of the VR incursion the students where challenged to make a plane, runway and radio tower out of Lego. Some great pieces of work were created.
We at MAF consider it a great pleasure it is to share stories of the work of MAF to they younger generation. www.maf.org.au/schools.
Angola
A recent flight, what we flew:
8 patients and family members going home
5 boxes off meds for the Cavango Clinic
4 giant batteries to keep the lights on
100 metres of cable for the river crossing barge
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One full aeroplane.
Chad
What We Do: On average, MAF conducts more than 1,300 medevacs per year around the globe.
A short, smooth, safe flight to hospital instead of days of overland travel on dirt tracks or dangerous roads, really can make a difference between life and death.
(Photo credit: MAF Pilot, Phil Henderson, Chad)
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A Recent Flight: MAF Chad Ground Ops staff Denis and Togba and Pilot Phil were preparing our Cessna 182 for a flight to the far north of Chad, a visitor from SIL International arrived with a box to be taken on the plane.
Destined for churches in the town of Bardaï, it contained very precious cargo: copies of the whole Bible in Chadian Arabic, a language spoken by 50% of all Chadians.
