Discovery Magazine (October 2022)

I once heard someone say that change was the only constant in their life. And how true that is We live in a world where change is happening all around us, all the time. Natural disasters occur, rains cease to fall,wars break out — people’s lives are changed instantly and with horrific consequences.

The people of Ukraine have been devastated. For them, life will never be the same again.

This is a relatively recent crisis but, around the world, millions of refugees have been experiencing fear and miseryfor years. They must feel forgotten. Wherever they are, I pray that — as help reaches those people — it brings hopeand healing.

In the countries where we serve, MAF teams enable sick people to receive medicine and the lonely to receive love.This reminds me of God’s faithfulness and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Throughout the developing world, people are living in continual need of help and care. These are the people towhom MAF remains dedicated — the men, women and children we serve and you support. Our mission is to bringabout lasting change in their lives that will pave the way for health and hope, peace and provision.

Closer to home, the next MAF magazine you receive will be bigger and better than ever.

I pray you’ll be inspired as you read stories of this work made possible by your prayers and gifts.

Every blessing to you

Chief Executive, MAF UK

MEET THE TEAM

A worldwide televised event inspired in Ruth a deep passion to help those in greatest need

I grew up in a castle in Dumbarton where my parents ran a Christian centre, living by faith and the generosity of visitors. One summer afternoon, I witnessed scenes that would change my life forever and combine my desire for adventure with the compassion for people that still drives me today.

I remember watching Live Aid in 1985. Seeing poverty for the first time moved me so deeply. I just wanted to go straight there and help. During a gap year in Guyana, I gained experience of delivering practical aid as I led a project to establish a home for street children. It was an incredible and empowering time.

Years later, I joined Tearfund and — in 2013 — discovered MAF, which had offices in the same building. I knew that to reach people in greatest need I’d have to fly. And MAF does just that!

After working as Head of MAF Scotland, I travelled to Arnhem Land to lead the MAF programme with my husband Duncan. Completing the circle that began when I was a wide-eyed 12-year-old watching Paul Young, U2 and Queen all those decades ago, we recently moved to Africa where I am now Country Director of MAF Uganda.

Leading the team is a chance to be at the forefront of MAF’s humanitarian work in Africa, and also to work strategically with other NGOs. MAF’s service is the backbone to critical relief and mission work in Uganda. I want to make sure we continue to do a job which few agencies are willing to do — to go the extra mile to alleviate poverty in the hardest-to-reach places.

For anyone wanting to go and do just that, remember I’m neither a pilot, nor a missionary, nor a man. But I’m using my gifts to lead, serve and help through the life-saving work of MAF.

MAF Magazine Editor Richard Chambers reports:

The combination of fertile soil and tropical climate gives Uganda’s agricultural sector tremendous potential. Yet ingrained rural poverty and erratic weather patterns caused by global warming mean that many people consume, on average, 400 fewer calories less than they need each day to live healthily.

Efforts by communities in the highly inaccessible northern region to lift themselves out of poverty have been severely hampered for many years. Infestations of locusts, consuming in a single day crops that would have fed thousands of people, have plagued the region.

Multinational investment in a predicted oil boom has seen grazing land, farms and people cleared to build the East African Pipeline from north-western Uganda to the port of Tanga, Tanzania.

This hunger crisis is set against a background of the insurgency waged in the early part of this century by Lord’s Resistance Army terrorists. Two million people were displaced from their communities as they fled murder, rape and the forced recruitment of child soldiers.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, lives across Uganda were already blighted by a range of diseases and the regular threat of an Ebola outbreak in neighbouring DRC crossing the border. Tragically, even preventable diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea continue to claim the lives of many children.

Approximately 40 babies per 1,000 die before reaching their first birthday

More than 1 million people in Uganda are infected with HIV. There are 20,000 deaths a year from the virus

Our fleet of aircraft supports more than 200 partners to meet the needs of a wide variety of communities

These include ZOA, an organisation that installs solar-powered irrigation pumps for Ugandan farmers, and Engineers Without Borders, which equips local technicians with the skills to maintain these new water supplies.

Restoration Gateway recently opened a 180-bed hospital near its primary and secondary schools. Tutapona offers rehabilitation programmes for children traumatised by war. Far Reaching Ministries runs discipleship programmes, while Hope and Grace International takes the Gospel to prisoners, addicts and the disaffected young people who will determine their country’s future over the next quarter of a century.

Lutheran World Federation Director Jesse Kamstra best sums up why we fly in Uganda:

I’m very happy to be able to go with MAF. I have been stuck due to the bad roads a couple of times, and the journey times have been very long.

Landlocked and straddling the Equator, Uganda is bordered by four other countries in which MAF serves

Uganda

MAF begins flying into Uganda from Kenya and South Sudan

Independence from the UK

MAF Uganda programme launches

Two Cessna 210 aircraft join the fleet

Kajjansi

Kampala

Lake Victoria Kenya Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

MAF hangar built at Kajjansi for aircraft maintenance Amphibious Cessna 185 joins the fleet for service on Lake Victoria

MAF buys entire Kajjansi airfield and extends runway

A Cessna Caravan joins the fleet

Second Cessna Caravan joins the fleet

Third Cessna Caravan joins the fleet

Uganda becomes an MAF training base; a fourth Cessna Caravan arrives

Cessna 182 SMA joins the fleet

New purpose-built offices constructed at Kajjansi airfield

MAF Uganda celebrates 35 years flying ‘Beyond isolation’Uganda is home to nearly 1.5 million immigrants, displaced by ongoing violence in neighbouring South Sudan and the DRC

An MAF plane lands in northern ‘refugee country’ just 90 minutes after take-off from its Kajjansi base. The same journey by car can take an entire day

Sea

When Filomena de Jesus’ six-year-old son was diagnosed with dengue fever earlier this year, MAF Timor-Leste was — once again — her only hope

At midnight, my son Bendito was in severe fever. I was shocked, and I panicked because I found blood running out of his nose. We immediately brought him to the clinic. The doctor said he had dengue fever and needed to be transferred to the national hospital in the capital Dili for specialist treatment.

We stayed at the clinic until the morning, then an MAF plane came and picked us up. Before then, I felt very sad but — when the plane arrived — I felt very happy because our child would be able to get treatment.

Bendito has been medically evacuated by MAF’s plane twice before. Firstly, with severe abdominal pain and, secondly, when he had stomach problems again. Flying with MAF took us just a few minutes instead of going by boat, which takes more hours of travelling to Dili.

We were very thankful for the care package that MAF gave us because, when we entered the hospital, we did not bring any supplies and we had no time to go shopping.

Fortunately, MAF gave us this present that would help us — cookies, clothes, credit vouchers, drinking water, and sanitary materials.

All those things helped us during our stay at the hospital. After being discharged, we stayed in our family’s homes in Dili. We saved the extra money to pay for the boat trip back to Atauro.

We want to keep MAF missions continuing because MAF saves people’s lives, especially children and women in labour in rural areas.

Bendito de Jesus Soares was discharged from the hospital on Thursday 14 April. He has now recovered and is back home with his family on Atauro Island. Praise the Lord!

Banda Sea

Atauro Island

Timor Sea Dili

Timor-Leste

Dengue fever is a viral infection caused by mosquito bites.

It presents with flu-like symptoms such as a high temperature. The infection is usually mild and can clear up after a week but, sometimes, it can be very severe — even life-threatening.

There is no vaccine for dengue fever, which can usually be treated with paracetamol, plenty of fluids and rest. Early recognition of the disease and appropriate care are vital in reducing deaths.

But, in a country with only basic health services and poor infrastructure, and where scarce resources are devoted to treating coronavirus, it’s no surprise that severe cases of dengue fever are on the increase in Timor-Leste.

People walked for five hours for paracetamol. The village of Indagen in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is only accessible on foot or by air. MAF’s Aerial Health Patrol enables hundreds of people to receive treatment.

MAF Communications Officer Claire Gilderson reports: Nestled within the peaks of Saruwaged Range, Indagen is easy to miss.

It is February 2022, and MAF Pilot Glenys Watson lands her Cessna Caravan carrying 8 medical professionals and 25kg of life-saving drugs on Indagen's airstrip. In seconds, curious locals surround the aircraft. Word of MAF’s arrival spreads fast and news of an Aerial Health Patrol reaches other villages. Indagen does have a small clinic run by a handful of staff, but the shelves are empty – drugs, bandages, intravenous fluids, drip lines and basic consumables ran out long ago. The nearest hospital in Etep is a two-day walk away.

For the next three days, Dr Simon Ganal and his team treat and advise around 600 patients. They carry out consultations, operations, cancer screenings, vaccinations, ultrasound scans, health talks, and blood, urine and eyesight tests. Of the 600 patients, 38 receive surgery and 71 have eye consultations. They all listen to critical medical advice about coronavirus, hygiene and family planning.

For the first time in years, hundreds of people within Indagen’s vicinity are being treated for tumours, osteoarthritis, TB, pelvic inflammatory disease, eye problems, respiratory diseases, STDs, reflux, hernias, cysts and chronic backache.

Medical officer Samuel Mori is overwhelmed and humbled by the sheer need.

People are happy to wait all day just for a chance to be seen. It’s heartbreaking seeing people who’ve walked five hours, over three mountain ranges, just to receive basic medical advice and paracetamol.

A two-hour wait at Port Moresby General Hospital for paracetamol would cause a tantrum but, for these people, a five-hour walk means receiving a service. I never imagined severely marginalised people would be so accepting of so little, with such grateful hearts.

Our mission is to give, but I’ve received more in return — a lesson in humility from a forgotten people who are appreciative of so little and never act like victims, despite their harsh circumstances.

This is the first time that staff from both Braun Memorial Hospital and Etep Rural Hospital in Morobe Province have worked together for an Aerial Health Patrol. Dr Simon Ganal is delighted with what they’ve achieved with MAF’s support. Sharing capacity with Braun and Etep makes outreach easier and more sustainable

Having a big team enables a comprehensive outreach across all primary healthcare. Our outpatient team saw almost 200 patients each day. We did vaccinations, surgeries, antenatal checks, tests, cancer screenings, health talks — that’s only possible because of a bigger team. It was really special.

Following a successful MAF Aerial Health Patrol, practically the whole of Indagen turned up on the airstrip to wave goodbye. God willing, they won’t have to wait too long for the next one.

Mount Hagen Indagen Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby

Bismarck Sea

Sea Papua

Richard Chambers reports:

The young American couple – who need to remain anonymous for security reasons – work for an agricultural organisation and also partner with a Bible translation project.

The inaugural flight saved them two days of gruelling road travel and also transported essential vegetables, buckets, pipes and solar panels for their farming project.

We’ve been praying for transportation since we got here over a decade ago. There are no domestic aircraft in Guinea, so we have to drive. We drive and cry!

It’s dehumanising and demoralising. Driving at night is very dangerous – there are no lights, and potholes can be eight feet wide. We never take a trip where we don’t see an overturned vehicle somewhere along the way.

MAF will be a life-saver for us.

The farm we run in the south is a way for locals to see new ways of doing things. Cashews are going to be the cash crop that people will grow and sell for income. We’ve also imported tropical fruit trees that aren’t currently here, and will be encouraging people to plant them so that they can eat the fruit.

Most people in the local area barely make enough to eat. Remote communities suffer from a lack of both education and jobs. The majority of people make money by any means necessary just to survive.

However, MAF flights will eventually provide access to healthcare, schools and a far better future for thousands of people.

The couple is also involved in translating Scripture into a local dialect for an unreached people group of 300,000. They aim eventually to distribute God’s Word through their network of farmers.

Aside from the UN, MAF is the first non-governmental air operator to fly in Guinea. We’ve already received many requests to transport church and mission groups, NGOs and relief services to isolated men, women and children.

On St George’s Day 2022, the first MAF operational flight in Guinea took off with Pilot Roy Rissanen bringing missionaries in a Cessna Caravan from the south-east to the capital Conakry

MAF PR Manager Jo Lamb reports:

Jack took off from Shuttleworth at the controls of a Miles Gemini for the first time since 1948.

The Gemini — owned by co-pilot Stu Blanchard — is the same type of wooden aircraft Jack and Stuart piloted during MAF’s first survey across Africa.

Shortly after landing, Jack said, ‘I’ve got so many thoughts about today. It was wonderful to be back in a Gemini after 74 years. I love flying because I have a feeling of detachment from all the problems in the world — and there are a lot of problems! Flying is an enjoyable relaxation.’

Stuart King would have turned 100 on 13 March, and Jack wanted to pay public tribute to his lifelong

friend, describing him as ‘a pilot, a conscientious engineer, a pioneer and a man of resolute faith. A great friend — a man of vision, devoted to MAF.

‘The flight today made me think of Stuart on what would have been his 100th birthday. It was a suitable time to remember what Stuart achieved in his lifetime. One cannot count the number of people whose lives have been enriched by his services.’

During their epic 1948 survey, Stuart and Jack travelled over 6,000 miles, visiting more than 100 remote outposts across central Africa.

‘Everywhere we landed was somewhere new to us,’ Jack recalls, ‘and a lot of locals would never have seen a plane in the air — let alone in their village! We were met with total bewilderment as people gathered round us.

‘Today, MAF has more than 120 aircraft worldwide. Every flight does some good. MAF is like the international Good Samaritan of the air. If anyone needs transporting out of difficulty — or needs urgent medical help – MAF is there.’

Although

Not content with marking his 100th birthday with an aerobatic flight in 2021, Jack Hemmings was airborne again this year as he paid tribute to his fellow MAF co-founder, the late Stuart King

Half of MAF’s flights in Arnhem Land – Australia’s Northern Territory wilderness – support education. In recent years, MAF has expanded its routes outside Arnhem Land, enabling hundreds more indigenous students to receive a ‘culturally appropriate’ education

Dawurr Boarding School in Nhulunbuy, north-eastern Arnhem Land, accommodates 40 indigenous senior school students from very remote communities across this vast area.

If it wasn’t for MAF, some of these students simply wouldn’t be able to get to school due to the sheer distance they would need to travel by road. Would you drive for six hours to reach your nearest school? With MAF, the same distance takes just 40 minutes.

MAF has been doing the ‘school run’ in Arnhem Land for nearly 50 years. To learn more, please visit our website: www.maf-uk.org/educating

Lobitos Alves, Annelie Edsmyr, Dave Forney, Dr Simon Ganal, Stef Gidney, Haiti Bible Mission, Darren Harbour, Adrian Hemmings, Mark and Kelly Hewes, Emil Kündig, Olly Nunn, Jill Vine, MAF archive