MAF Youth Magazine #26

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DIG TO SAVE OUR PLANET! WIN SPOTIFY PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP WOULD YOU SURVIVE WITH NO SIGNAL?

MAF UK Engineer Training Scheme 2020 saw the launch of the MAF UK Engineer Training Scheme (ETS) — our first students joining MAF UK earlier this year to embark on the chance of a lifetime.

This year, we’re looking for new applicants to join the ETS adventure in 2022!

Could this be you?

Places are limited but, if you’re interested in finding out if you’ve got what it takes, check out the link below and apply before it’s too late!

Scan the QR code or visit our website, www.maf-uk.org/ engineer-training

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Educational and other requirements The completion of A-level mathematics and physics at grade B and above A vibrant Christian faith The support of a local church community Maturity and a strong indication of resilience Evidence of a keen interest in aircraft engineering The ability to pass an occupational medical

Dig in —

save our planet!

Global warming is fast affecting our planet, and the earth is drying up. The impact of climate change and global warming can be devastating for people living in deprived areas.

Extreme weather such as floods and drought can have disastrous long-term effects on people’s livelihoods and opportunities. Poorer areas are illequipped to adapt to climate change, leaving them extremely vulnerable.

Justdiggit is an organisation on a mission to ‘regreen Africa and cool down the planet’.

According to Justdiggit, ‘Every year in Africa, one of the most vulnerable continents in the world, nearly 3 million hectares of forests are lost and 65% of the land is affected by global warming damage.’

A huge percentage of that damage involves land that should be used to grow crops! Justdiggit believes in the power of nature and in cooling down the planet by re-greening damaged land and bringing back vegetation. organisation inspires and enables farmers to RegreeningThe tech niques make dry land green again. Its staff work with local ter bunds er bunds are sem partners farmers across Africa to help restore the i-circular holand es dug by the Maasa i community in Kenya e hard top layer of the en Tanzania toand soi l.

The bun open reslow dow They dodsthis through water harvesting n and capture enting erosion. land. rainwat By capturing the water, er running downhills, it has more time to ent nce and er the soil which restore s the water ases the wat greening techniques.

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er availability for the see ds still present below ce to sprout, which me the surface. These see ans: regreening. Read ds now get the more!

These include digging trenches around farmers’ land and using ‘bunds’ (semi-circular shaped pits) to capture the rainwater that would otherwise get washed away.

By doing this, they can re-green dry, barren areas in a very short amount of time, making the land more fertile. This enables farmers to successfully grow crops, benefits nature, the community and — eventually — our climate!

Justdiggit recently flew with MAF in Tanzania, after a year of travel issues and interruptions to work, due to Covid 19 hitting Africa.

‘The MAF flight was very useful in getting us there safely and in time. Because we only had a few days to carry out our visits, road transport wouldn’t have been an efficient option. The purpose of our trip was to carry out monitoring and technical support to a partner supporting farmers in Dodoma and Arusha. We look forward to using MAF flights in the future for similar visits!’ — JustDiggit staff member Tabby Kabui Njunge.

Check them out to see how you can make a difference to your planet! justdiggit

‘Bunds’ development in Pembamoto, Tanzania, over four years

A local farmer

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Competition To win a Spotify Premium membership (for six months) What’s the first thing our pilots do when they get in an MAF plane? a. Fit all the passengers into their selfie shot. b. Check the frequencies on the radios. c. Ensure that all the animals onboard can be heard but not seen. d. Pray with the passengers for a safe trip.

Snap us your answer to win!

time!

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to entry g r u o y d or Or sen h@maf-uk. ut mafyo

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Imagine recovering without a crutch Lily Henderson, MAF Pilot Phil Henderson’s 12-year-old daughter, has lived in Chad with her family since 2013. She writes: 'Something as simple as a pair of crutches can have a really positive impact on a patient’s wellbeing. Unfortunately, in Chad, many hospitals lack even this basic piece of equipment.'

What difference does a crutch make?

Dr Andrea Hotchkin from Bardaï Hospital in Chad explains how helpful crutches are. ‘They are used for patients who need to mobilise after surgery — for example, people who’ve had surgery for gunshot wounds, people with broken bones, and people with severe leg infections. They’re also used for patients who’ve had skin grafts for larger wounds and need to rest the leg until the graft heals.

‘One big advantage is that patients who are mobile can look after themselves. Another is that they don’t develop blood clots, bed sores or muscle contractures. They also feel better in themselves if they’re up and about.

‘If we didn’t have crutches, patients would need to use wheelchairs or rely on others to support them as they walk. Because people are often far from their family and take a long time to get better, this can be difficult.’

Using his skills to serve others — self-taught crutch making Zam, MAF Chad’s Head Guard, has been making crutches for about eight years. It started when a member of MAF’s team was working at a mission hospital in N’Djamena (Chad’s capital), and wanted crutches. She brought one to Zam as a sample, and he copied it — he’s completely self-taught!

The hospital liked Zam’s work and ordered more, and that’s how it all began.

‘First,’ says Zam, ‘I buy the wood, the tools and the glue. I get everything I need before I start. For this particular order, I made 15 pairs for adults and 5 for children. It takes about a week.

‘Sometimes, when I’m making an order, the other MAF guards help me too, for example with the varnishing and the sanding of the wood. If the wood

I buy has a crack in it, I change it or fix it. If I don’t, the crutch will break and the person will fall.

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meet Lily ‘The varnish I put on protects against termites and water. If the crutches get wet, the water runs straight off.’

Although he’s never had to use crutches himself, Zam knows how helpful they are, and is happy that

his skills can be used to serve others.

MAF Chad Head Guard Zam Moise

How does MAF help?

‘Bardaï, in the Tibesti region of Chad, is a rocky place,’ explains MAF Pilot Phil Henderson, who recently delivered 20 pairs of crutches on a flight. The flight from N’Djamena to Bardaï Hospital takes six hours in total.

‘Each pair of crutches,’ continues Phil, ‘weighs about five kilos. Zam makes them with really good wood which isn’t too heavy, and it doesn’t take too long to load them in the plane. We carry cargo of odd sizes in a big pod under the plane — the crutches stacked together like Lego bricks.

‘Bardaï is a nice big hospital that the government built for the people of Bardaï, but it sat empty for

a long time because no one wanted to work there until missionary doctors Mark and Andrea Hotchkin agreed to do so.

‘I saw the hospital when I flew Mark and Andrea on their “vision trip”, to see if they wanted to go and work there. There was a lot of brand new equipment just waiting to be used and I remember them taking pictures of everything and getting all giddy, like it was Christmas morning!

‘I’ve flown crutches made by Zam to Bardaï before, because it’s not the first time the hospital has made an order. When I landed, the Chadian guys who work there drove the ambulance out to pick them up. They were excited to have them. They’re always happy when there’s equipment on the plane, and we’re happy to bring it.’

Doctor Andrea points out that, ‘Unfortunately, not many of the crutches are returned as the patients often leave Bardaï to go to their own town before they’re completely healed. If the crutches are returned, they’re used again. Because they’re adjustable, it means we have crutches for anyone who needs them.’

British doctors Mark and Andrea Hotchkin

Bardaï Airport

‘I’ve had knee surgery at least four times, and had to use crutches,’ Phil concludes. ‘You’re always on crutches after surgery, so I know how important they are for getting around. I couldn’t imagine using them in sand, though!’

It’s exciting to see what’s possible when people work together to help make Chad a better, safer and healthier place. The partnership between Zam, MAF and Bardaï Hospital is helping numerous people to move freely while recovering.

It also stops Chadians from losing their jobs or money due to long absences from work, and prevents them being separated from family and friends for long periods of time.

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COUNTRY TIMOR-LESTE CAPITAL DILI MAF PROGRAMME BEGAN 2007 Known for its whales, mountains, stunning beaches and ‘lucky’ crocodiles

DILI

AUSTRALIA

Timor-Leste has the highest level of malnutrition in southeastern Asia. Please pray for the children who suffer most.

A week without phone signal — would you survive?

Be honest, if you had to climb a rugged mountain to get a phone signal to make a call, what call would be important enough for you to make such a huge effort?

1. A Domino’s Pizza order (extra-large obviously, to compensate for the long journey).

2. Your crush finally gives you their number, and you’re waiting for their call.

3. You’ve literally just taken the best selfie ever and need to upload it to snapchat. Like now!

4. Your brother has just been bitten by a poisonous snake. You have 14 hours before he dies from the deadly venom and need to get him to a hospital asap.

The reality of life without a signal

No matter how remote, we’ll help!

A consistent and reliable phone signal is rarely an option in many of the isolated communities throughout Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Long journeys to reach a signal require climbing

More than 60 years ago, MAF helped develop a ministry that could help remote communities access a technology lifeline. Today, MAF Technologies PNG installs high frequency (HF) radio with ranges of up to 30km — our staff installing them anywhere, no matter how remote the community!

Isolated communities, schools, medical clinics and churches all benefit from installations which provide contact with the outside world, enable medical emergency flights, and provide helpful weather reports.

large, rugged mountains, struggling through impenetrably thick jungles or crossing treacherously fast flowing rivers — avoiding mosquitos, leeches and the other delightful wildlife inhabiting these areas.

Imagine how hard it would be during the rainy season or when the sun is really blazing!

Life without phones, computers, radios

and electricity is extremely different from the life we experience, and can have disastrous consequences for patients who need to reach hospital quickly. Sadly, that’s what life looks like for thousands of people living in PNG’s most isolated communities.

Communication isn’t a luxury but a necessity, and saves time, money and lives – enabling people living in remote and isolated areas to receive the vital services they need.

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The life-changing difference a signal can make

Although radio masts don’t exactly scream intrigue or adventure, it’s often an epic undertaking or muddy nightmare to get the equipment to a place where there isn’t an airstrip that’s available to provide help.

Recently, MAF received the funding to install six HF radios in the extremely remote districts of VanimoGreen River in PNG. Workshop Manager Lukas Schadegg set out with his team on a Land Cruiser to Amanab health centre, their first radio installation — a 30km drive. The normal route involved a broken bridge, so they had to go another way.

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Hours of early morning rain + dry dusty roads = digging your vehicle out of deep muddy bogs every hundred metres Even the most experienced drivers struggle to manoeuvre their way through the rough and mudcovered roads without getting stuck!

For Lukas and his team, this tiresome routine went on until 2am in the morning, when they eventually decided to rest for the night.

Four hours later, the team rose with the sun to dig out the jeep — fortunately helped by a community nearby — and managed to eventually free the Land Cruiser.

It took 16 hours to drive the 30km to Amanab health centre – a journey that, in the UK, would take 30 minutes!

Now imagine what it’s like to be a patient in a remote area who needed immediate medical help.

While he was installing the new radio mast, Lukas discovered that the community only received reception during the day, and sometimes the

reception would be out for a whole week.

This made communication with other health facilities extremely difficult for the health centre and any ill or injured patients.

Thankfully, after the HF radio was installed, the community can now send reports and respond to emergencies 24/7.

The team’s next stop involved walking for eight hours through a tropical rain forest carrying their radio equipment. The track was extremely muddy and slippery, but the creeks along the way provided great refreshment to the weary team.

At the second health centre, Lukas met Belden and Thomas, who work for the medical centre at Kembratoro.

Belden told Lukas, ‘One of the biggest challenges is the remoteness of the community at Kembratoro.

There is no access to road, transportation or phone reception. Basically, we’re completely stuck in isolation.

‘As a young, single man, I struggled with the isolation because, without any internet and no means of communication available, it was hard to keep in touch with others and be kept informed of the latest events, news and happenings going on outside our remote community.’

Thomas emphasised the importance of HF radio by explaining how his wife was facing pregnancy complications. Fortunately, a working radio made it possible to organise a medevac (medical emergency flight) so she and the baby could receive the help they so desperately needed.

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Setting up the radio

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t any H av e y o u g o ests? Snap prayer requ n pray for us, so we ca you too!

For farmers across Africa working with Justdiggit to produce fertile soil.

For more opportunities for MAF to support isolated communities without a phone signal.

‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms’ 1 Peter 4:10, NLT

That God will show you how to use your skills to make a big difference.

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Y utH W xxx

N O I T P CA !

T S E T CON hey meant

t t a h w s i Is th ting stuck in?! by get

Travis Ludlow, from Buckinghamshire – Breaks the world record for the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world at 18!

“It’s really the most dangerous and difficult thing you could do in a singleengine airplane.”

60 stops | 9 countries 44 days flying | 24,900 miles 14

Wall n o i t i t e p m Co winners!

n e d o o W y l Emi 's g a m t s a l won !! t i K e i v o M

New Snapchat account!

Don't forget to scan the code below for more competitions and adventures...

SCAN ME

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DIG TO SAVE OUR PLANET! WIN SPOTIFY PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP WOULD YOU SURVIVE WITH NO SIGNAL?

Search ‘MAF Youth’ W maf-uk.org/youth E youth@maf-uk.org