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Forty years of waiting

The recovery after surgery is slow and painful, and I am aware of this as I walk over to Ayor’s bed in the hospital in Juba. My translator, Garang, asks if she is willing to share her story. Ayor replies with a quiet yes.Her white hair tells me she is long past the age when women bear children, but her eyes tell a story few other people have heard.“The fistula followed the birth of my fourth child, over forty years ago,” Ayor says.“I have been suffering from this condition ever since. My...

Premature death for babies averted - Motorcycle ambulances bring new hope to Liberian families

Francis Forndia, Executive Director of Foya-Borma Hospital, described what could happen on the way to care: “Before they could get to the clinic, the pregnant woman would have lost her foetus. The pregnant mother sitting on the bike would press the baby to its early grave.”With the only large referral hospital from Foya being a one-day drive away, it causes lots of pregnant women or patients to lose their lives. But the arrival of the first two motorcycle ambulances in the region is changing...

"I'm really grateful to MAF" - Burns survivor Daniel owes his life to a medevac

Today, there are hardly any scars from the scalding water and white-hot charcoal, when toddler Daniel fell into a fire and knocked over his mother’s cooking pot. But Centina will never forget her son’s screams on 18 June 2005.‘Daniel got burnt. In our village, we don’t have those modern kitchens. We cook on the floor with firewood,’ explains Centina.‘He had just started walking and fell into the cooking pot. Unfortunately, his right side got burnt from his hand to his shoulder. All h...

Guns to Bibles: How MAF supports life-transforming teaching

“I am a man who carried a gun and held up boats on the river.”These were the words of a man attending a Scripture Application and Leadership Training (SALT) course who admitted he once carried a pistol and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and had been involved in many crimes.“Some people gave me a SALT book and shared a little bit of the teaching with me,” he said. “It wasn’t long before the Holy Spirit gripped my heart. I told my brother, ‘I am going to hike all the way up to Dundrom...

One MAF flight: Almost 1000 patients treated by specialists

“The sheer number of people who turned up from across the region shows how great the need is in the community,” said Becki Dillingham. She was the MAF pilot who flew  the medical team from the Pamoja Specialised Polyclinic to Malambo in  just 35 minutes – a journey that would have taken  eight hours by road.Over the two days of the mobile clinic, the nine-member team treated almost a thousand  patients, the majority of whom were  suffering from ophthalmologic cond...

Rescued survivors arrive safely in Buka

The eight men of the rescue team had been sent by sea to extract two fishermen who had been stranded for five days on Ausarara Island in Siwai. With roads cut off and the Ramazon ridge damaged by flooding, the team navigated through the eastern side of Bougainville using two speed boats.Tragically, one of the speed boats encountered heavy waves and sank just next to the island, where the two fishermen were stranded. The four crew members were left stranded at sea before reaching Tuluve Island. T...

From Burundi to South Sudan: An adventure in Mission

Jean Thierry and Moise caught a bus in Burundi to make the 2-day, 782-mile journey overland, from Bujumbura to Nairobi. From there, transport options narrowed.Boarding an MAF plane, they flew 2.5 hours to Torit in South Sudan – and began their one-year ‘Inbound’ orientation with Africa Inland Mission.Before Jean Thierry arrived, South Sudan was already on his heart.“When I was in the school of mission, I prayed for South Sudan without knowing why,” he said.“Moise and I were praying i...

"Thank you MAF for rescuing us": 88-year-old nun flown to care

For years, MAF has flown Sister Bianca during her life of service, back and forth between South Sudan and Uganda.But this flight for the 88-year-old carried urgency: it was a medevac.MAF pilot Andrew Parker made the almost three-hour-flight from Yambio in South Sudan to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The alternative form of travel to Uganda is by road, which would take over two days.“It is good to be able to bring Sister Bianca down here to Kampala where she will...

'Aerial health patrols save lives': Fly-in medical team treats sick in Yambaitok

“This patrol is the only link we have to reach our rural communities,” said Philomina Baking.From the coastal town of Rabaul in East New Britain, Philomina is a volunteer dentist at Kompiam District Hospital. She participated in a two-day aerial health patrol to the village of Yambaitok, with the support of Mission Aviation Fellowship.“I don’t know how these people would get help without aerial patrols, especially in places like Yambaitok,” she said. “I deeply appreciate the work MAF...

Egbert's one-way ticket pays off for bush people

After graduating from Don Bosco Technical Institute, Egbert Awani bought a one-way ticket and travelled across Papua New Guinea. In search of work, he left the city of Port Moresby and focussed his efforts on the small town of Kiunga.“You guys have to pick me up from the airport,” he told his friends. But after almost a year, and multiple failed attempts at finding a job, he stumbled across a social media advert for a role with MAF.Growing up in Nuku, in the Sepik region, Egbert had seen MAF...

From bush hut to permanent health centre: MAF flights enable epic transformation

Dedicated community health worker Patrick Dickson has been serving at Yambaitok health centre for almost nine years. Working in a bush materials building, he has personally experienced the pressing need for a proper healthcare facility to support locals from Yambaitok and neighbouring communities.Thanks to the ten crucial MAF flights that delivered the required building materials from Kompiam, the new facility will feature a labour ward, a small outpatient area and rooms to accommodate patients....

From Dreams to Skies: A PNG Pilot Story

“The spark was there,” says Ricky Poki. “But I honestly believe God puts it in your heart before you’re even born. Ever since then I’ve always had a thing for flying.“My first plane ride – man! The thrill that I got! I was like, ‘I want to be the person doing that over and over again.’”Little did Ricky know, his lifelong dream would eventually shape his calling – to share God’s love through his passion for flying.“It’s like showing a little bit of what God is like for...

Flying seriously big fridges across razorback ridges

In much of Papua New Guinea’s mountainous Hela Province, getting to the nearest hospital where you can vaccinate your kids means days of travel through thick vegetation, crossing dangerous rivers and climbing to high elevations.In this part of the highlands, there are no roads to drive on. The only way to reach many villages is to take the risk and commit your family to a long journey on foot.But MAF changes this.Hela Provincial Health Authority technician Peter Herowa was grateful for the two...

Two days from death: Meltine saved by dawn flight

When Rasoarimalala Meltine was safely flown home after nearly a month of treatment, her family knew they had witnessed something far greater than medical skill alone.“If we were only two days late,” her daughter, Rakotoarison Landihasina Yollande, said, “she would have died.”Meltine, a 58-year-old mother of seven, had suddenly fallen ill.What began as a simple flu worsened rapidly, as Meltine stopped eating and suffered from fevers. Concerned, her relatives brought her from her home in t...

'Only MAF can help' - Aircraft fill critical gap to save lives in Timor-Leste

When patients cannot safely travel by road, since 2007 MAF aircraft have helped evacuate them from municipalities across Timor-Leste to the national hospital in Dili.Dr Simplicio Amaral de Deus, a general doctor who has served in a director role since 2023, said the partnership between Servisu Nasional Ambulancia Emergencia Medika (SNAEM) and MAF has become a necessity for the country.“This partnership is very beneficial and important for the people and government of Timor-Leste,” he said.Be...

'Some don't come because they haven't eaten': Removing barriers to education

“When children receive a meal at school, it does more than fill a stomach. It helps them stay in class, helps parents, and hopefully helps them build a better future,” said Alice KoloinaRahelimalala, director of Convoy of Hope in Madagascar. Convoy of Hope works to bring help and hope to communities in need, whether by feeding children, empowering women, training farmers, or supporting vulnerable families.In Madagascar, the organisation currently focuses much of its work on hard-to-reach vil...

"The people laid down their arrows" - Mother and son reflect on tribal tranformation

“Before God’s Word came to Telefomin, the people here just thought about fighting. They were angry,” says ‘Mama’ Nunta Markis. “They would just get an arrow and shoot you; shoot me.”Amongst the older women in the Telefomin community, Mama Nunta is one of a shrinking number of people who can remember when the Good News first came to this highland valley.“I would move around the mountains,” she says, pointing. “I would cut across that mountain there and go up, planting sweet po...

Thousands of King bilong Glori books take wing with MAF

“The books were so well received that we quickly ran out of the supply that we had,” said Glenys Watson, an MAF pilot based in PNG.In 2023, MAF began receiving King bilong Glori (King of Glory) Bible overview books, as part of the MAF Technologies ministry. Pilots like Glenys carry them in ‘Bible Boxes’ on most flights, alongside English and Tok Pisin Bibles, Bible comics, audio Bibles, and other resources. These items are sold at a great discount to make them affordable for people in re...

Graduation in jeopardy: Double medevac keeps two teenagers' hopes alive

For 19-year-old Cristiano Monis Martins, his year was meant to end with graduation. A Year 12 student from Maliana, Timor-Leste, Cristiano was preparing for his final exams when a routine trip with his best friend, Vincencio Cardoso, ended in a serious accident.“We were going to repair a phone,” Cristiano said. “On the way back, another motorbike overtook a car without indicating. Everything happened so fast.”As the bikes converged, Vincencio jumped off. Cristiano lost control.“Both mo...

Flying for the hearts: 'Level-up' for MAF's maternal child health clinic flights

MAF’s new partner The One New Heart joined the monthly mother and child clinic flight to Chidudu village, a community where access to healthcare remains a major challenge.The journey from the city of Dodoma to remote Chidudu normally takes around eight hours by road.With the MAF aeroplane, it took only 35 minutes.“The partnership enables us to reach communities that would otherwise remain inaccessible by other means of transport,” said Godfrey Maro, Co-Founder and Director of Communication...

'Everything was broken': Cyclone Gezani devastates Toamasina

When Cyclone Gezani tore through the east coast of Madagascar, families faced a night of fear and uncertainty.Pastor Miarana, leader of the Baptist Church in Ambolomadinika, watched helplessly as the roof of his church and his house were torn down.“We put the children under the bed so the ceiling would not fall on them,” he said. “The day of the cyclone, was very tough. I live near the church and could see in detail each roof being torn off and sent flying. Our house also lost its roof. Th...

Surgeon opens eyes to education in South Sudan

“On the last day, after lunch, we were almost closing, and a boy walked in with bilateral cataracts,” he said. “With both eyes he couldn’t see. I operated both eyes and this morning we removed the bandages, and he could see!Helping this patient was the highlight of the trip for Dr Emmanuel Oryem, who believes it is important to open not only eyes but horizons for children in South Sudan.“The dad was emotional – I was just telling him, ‘Let the boy go to school!’ Whatever plans yo...

'MAF does more than bring people to hospital'

“I think what we do as a team is really helpful for the Timorese people,” said Inggrid Pinto I, MAF’s hospital chaplain in Dili. “Because MAF does not just help to bring them here to the hospital, but we also give them care and support.“Sometimes we might think it’s not a big deal, but we can see that, for the patient, especially in their difficult situation, what we do is so meaningful to them. MAF do more than bring people to the hospital.”Since the early days of the flight opera...

How a Midnight Emergency Led to Lifesaving Care for Baby Amonia

As xefe aldeia – the village chief – Marcelino Antones is used to caring for people — but one night he found himself fighting for the lives of his own family.“It was after midnight when the doctor told us that an operation was badly needed to save both my wife and our baby,” Marcelino said. In the middle of the night, he had woken to find his wife Amonia de Lima in premature labour.The caesarean section was performed at the local hospital in Suai, Timor-Leste, but immediately afterward...

Meet Andrew Davis

Andrew and his family felt led by God to move from Ohio, USA to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2021 to serve in mission work. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Andrew is grateful to be back by the ocean, having previously been involved with YWAM in medical mission outreach through YWAM Ships Aotearoa and the TKDC dental clinics.Now serving with Mission Aviation Fellowship, Andrew is part of the Youth Engagement team and the Co‑Pilot Cohort, where he is passionate about seeing young people equipped...