22-year-old Daniel has big dreams of becoming a lawyer and helping his people in South Sudan, but 20 years ago, he nearly died in a terrible accident.
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 his skin had gone - it was just white.’
Yambio State Hospital in Western Equatoria was two miles away from their home. When Daniel was admitted, they had run out of paracetamol due to the civil war, which had just ended. Centina was desperate.
"We spent five days at the hospital, but Daniel didn't eat, breastfeed or sleep. His life was in danger. He was in between life and death."
Daniel’s grandfather had no choice but to source python fat from a traditional healer – a local remedy to treat burns.
Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 miles away in the UK, Daniel’s father Rev Samuel Peni – now the Archbishop of Western Equatoria Province – was on an exchange programme giving talks about South Sudanese youth living in a war-torn country.
Far from home, Samuel learnt about his son’s plight by email the night before a speaking engagement in London.
‘At the time, there was no proper communication, and I didn’t hear about it for at least four days. A short email told me that they didn’t know whether Daniel would survive because he hadn’t breastfed for days,’ recalls Samuel.
‘The only thing I could do was to pray to God to do his miracle and heal him, then I went ahead with the panel discussion as planned.’
Unbeknown to Samuel, MAF supporter Rev Canon Peter Marshall from North Wales, was sitting in the audience. During the break, Peter went over to Samuel and asked him how his family was. This triggered a chain reaction, which ultimately saved Daniel’s life.
‘When he mentioned the word “family”, it touched my heart. I did not know where to begin. When I showed Peter the email, he took it upon himself to contact MAF,’ explains Samuel.
91-year-old Peter, who has been supporting Daniel’s education for the last 21 years, believes Daniel’s medevac was orchestrated by God.
‘We give God the glory and I feel privileged to have been a part of it. It’s just amazing!’ says Peter.
MAF pilot Simon Wunderli picked up Daniel and Centina from Yambio and flew them to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, for proper treatment. Although everything had been pre-arranged, Simon remembers Daniel’s life was hanging in the balance.
‘Medevacs can go either way, especially in the places where we fly. Most of these places have little to no healthcare. In the West, we just call an ambulance. A baby surviving from burns like that is unusual, so having this success story is fantastic - it makes what we do at MAF worth it!’ exclaims Daniel.
Centina, obviously agrees.
‘I thank God so much that MAF was able to come to Yambio in South Sudan. If MAF was not there to rescue Daniel, he would not be here - he would have died. Because of MAF, I still have my boy today. He’s a big boy now!’
As for Daniel, his heart is set on helping others.
‘It is my dream to speak for people who are unable to defend themselves. I believe the same God who helped me 20 years ago, is the same God who will help me make Yambio and my entire country a better place.’
STORY / CLAIRE GILDERSON PHOTOS SUPPLIED
This story was originally published in "Flying for Life - Autumn 2026." To view the full issue, click here.