http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.maf.org.nz en-us Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:50:34 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/166669/meet-the-father-of-maf-in-bougainville/ “In 1969, when I was young, doing my grade three, I heard of MAF,” Rev Abraham said, his eyes sparkling through his dark-rimmed glasses.“MAF left a very good history and legacy here in Bougainville. Under the leadership of Captain Harold Morton and some other pilots, they would go around Bougainville, especially in the United Church places, mission stations.”Rev Abraham explains that Harold was a friend to many, because he not only knew how to speak Tok Pisin, but also a little bit of th... Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:50:00 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post166669 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/166667/life-saving-vaccine-fridges-boost-chuave-health/ With more than fifty thousand people residing in the remote highlands of the Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea, many mothers and children rely on Chuave Rural Hospital for their essential health services, including immunisation programmes, health patrols and community awareness initiatives.The hospital serves as a key referral point for surrounding health centres in Chuave, often without suitable medical storage.Through a health initiative with Digicel Foundation, the MAF Technologies team have ... Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:39:44 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post166667 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/166666/surgeries-give-babies-a-new-chance-at-life/ One out of every 1,000 babies are born with hydrocephalus worldwide, many families not able to afford surgery.MAF flies CURE Children’s hospital’s medical team from Tororo in eastern Uganda, to Mbarara in western Uganda for a medical camp, offering a rare surgery to children with hydrocephalus, spina bifida and epilepsy.Doctor Shadrach Kisa, CURE’s clinical service supervisor, is one of the passengers on board the MAF flight.“We’d been traveling by road. It’s more than 500 km and we ... Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:25:41 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post166666 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/166664/set-up-phase-becomes-emergency-meeting-long-term-and-sudden-needs-in-bougainville/ “Just over two years ago, we were invited by the Bougainville government to look at whether we could start an aviation programme,” said Glenys Watson, MAF’s Flight Operations Manager in Papua New Guinea.In early 2024, she and fellow pilot Brad Venter conducted a week of survey flying out of Buka, the main centre for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.“We were able to scope out meeting with community members and see if there was a need for an aviation programme to start up in Bougainvi... Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:15:24 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post166664 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/165845/new-life-for-lillian/ As Lillian, from Western Equatoria, flew to South Sudan’s capital Juba with MAF for surgery to treat fistula, she was smiling and hopeful, despite living with debilitating condition for decades.‘I got this fistula in 2003 giving birth to my first child when I was 16 years old. I stayed for almost a year and a half in the hospital. The doctors helped me with soap and clothes. I didn’t have anywhere to go because they could not fix the problem,’ she said.When she was finally able to leave ... Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:32:37 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post165845 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/165844/after-years-of-pain-they-finally-found-hope/ Hadra is the mother of four healthy children, but she has given birth to nine. There are no hospitals in the area where she lives. It is not uncommon for women to labour at home for 2-4 days, rather than set off for hospital, (a journey of hours or days) and risk delivering on the way.As they board a MAF flight together, Hadra Yousef and Tensa James are like sisters, although their hometowns in South Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, are far apart. This is the second time they have both flown with MAF t... Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:26:04 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post165844 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/165841/fighting-polio-in-remote-papua-new-guinea/ Much of the world is no longer concerned about polio: a deadly disease that affects mainly children. Though many people in today’s generation barely know what it is, this highly contagious infection can cause long-term disability, paralysis and even death.While it was eradicated in Europe in 2003 – and stamped out in Australia in the year 2000 – it’s still out there in other parts of the world, including Papua New Guinea.With low vaccination coverage, the risk of transmission for many Pa... Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:14:20 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post165841 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/165504/isolated-bougainville-gets-radio-communication-link/ Having served four years as the officer in charge of Han health clinic in the Carteret islands, Sister Bernice Kumis knows well the challenges of reliable communication and transportation when referring patients to the main island of Bougainville.“The Carteret Islands are isolated and are very far from the mainland,” she said. “We can only travel by boat, and we manage to stay here and care for the patients.”Situated 113 km east of Buka island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, th... Wed, 27 May 2026 13:22:22 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post165504 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/165502/when-one-man-can-see-two-men-are-set-free/ As Ernest Nicolaus Skalwanda enters the hospital, his hand is held by Abeli Pita Kamanija.As one seeing, younger man leads a blind, older man to life-changing surgery, it’s evident that the weight of five years of blindness has been weighing heavily.“My life has become difficult to understand,” says Ernest, who comes from Urambo. “I have ended up living by begging and I lack the freedom to go anywhere or do anything I want, especially economic activities.“My main activity is farming. N... Wed, 27 May 2026 13:08:31 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post165502 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/post/164678/god-still-loves-me-rozalia-regains-full-independence-after-surgery/ “The pleasure of the world is to see. If you do not see, you have no pleasure,” says 75-year-old Rozalia Masanja Mayunga.For two and a half years, Rozalia lived with blindness that robbed her of all independence and joy. But last year, MAF flew Tanzanian eye surgeon, Dr Erick Msigomba and his team from Njombe to Rozalia’s home region of Tabora. There the team performed surgery that not only restored Rozalia’s eyesight, but also blessed 60 others with their sight and independence once mor... Mon, 18 May 2026 15:09:15 +1200 http://www.maf.org.nz/blog/#post164678