MAF - Flying for Life

Since coming to live in Anglesey I have been a volunteer Area Representative for Mission Aviation Fellowship, a Christian charity that flies light aircraft in developing countries to help people in inaccessible locations. Once I saw the work done by MAF I was more than keen to take up this work. It is an amazing organisation, bringing the love of God to people in far flung places.

It all began following the Second World War when two ex RAF officers realised how some aircraft were more than ideal for delivering aid in places it would take days, if not weeks, to get to by road. In countries affected by monsoon weather the roads are unusable for months at a time. Even the tried and tested four wheel drives cannot get through during and after such heavy rainfall. So what happens if you are unlucky enough to be cut off by flooded roads when you are taken ill?

Stuart King and Jack Hemmings flew the first flights to see if the idea would work in the field. They chose an aircraft designed for short take off and landing and flew it around the African nations. There already were a number of airstrips they could use to test the system.

After a number of months they were in the air, returning to base, and crossing a mountain range. As they flew between some very high mountains they could see one in front which rose 1,000 feet above their flight level. So full power was applied and they began to rise at 300 feet per minute. Then Stuart noticed the rate of climb indicator was showing zero - they were in level flight with a huge mountain still to fly over! Looking again, after they had changed course, he saw the rate of climb had gone negative. They were on full power but were descending at 300 feet per minute. As they changed course a second time they removed the top of a banana tree, losing the tip of the wing in the process. A few seconds later they struck the mountainside and the plane broke up into many pieces. They got out to avoid any fire that might follow but no fire broke out.

Eventually the flights to test the idea were completed and the first mission support work started in Sudan. The first aircraft were De Havilland Dragon Rapides, very lovely aeroplanes of that time. Inside the equipment for flying and navigation did not resemble the sophisticated technical wizardry of today. The radio equipment used Morse code with no possibility of speaking openly to base. But soon the aeroplane proved an invaluable contribution to the humanitarian work in developing countries. Other countries all over the globe began to see the familiar aircraft flying out to help people who lived in far off and inaccessible places.

Today the work of MAF is that of a multimillion pound organisation, yet remains almost a secret as far as most people are concerned. The fleet now numbers over 180 aircraft and MAF can now say that every three minutes one of its planes is landing or taking off. Among its services are a number of regular flights provided for community use, whilst most are about transporting aid to people who live off the beaten track.

MAF flies a number of medical safaris each year. A typical one might be the recent Christian Blind Mission that flew eye specialists to an area of Sudan which had received very little aid over the years. The local roads were a real problem and some people could not make it to the temporary eye hospital set up near the airstrip. But one group decided to make it despite the roads, travelling 40 miles in 2 days on two trailers drawn by tractors.

By the end of the few days in this location 247 eye operations had been completed - 222 were on cataracts. 600 pairs of spectacles had been distributed. Dr Sture Nyholm remarked that one old man, having had his bandages removed, spotted Dr Nyholm's wife, Eunice and immediately wanted to marry her!

One MAF supporter sent me a cutting from the Llandudno Weekly News of 17 May 2007. It was an article about a retired Anglican priest, Rev Peter Marshall who lives in North Wales. Peter had been attending a meeting of the Sudan Churches Association in London when he learnt that a young clergyman he had just met had had a phone call to say his 14 months old son had fallen into the cooking pot and burnt his arm and neck. The local hospital had nothing with which to treat the boy and he was suffering.

Peter contacted MAF who arranged to collect the young boy and fly him to a Ugandan hospital 500 miles away. This was the nearest hospital with ability to deal with burns. The good news is that the boy survived and did not even need any skin grafts. A church and a college in North Wales raised the funds to cover MAF's flight costs. A year later Peter was in the area where the young boy lived and asked if he could go there to see him. The United Nations people advised against it because the Lord's Resistance Army were known to be active only twelve miles away. He spoke to MAF who said they would take him there and give him 20 minutes on the ground before flying out again. He was thrilled to meet the youngster who was now fit and well.

Last week I went to Beechwood Court near Conwy to give an MAF presentation to the local churches. Within minutes of arriving I was approached by a tall man who said, "We haven't met, but we have spoken on the telephone. I'm Peter Marshall." What a surprise and a pleasure it was to finally meet this man who had organised the saving of an African life from North Wales!

During my presentation he told a story about a flight he was booked on with MAF. On each occasion every passenger is weighed to ensure the aircraft is not overloaded for its flight. On this occasion the weight of the passengers plus that of radio equipment to set up a Christian Broadcasting Service was too great. MAF decided to offset this by taking only half the fuel they needed for the flight and arranged a refuelling stop half way along the flight.

Wherever people are in need they are there for them. The work is often dangerous and pilots have been lost as they have flown to meet the many challenges that this sort of work throws at them. 2-3 years ago two MAF pilots were killed in an air accident in Papua New Guinea. Not much more than a year later another another pilot serving in that area was also killed. I recently read a book entitled "Many Adventures Followed" written by a former pilot who not only flew many years in PNG but twice fought off cancer during that period. It is amazing how rapidly weather can change and catch out any pilot flying in that area. He talked about flying around whilst looking for a gap in the clouds to make progress. To fly into cloud could prove fatal so the pilots need to find a gap in the clouds to get home.

But MAF does not just use pilots. The teams include administrative staff, accountants, engineers, computer specialists etc etc. All are dedicated to serving God and his people wherever they are sent. The flights go out to remote places and often the pilot has to return with sick patients on board who need to be in hospital. One doctor recounts that she held regular surgeries in one remote place at a time when the only way to get there was by taking three and a half days by dugout canoe up river. Today MAF flies her there in just 4 hours! In Tanzania there are two villages on each side of a high mountain. To walk from one to the other takes 4 hours but an MAF plane gets you there in 6 minutes.

MAF has been "Flying for Life" for almost 60 years and is still pulling in more and more money to provide even more help for forgotten people. The whole thing is built on three Ps: People, Prayer and Pounds. People are asked to pray for the work and the funds roll in! Now that is amazing and a testament to the power of prayer.