MAF HAITI OUTLOOK 2012 Catalyst for Change
T
hree months a!er 12-year-old Dieuphete Celime mistook gasoline for kerosene while cooking corn for his siblings, he was still fragile –and not healing well. The medical staff at Hôpital Bienfaisance in Pignon, Haiti, had done all it could do. Dieuphete needed specialized medical help, the kind he couldn’t find in his country. Dieuphete needed to get to the Portau-Prince airport from Pignon, a small town located in the mountainous interior of Haiti. The Shriners Hospitals for Children in Boston had agreed to provide the specialized treatment needed – and Dieuphete had a 10:30 a.m. flight on American Airlines headed for the United States. Driving to Port-au-Prince would take seven hours over rough and treacherous roads, a dangerous situation considering the boy’s delicate state. The request came in just before Christmas. It didn’t take much convincing for the MAF staff to give up one of their holidays – a simple request did the trick. Jim Scheller from Haiti Outreach, who arranged Dieuphete’s care, said he trusted only MAF to handle the suffering child. It’s the kind of trust MAF has built with other organizations after more than 25 years of serving in Haiti. Early on the morning of December 26, MAF pilot David Harms was on his way to Pignon to pick up Dieuphete and take him to Portau-Prince. A short time later, Dieuphete was in Boston, getting the care he needed to restore his face from the devastating burns and heal properly.
“You are the lifeblood of many of the missionaries and mission organizations in helping them accomplish their missions. Thank you for all you do!” —Tim Brand, Executive Leader, Many Hands for Haiti
History
Flying is not a luxury; it’s a lifeline. In places of deepest human need, MAF can be found.
M
AF has served the missionary community and the people of Haiti since 1986, completing 25 years of accident-free flying. In remote and isolated areas of Haiti, work to fulfill the Great Commission would certainly be hindered, or at times even impossible, without the help of MAF. From church planting and discipleship to medical, educational, community development, and crisis relief programs, MAF collaborates with others to transform lives spiritually and physically. Wherever Christian workers encounter difficult or impossible road travel or communications in Haiti, MAF is there to help. For example, 250,000 people in Haiti’s Central Plateau, in villages such as Pignon and Hinche, depend on critical MAF air ambulance evacuations, and on the dental and medical care from teams transported by MAF. Likewise, in the country’s northwest region, each year MAF flies missionary teams to remote villages to sustain evangelism and discipleship ministries among tens of thousands of Haitians.
Needs in Haiti W
Organizations Served:
More than 30
Airstrips Serviced:
14
Aircraft in Operation:
3
Missionary Families:
7
Haitian Staff: Communication Networks:
16 2
Poverty. Spiritual darkness. Rugged terrain. "e work of MAF makes a difference.
ith the lowest standard of living in the Western Hemisphere, 80 percent of Haiti’s eight million people are affected by poverty and spiritual darkness. Prior to the 2010 earthquake, two-thirds of the population was unemployed. Haitians suffer from chronic malnutrition, poor health, and untreated medical conditions. Nearly 50 percent of Haitian children do not attend school at all, and more than 80 percent will not complete high school. The resultant illiteracy severely limits the number of trained indigenous church leaders and limits local evangelical Christians from Haiti Outlook Mission Aviation Fellowship
MAF Haiti: "e Numbers
making a stronger impact. More than three million people reside in remote areas surrounded by rough, mountainous terrain. Travel to these villages is very difficult because frequent floods, hurricanes, and tropical storms erode or destroy roads. Bandits further increase the danger of land travel. Abductions, armed robberies, and assaults are real threats. The attention that Christians and the rest of the world are focusing on Haiti has sparked recent progress. Hope has been ignited among Haitians because of the tangible demonstration of God’s love. This hope can be nurtured through ongoing ministry efforts.
Goals and Strategies
To accomplish the goal of reaching the unreached with the hope of Christ, MAF is concentrating on these three objectives. 1) Open new areas to the Gospel
MAF’s purpose is to share the love of Christ so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed. To that end, over the next 5 years, MAF Haiti will continue work to restore unused airstrips and open new airstrips in areas that have significant social, physical and spiritual need (see map, this page, for potential locations). This effort will require favor from local government agencies as well as additional resources. Once permissions are secured, the process of clearing and preparing the airstrips will begin, utilizing local workers under the leadership of MAF staff. The potential ministry of opening these airstrips is monumental. Not only will new villages be accessible to church planters and pastors, but the local people will have access to medical care and emergency medical evacuation. Opening these new airstrips will potentially expose more than 200,000 Haitian people to the Gospel.
Four Additional Airstrips Planned
Médor Extremely isolated mountain top location.
2) Enable ministry partners
MAF is a frontline, servant ministry that supports and enables the ministries of others. In 2012, MAF will maximize and support church planting, discipleship, educational programs, health clinics, vaccination programs, clean water projects, vocational training, food programs, and community outreach programs. Developing the Haitian people’s capability to care for their own needs is the desired outcome.
3) Continue the rebuilding effort
Two years a"er the earthquake, Haiti’s infrastructure is still in woeful condition. MAF’s long-term presence in Haiti allows us to leverage our relationships with government and nongovernmental organizations to quickly and effectively transport durable goods and personnel to those areas hardest hit by the earthquake. St. Marc Three-hour drive to nearest city 122,747 people in local area
40,000 people spread over 75 square miles
Pointe-à-Raque"es Four-hour drive over rough roads to nearest hospital Census information unavailable
Petit-Goâve Several-hour drive to nearest hospital 76,000 people in local area Haiti Outlook Mission Aviation Fellowship
You have been a God-send for 25 years. You [are] highly professional staff who love the Lord…. May you know your work in the Kingdom matters to His servants.
In 2011, MAF Haiti completed 1,539 flight hours that delivered 437,070 pounds of cargo and saved 4,322 days of travel for 6,330 passengers. With your help in achieving our goals, stories like these will continue.
Calvary Chapel Haiti Initiative Celebrate Jesus of Haiti Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) Christian Flights International Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH) Concern Worldwide Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada GUTS Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma Haiti Endowment Fund (HEF) Haiti Hospital Appeal Haiti Outreach Healing Hands for Haiti Hôpital Bienfaisance de Pignon Hôpital Evangélique de Bombardopolis Hosean International Ministries (HIM) Institution Univers (IU) Lemuel Ministries Lifeline Haiti Medair Doctors without Borders Medical Teams International Midwives for Haiti Northwest Haiti Christian Mission The Salvation Army Samaritan’s Purse Save the Children Wesleyan Mission Hospital West Indies Self Help (WISH) World Vision
—Ray Jackson, President, Christian Flights International
Calvary Chapel Rebuilt homes and orphanages, built distributed food and medical supplies, counseling sessions, led VBS-style ministry, and hosted more than 500
700 desks, conducted children’s volunteers
CAM Maintained a twice-monthly food assistance program for 1,600 families in the northwest region. Also operated an ongoing clinic in prenatal and routine care, and offered a vaccination program
GUTS Church Administered a daily feeding program on the island of La Gonâve for 500 children under the age of six
HIM In Pignon, continued educating more than 1,100 kindergarten through grade 13 students who successfully test at twice the national average
Salvation Army Erected more than 600 transitional shelters in the city of Jacmel and surrounding communities and employed in excess of 400 Haitians to clear earthquake rubble and clean the streets of Jacmel
I want to help MAF share the hope and healing found in Christ. I have been encouraged by this report on Haiti. It is exciting to hear about how MAF is reaching others around the world for Christ. I’ll continue to pray for MAF staff and this ministry. Here is my gi! to support the vital work of MAF. I’m enclosing ...
$35
$50
Use where most needed
$100
$500
$1,000
$2,500
Other $_________
Or go online to give: www.maf.org
$5,000
MAP12030 Haiti Outlook Mission Aviation Fellowship
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