MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) is a Christian organisation reaching men, women and children in over 25 countries. Operating more than 115 aircraft, MAF’s pilots overcome terrain that has become inaccessible due to derelict roads, natural disaster, or violent conflict. MAF aircraft fly into more than 1,000 destinations — transporting food and water, health professionals and medical supplies, and emergency workers and Christian missionaries where they are needed most. Each flight brings practical help, spiritual hope and physical healing to thousands of isolated people in remote communities for whom flying is a lifeline not a luxury. MAF is flying for life.
MAF respects the indigenous people of Arnhem Land. We have tried to ensure that names and photographs of deceased indigenous people do not appear in our publications.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 YEARS!
2025 marks the 80th year of Mission Aviation Fellowship.
In 1945, Jim Truxton, Grady Parrott, Charlie Mellis and Betty Greene launched the Christian Airmen’s Missionary Fellowship (CAMF) in the US, aiming to use aviation for God’s Kingdom. Meanwhile, Murray Kendon in the UK shared the same vision, joined by Trevor Strong, Stuart King and Jack Hemmings. In 1946, Murray met with CAMF, and together they formed Missionary Aviation Fellowship.
At the same time, Australians Bruce Morton, Harry Hartwig and Ken Cooper, WWII pilots, dreamed of using aviation for mission work. By 1946, they were at Melbourne Bible Institute, joined by others in prayer and planning. In 1947, Harry felt called to start an Australian MAF. With MBI’s support, MAF Australia was formally established on 30 June 1947, joining the global mission to bring help, hope and healing through aviation.
To read more about MAF’s history, click here . Look out for next quarter’s magazine sharing the story of MAF’s very first flight
Front cover
MAF is flying for life in South Sudan
Jenny Davies
NEW GUINEA
‘SOME THINK IT’S WITCHCRAFT
In neighbouring Uganda, crucial flights made possible by your prayers and donations gave nine South Sudanese babies a new lease of life.
Although one of the main causes of hydrocephalus is neonatal meningitis, Dr Emmanuel Okello, a surgeon at CURE Children’s Hospital of Uganda, says, ‘Some Sudanese think it’s witchcraft, with babies discarded in trash cans due to ignorance.’
Last year, Godfrey Matale and his mother Ide Harriet were flown by MAF with eight other babies and their carers from Juba, South Sudan, to Tororo, Uganda, to receive treatment for this curable but potentially life-threatening condition.
We’d flown Ide and her eight-month-old baby to the CURE children’s hospital before and were doing so again because Godfrey’s condition had worsened. Severely malnourished and in great pain, he hadn’t been able to cry for three months.
‘His development is going to be very slow,’ Dr Okello explains. ‘We have to work on his nutrition and will have to do regular physiotherapy because the head is too big. Before that, we’re going to tap water from his brain to relieve him of some pressure.’
MAF’s flights for CURE enable children like these to receive free, expert medical treatment.
When asked about his patients, Dr Okello replies, ‘God keeps them until they get here. It’s a miracle!’
Angelina Akoi, another young mother, shares, ‘Flying us here is very helpful because travelling by road with a sick baby is very uncomfortable. Thank you, MAF, for making this possible.’
‘W e appreciate the collaboration we have with MAF,’ says the hospital’s Executive Director Tim Erickson. ‘It would be very challenging getting patients down here by road, as it’s
GOD
very exhausting. MAF also helps us bring these patients more urgently, and we’re very grateful.’
Pilot Dave has served with MAF for 20 years and was the pilot on the medical emergency flight.
KEEPS THEM UNTIL THEY GET HERE. IT’S A MIRACLE!
‘It’s because of flights like this,’ he explains, ‘that I still love what I do! Thanks to MAF and CURE, we were able to bring nine precious souls to a hospital where specialists could give them a new lease of life.’
THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF RESILIENCE
HOW ONE MAN’S STRUGGLE FOR EDUCATION IS CHANGING LIVES
Isaac Monah – a refugee, orphaned by war – has transformed over 1,000 young lives thanks to founding the first ever school near his isolated village in eastern Liberia. MAF helped build ‘Dougbe River Presbyterian School’, which provides opportunities that Isaac never had. MAF’s Rachel Gwole charts Isaac’s incredible journey.
Dougbe River Presbyterian School (DRPS) opened in 2012 and provides free education to over 240 children from surrounding villages. It’s the first school in Twarbo – an isolated jungle region in Liberia’s Grand Gedeh County near the Ivory Coast Border.
The 150-acre site, which straddles the villages of Sayuo and Buway, comprises of a nursery, primary and junior school.
The school is so remote, there’s no mobile phone coverage. Its 10 teachers live on site and many students have to walk up to four miles there and back every day just to attend.
Over half the students are girls in a country where females are largely denied equality and an education, and are subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM).`
CÔ TE D'IV OIRE LIBE R IA
Monr ovia
CÔ TE D'IV OIRE
By the age of 18, a quarter of girls are married off. Some as young as 12 are sexually exploited and forced into a life of servitude (source: Girls not Brides).
The school’s f ounding director, Isaac Monah, is doing everything he can to right cultural wrongs by educating girls:
‘I love our culture, but those things are no good. I have observed early marriage due to cultural practice – it makes me cry. Our sisters are led into the role as mother too early without achieving an education to forward their future dreams.
‘Now we have over 135 girls in the school. The school is like a safety camp for girls – they run to school to seek refuge and earn their junior high certificate.’
— Isaac Monah, founder of Dougbe River Presbyterian School & MAF passenger
Isaac set up the school on the understanding that the village elders would abandon FGM and child marriage.
MORE THAN SCHOOL
30 acres of farmland surrounding the school produces rice, plantain, cassava and vegetables to support the school’s feeding programme. At Dougbe River, every child gets a free school lunch. Surplus crops are sold at market to help fund the school.
In addition to the farm, the site boasts teacher accommodation, student dormitories for over 80 pupils, a kitchen / canteen, wells, a community centre, a staff room, a pharmacy, an auditorium, a playing field and the county’s first ever library.
A school nurse, three cooks and four farmers are essential to the running of the school. After school clubs include gender specific health workshops, a student newsletter, football and volleyball.
The school is powered by solar panels – it’s the first major solar-panel installation in the Grand Gedeh County.
The junior school gives children from Isaac’s region a firm foundation. They then go on to study at senior school elsewhere in the county. Isaac explains: ‘We try and give all the children in that area a better education. After their junior high certificate, the students can choose to attend any high school in the county. It’s free – we take care of their tuition fees.’
‘NOW WE HAVE OVER 135 GIRLS IN THE SCHOOL. [IT’S] LIKE A SAFETY CAMP FOR GIRLS –THEY RUN TO SCHOOL TO SEEK REFUGE AND EARN THEIR JUNIOR HIGH CERTIFICATE.’
THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
Unfortunately, Isaac did not have the same start in life.
Born in 1970, Isaac and his 12 siblings grew up in isolated Twarbo, but fifty years ago there were no local schools to educate them or after school clubs for them to enjoy.
To access an education, Isaac’s parents sent him away to live with his uncle in Liberia’s
capital Monrovia at the age of 12.
Living in a two-bedroom flat with 12 other people is tough. Isaac witnesses his uncle’s hardship having to support so many people, so Isaac drops out of school and starts selling goods on the streets to support his extended family.
After two years, he moves out. For several years, Isaac sofa surfs with friends and relatives far away from home – staying anywhere he can to survive.
In 1989, things take a turn for the worse –Liberia’s first civil war erupts (1989 – 1997). Issac has three choices – 1) join the army and fight 2) join the rebels and fight or 3) flee the country.
After the family home is destroyed and his 15-year-old younger brother is killed, Isaac – now 19 – and his family, flee to the Ivory Coast in 1990 to initially live with his older sister.
As the war rages on, Isaac loses both parents and his uncle and ends up living in a refugee settlement.
Isaac manages to find work as a guide for scientists and researchers studying wildlife in Ivory Coast’s Tai National Park. In the depths of the jungle he mourns the loss of his family and home, but still dreams of finishing his education.
THE UNIVERSITY OF LIFE
He finally gets the opportunity to complete his secondary school education in Ghana where he lives in another refugee settlement for seven years. Here he meets his future wife, Mazo.
Isaac finds a job which pays £80 a month for 26 x 12-hour shifts. His hard work funds the £300 per year tuition fees required to complete his secondary school education.
He finally graduates in 1996 at the age of 27.
In 2002 – with the help of his American friend Professor Scott McGraw who he meets during a jungle tour in 1992 – Isaac follows Mazo and immigrates to the US.
In 2004, Isaac lands a job as a nursing assistant in a nursing home in Ohio where the couple make a life for themselves. They marry in 2005 and go on to have three children. Isaac becomes an elder at Noble Road Presbyterian Church.
Unfortunately, the nursing home closes down, but the daughter of one of the residents is so impressed by Isaac’s care and compassion that she offers him a job at Cleveland Clinic where she’s a director. After Mazo gains her nursing degree, she too gets a job at the clinic.
In 2005, Isaac sets up his own commercial cleaning company and leaves the clinic in 2014 to run his business full time.
18 years after Liberia’s civil war erupted, Issac finally returns home in 2007. Nothing had changed. His region was still poverty-stricken.
SOMETHING HAD TO CHANGE
Children still didn’t have access to a nearby school, and young girls were still being forced into marriage:
‘It br ought me back to when I was a little boy who started school at the age of 12 – it was so sad. The illiteracy rate was 75% and unemployment was 85%. My people had no future – things were very tough.’
Isaac had to do something. With the blessing of 12 village elders, Isaac was determined to build a school.
Back on American soil, Isaac shares his vision with his pastor and church family. Together they formulate a plan to turn Isaac’s dream into a reality, but where will the money come from?
During his employment a t Cleveland Clinic, Isaac had cared for a man who sadly died from brain cancer. During his care, Isaac becomes good friends with the man’s parents who happen to attend another Presbyterian church. They catch Isaac’s vision and their church
becomes the school’s first partner. Others follow.
When Isaac returns to Liberia with his pastor to share his plans with the village elders, they bless him with 150 acres of land on which to build the school. Isaac secures the deeds for the land.
With the support of a range of generous donors and partners including MAF, Isaac starts building Dougbe River Presbyterian School in 2009.
A WEEK BY ROAD OR A HALF HOUR BY AIR?
Without MAF, it takes a week to reach Twarbo by road from Monrovia. During the six-month rainy season (May to October) it takes even longer as vehicles get stuck when dirt tracks turn into dangerous mudslides.
MAF is the safest and quickest way to bring in building materials, school supplies and people. A flight to Twarbo’s nearest airstrip Zwedru from Monrovia only takes 30 minutes. MAF’s regular shuttle service to the region is a life changer says Isaac:
‘The partnership is amazing. MAF flights have turned my long-time vision into a success by bringing in supplies and materials used for quality education within the district. To God be the glory!’
— Isaac Monah, founder of Dougbe River Presbyterian School & MAF passenger
Such is the dedication of staff and pupils, the school was ranked first by the West African Examination Council last year. Isaac is proud of their success:
‘Such an achievement not only reflects the hard work and dedication of the students, but also the commitment of the teachers and staff who support them.
‘It is indeed something to be proud of, and may this success inspire even greater achievements in the future.
‘I am grateful to God, my family and all my friends who believed in me. This school is not about me – it’s all about the children.’
PRAYER DIARY PRAY FOR OUR PROGRAMMES
MAF SERVES IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD WITH THE VISION OF TAKING CHRIST’S LOVE INTO THE MOST REMOTE PLACES ON EARTH.
ANGOLAPAPUA NEW GUINEA
Praise God that in 12 months, MAF flights enabled patients to receive 3,548 eye consultations and 720 cataract operations from medics at Boa Vista Hospital. Give thanks for everyone who has experienced healing, praying that — like the man in Luke 18:35-43 — they will follow the One who restores sight to the blind.
Praise God that MAF was able to play a vital role in bringing pastors of the Gut Nius Lutheran Church together for a powerful conference that addressed the need for reconciliation and unity. The flights saved some of the pastors a four-week walk from remote locations.
ARNHEM LANDTIMORE-LESTE
Staff from regular MAF flyer Country Connect deliver a range of activities for young people and those with disabilities. Give thanks that we’re able to be a bridge between communities so people can access their services throughout the year. Pray too as their personnel seek to improve people’s emotional wellbeing.
Praise God for the first medevac of 2025 in Timor-Leste that allowed a 72-year-old patient to receive treatment with a 45-minute flight instead of a 12-hour boat journey.
PAPUASOUTH SUDANECUADOR UGANDA
Pray for the people in the mountain regions of Papua, Indonesia who are going through increased unrest. This has affected our ability to serve these areas in the last three years.
Please pray for peace and stability in South Sudan. Having obtained independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan was plunged into a bloody civil war a mere two years later — the terrible conflict displacing some four million people.
Pray for a baby and her 17-year-old mother from Charapachocha, Ecuador. They were evacuated after the mother haemorrhaged after giving birth.
MAF in Uganda is working to reopen existing airstrips and build new runways in isolated areas to which we haven’t flown before. Give thanks that this will enable MAF partners to reach areas of real need.
Give thanks for the life of Jack Hemmings, one of MAF’s pioneering founders in the UK who passed away recently. Jack gladly gave his time to publicise MAF from the early years all the way to his 103rd birthday.
HAITI
Pray for favour with governing officials as MAF Haiti seeks authorisation for our operating certificate. Pray for strength for staff families as they share the load of operations this year in Haiti.
GUATEMALA
Pray for the new pilots that are going to be serving in Guatemala. Pray for finances and the right support for them as they settle into programme life.
Pray for the Lesotho Mountain Discipleship team in Lesotho who are taking a team of volunteers to visit believers in Matsaile. Pray for collaboration to bring help and hope.
CHAD
Pray for our Chad Communications Officer Pushpa Lawrence as she seeks to share, through different media, the incredible work being done by our team.
Our programme in Guinea flies NGO personnel and humanitarian partners around a nation whose citizens have a life expectancy of only 61 years. Pray we’ll continue opening airstrips so that lives can be saved, healthcare transformed, education enabled, and the Gospel preached.
The DRC has seen decades of violence, with serious clashes between the military and insurgents. Please pray that peace will finally descend on this troubled nation, and that our pilots, planes, personnel and the partners we serve will be kept safe.
MADAGASCAR INTERNATIONAL
Praise God for the delivery of two new aircrafts that are undergoing maintenance in the US before heading to programme in Madagascar and Papua New Guinea.
Pray as we enter 2025 that MAF is aligned with what God has in store for this year. Pray for more isolated communities to be reached in this coming year.
TANZANIA KENYA LIBERIA
Pray for MAF in Tanzania who are going through a considerable transition at the moment in their pilot team. Pray as they navigate these changes.
Praise God for the recent medical safari with CURE in Lodwar, Kenya, that meant 60 patients were able to be seen and some scheduled for surgery.
Let’s uphold Gift and Abigail Mposi. Sent through MAF in SA, they’ve recently moved to Liberia, where Gift is working as an aircraft maintenance engineer. Pray they get used to serving in a new country and culture, having left family and friends in Zimbabwe.
LIFE AFTER THE FLOODS – KENYAN FARMERS FACE BLEAK FUTURE
More than 168,000 acres of crops have been destroyed by recent unprecedented floods, according to Kenya’s government. As a food crisis looms, MAF’s Jacqueline Mwende spends time with cut-off farming communities in both southern and northern Kenya where MAF has been delivering aid.
Wherever you see this symbol, it indicates a flight where MAF responded to a problem caused by the climate crisis, or transported a partner who supports creation care.
In the wake of Kenya’s devastating floods from March to May 2024, which saw historically high water levels turn northern Kenya’s Chalbi Desert into mud for the first time, the lives of farmers and their families have been turned upside down.
More than 168,000 acres of crops have been destroyed by unprecedented floods, according to Kenya’s government. As a food
EVEN ELEPHANTS HAVE DROWNED AS SWOLLEN RIVERS WASH EVERYTHING AWAY
crisis looms, MAF’s Jacqueline Mwende spent time with cut-off farming communities in both southern and northern Kenya where MAF has been delivering aid.
In the wake of Kenya’s devastating floods from March to May, which saw historically high water levels turn northern Kenya’s Chalbi Desert into mud for the first time, lives of farmers and their families have been turned upside down.
Letoi stands where her house once stood
Rural roads have been washed away or turned into dangerous mudslides. As a result, cutoff communities can only be reached by plane.
In Pakase, Shompole – a southern pastoralist community near the Tanzania border – over 350 families saw their homes, livelihoods and community buildings washed away by a swollen river.
Thousands of livestock are dead. Even elephants have drowned.
Letoi witnessed first-hand the destruction of her own home:
‘We were still asleep at 9am on Monday when we heard the ominous sound of rushing water approaching our home. When I looked outside, I saw a powerful torrent moving towards us. I managed to grab my children and move to higher ground.’
— Letoi - flood survivor and beneficiary of aid delivered by MAF
MAF has been partnering with World Relief International – an NGO which has been supplying water purification tablets, jerry cans to store clean drinking water, mosquito nets, and feminine hygiene products to the afflicted.
M AF’s flight from the capital Nairobi to Shompole Airstrip has given the team access to some of the worst hit areas:
‘WE FEEL EVEN MORE ISOLATED’
With many roads washed away, essential deliveries and logistics are made infinitely easier with MAF, says World Relief International Kenya Country Director Oliver Otsimi:
‘We are grateful for our partnership with MAF. MAF’s flight has eased logistics, saving a lot of time.’
On the other side of the country in the far north near the Ethiopian border, pastoralist communities in Ileret Village, Marsabit County are equally devastated.
In response, MAF – in partnership with Food for the Hungry and Sign of Hope – spent two days delivering over 1,300kg of essential supplies and transporting ten aid workers.
H ungry, homeless farming families –who are at risk of preventable diseases from contaminated water – benefit from food supplements, sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, soap, jerry cans and medical supplies.
Given its extremely remote location in the far north of the country, Ileret Village was already hard to access before the floods, says Sign of Hope’s field officer James:
‘We are located in the far corner of Kenya, which is extremely hard to reach, but these floods have made us feel even more isolated.
‘Many communities in Ileret have been forced to permanently relocate due to the flooding, so we are immensely grateful to receive all this assistance.’
— James – Sign of Hope’s field officer & MAF partner
THE DEVASTATING COST OF CLIMATE CHANGE
With sub-standard infrastructure either washed away or caked in mud, and swathes of usually arid wilderness now under water, Kenya’s remote southern and northern farming communities could be cut off for months.
K enyan MAF pilot Amos Simiu – who regularly flies over northern Kenya’s Chalbi Desert -has never seen anything like it:
The whole time I’ve been flying here, I’ve never seen water on the desert. I’ve never seen water here before, but right now it is a lake as far as you can see.’
According to Associated Press, Kenya’s government has called the events:
‘A clear manifestation of the erratic weather patterns caused by climate change.’
Kenya’s opposition are calling for better preparedness for climate change disasters, improved weather forecasting and sustainable land management.
Climate change experts ‘World Weather Attribution’ claim that climate change made Kenya’s devastating floods twice as likely and 5% more intense.
Their recent study also found that further global warming would increase the frequency and intensity of future floods (source: Associated Press).
Please stand with us and lift these farmers up in prayer.
Kenyan MAF pilot Amos Simiu has never seen anything like it.
This is all that remains of Pakase’s church
MAF’s essential cargo includes sanitary pads & jerry cans.
100 miles
KEN YA
ETHIOPIA
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BANKING DETAILS
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The men, women and children you read about in this magazine receive help, hope and healing because YOU continue to pray and give to MAF.
LIFE-SAVING FLIGHT AFTER WOMAN STABBED
A MAF pilot was diverted to a remote community to medevac a patient attacked over a land dispute.
MAF’s Michelle Venter, helps with care packs for medevac passengers.
Mary* needed urgent medical treatment after a relative violently attacked her with a bush knife.
But quick action by MAF’s team in Papua New Guinea sent pilot Andy Symonds to an airstrip in Lufa district of Eastern Highlands Province, to collect the injured woman and bring her to hospital.
Relieved husband John* said the rapid response had saved his 41-year-old wife.
“If MAF had not reached us in time, given my wife’s severe injuries, she would not have survived,” he said.
“I want to thank MAF and the pilot for saving my wife’s life. Thank you so much.”
The diverted MAF flight from Mt Hagen was then able to resume its flight to Goroka, taking the injured woman to Goroka Hospital.
Pilot Andy described the drama of changing course for Lufa and reflected on the circumstances that led to Mary being attacked with a bush knife by a relative over a land dispute.
“I was on my way back from Hagen and the message came through to Goroka. They sent me a message and I diverted the plane to Lufa when I landed there instead of coming straight to Goroka,” he said.
“We can pray for the communities, that the truth of the gospel will bring change, and that the animosity between groups and families and tribes would be put aside.
“Medevacs are a big part of what we do. It’s important to help people in the bush, who lack access to medical care, helping them to reach town where they can get proper medical attention.”
Mary’s recovery in hospital was boosted by a care pack organised by women in MAF’s team, which was supported by local businesses in Goroka.
The care pack includes a bucket, a blanket, a soft towel, a washcloth, water containers, plates, bowls, mugs, soap and a toothbrush – essential items for patients in a hospital bed far from home.
Michelle Venter, who helped organise MAF’s care pack effort in Goroka, said often in an emergency people grab their bilums (traditional string bags) and are rushed to the aircraft without personal belongings.
“They have very little time to gather their supplies before they get to the hospital,” Michelle said.
“This is a real need for medevac patients and friends or family that accompany them, so every patient who gets flown into Goroka by MAF will receive a care pack.”
The initiative was supported by a donation of 30,000 Kina ($12,000 Australian) which Cynthea Leah, Secretary and Treasurer of the Goroka Chamber of Commerce & Industry, revealed was from generous local businesses.
“The chamber wanted to support a health project that the rural people of the Eastern Highlands would benefit from, and it was agreed that
the medevac pack was such a project,” Cynthea said. “This marks the first time the chamber has supported MAF in its work.”
Mary and her husband, John, were thankful for the care pack, since they had to rush for the plane without any personal belongings.
“Everything we needed was in the bucket, and we’re so thankful that we were fortunate to use the bucket and supplies,” John said.
“When we arrived, I was only wearing a T-shirt and pants, and Mama Mary didn’t have any extra items either. So, thank you MAF.”
IF MAF HAD NOT REACHED US IN TIME, GIVEN MY WIFE’S SEVERE INJURIES, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED.
* Name changed to protect the woman and man’s identity.
FROM THE FLIGHT DECK WITH MAF’S MISSIONAL PILOT, MARK LIPRINI
The past five to six weeks have flown by for MAF pilot, Mark Liprini, packed with near non-stop flying and training. It took quite an effort to get him to change gears from the cockpit to storytelling, but he’s finally taken a moment to share some of the most interesting incidents from his recent flights. So sit back, grab a coffee, and journey with Mark and Lorraine Liprini through his logbook from the past two weeks!
Once a month, we position an aircraft 45 minutes up the Rift valley from Arusha, to a wee village called Malambo, on a plateau on the Western shores of Lake Natron. Based in Malambo is Pastor Elisha, a Masaai pastor and evangelist who has been partnering with MAF for over 40 years, sharing the Gospel with the Masaai peoples of that region of northern Tanzania.
On the Monday, we take young trainee evangelists from the bible school in Malambo,
and veteran evangelists from the town, out to even more remote villages by aircraft. Some of these villages are only accessible by air or by foot, no vehicular access at all. Some are totally cut off in the rainy season by rivers.
We leave these young men and women there and return on the Friday of the same week to return them back to Malambo.
However, we do return to Malambo on the Thursday to pick up a medical team from “Help For the Masaai”, based in Malambo, and
TANZANIA
KENYA MOZAMBIQUE
Dodoma
Lesirwai Arusha Katahe
we fly them up to the remote village of Olimilei, on top of the mountain to run a day long clinic for this little village and the surrounding areas.
The pilot then spends the night down in Malambo, and the next day he will fly around to the other remote villages collecting the evangelists, before hopefully returning home to Arusha on Friday evening.
One Monday, 2 weeks ago, I did a run up to Olimilei with three evangelists on board. You get airborne from Malambo at 3950’ elevation, and start an immediate climb to circuit altitude of 6500’ for Olimilei which is only 10km away. The procedure is to arrive overhead the airfield to announce your arrival, to check the wind direction on top of the sheer sided mountain, ensure the runway is clear, and then start your circuit and landing on this technically challenging airstrip.
It is tuck ed in close to a ridge, with a sloping runway starting on the foothills of the ridge, so your approach is very unusual in that you fly out over the chasm of the rift valley, complete checklists, configure the aircraft, and then turn inbound to fly close to, and just below the ridge crest, starting a shallow (because you are very close to the tree tops) left hand turn onto final approach, flying down the ridge slope and onto your downward sloping landing area between the trees.
with some of the most succulent grazing being our airstrip. Three quarters of the way down the airstrip was a HUGE flock of goats, with one poor child trying his hardest to chase them off the runway.
They were having none of that, leave such awesome grazing??... you must be kidding!!!... and the noise of the aircraft was scattering them even more as this kid was running back and forth like a demented cricket, desperately trying to herd his goats off into the bushes on the side.
As I headed away, preparing for the landing, I realised I might have to give it away, but decided to try for the landing anyways, even if it was just a good practice run.
Checklists complete, Aircraft configured, tidy approach, on speed, on profile, controlled descent, centreline - continue WAIT.... a large herd of donkeys ambled out of the bushes from the right hand side almost exactly where I was planning on touching down at about 60 knots ... 110 km per hour!!
Full power, Flaps to 20, Cowl flaps open... time to give that one up for sure... Donkeys do NOT scare easily. ... and at the far end, our young champion was still herding goats ... or were they just evading him?
Climbing up to 500 ft above the airfield and circling overhead I could see frantic activity as more youngsters were dispatched to deal with goats at the far end, and others dispatched to deal with the donkeys at the touch down end. The second landing was quite uneventful, with the village pastor profusely apologetic about the shambles.
“Hamna Shida (no worries) my friend, this very seldom happens at Olimilei.”
A s I popped up from the valley and joined overhead the runway, I could see with amusement that we had some challenges. Due to rains the whole area is a lush green
Th is same pastor was getting ordained that same weekend, with the service on the Sunday and the feasting and celebration on the Monday, so on the Friday before the weekend, when I flew up to Olimilei to collect the evangelists, I had a FULL aircraft.
2 40 bottles of soda, catering equipment, pots, blankets, table clothes.. the works. At least, if I did crash I would have enough liquid to keep me going ‘til I was rescued.
N ext leg on Friday was to collect two evangelists, an older guy and younger guy from a tiny strip on the very shores of Lake Natron,
called Pinyin.
It’s tiny , narrow, sandy, rough and unbearably hot, and I have the highest respect for these men who serve the Lord there. Pax about to be loaded, and the young evangelist shyly, but excitedly shows me a face peeking out of the folds of his blanket ... a wee puppy he had obtained in Pinyin. W e carefully strapped the young man in, and he made a safe pocket in his blanket on his lap for the puppy.
Puppy was initially unimpressed at the racket from a 300hp Continental engine at full cry on take-off, but quickly settled into the flight, peering out of the window on take-off, then crawling back into the pocket of the blanket, emerging only once we reached Malambo 20 minutes later.
Lorraine: Then on Monday this week, you were doing some very different flights for the Bible College in Malabo, with Pastor Elisha. Who were you flying, and why were you flying them up to Olimilei?
The Monday of the celebrations, I was back at Malambo again, this time to ferry about 10 Pastors and guests up to Olimilei for the celebrations.
As described already, Olimilei is NOT an airstrip you take lightly, and each approach and landing is treated with utmost care. That day we had some hairy winds gusting up the mountain side and blowing strongly crosswind for the approach and landing. Just made an already challenging landing a few tads more so.
Due to the large group I had to make three trips to ferry them all up there. Once they were all there, I was able to relax for a few hours while the party was in full swing at the village about 300m away.
I elected to remain with the aircraft, as the donkeys had taken up residence on the airstrip after I landed.
Donkeys in heat, donkeys trying to protect their females .. means lots of donkey fights... and an aircraft is by comparison quite a fragile thing against rambunctious donkeys. However a large stick, a few well aimed small stones, lots of arm waving and some shouting and my aircraft was kept intact the few times the battling beasts ventured too close.
After a while, one of the young men came trotting down from the party with some Chakula (Food).
Nyama, Nyama and more Nyama... meat, meat and more meat. Goat, pork and beef, roasted and fried, with some watermelon and a local orange perched on top.
They couldn’t figure out why this mzungu didn’t want the WHOLE plate of meat, and he and his friends happily polished off three quarters of the plate while I worked my way through a large portion in its own right.
As I belched my way through the three ferry flights down later that day, and then down to Haydom that evening, wearing the ornamental bead cross I was given in appreciation for just being there, I realised that Olimilei now had a full time pastor living up there, ministering to the small community in that village and the surrounding areas, which is excellent news.
This was only half the ‘fun’ (hard work) of the past two weeks.
