Despite the global pandemic, Mission Aviation Fellowship is continuing its fantastic work bringing medical care, emergency relief, and hope to those that need it most
Many of us are getting first-hand experience of what it means to be isolated. Yet millions of people live so far from roads, education and healthcare that the only way to reach them is by air. This is why Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) works in 26 developing countries to bring help, hope and healing to some of the remotest places on earth. The organisation has also been called in to help fight Covid-19 in vulnerable areas.
In South Sudan, alongside the usual items such as food, cooking oil, fertiliser and washing powder, MAF transported facemasks, buckets and banners bearing crucial information for a Covid-19 awareness programme.
In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo there was a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, with patients suffering from respiratory problems being admitted to Panzi Hospital but dying soon after because they had sadly sought help too late. After obtaining special permissions to fly, MAF was asked to transport medicine and Covid-19 test kits – the flight enabling the vital cargo to remain at the correct temperature and reach its destination safely.
Every year in Madagascar, thousands of newborn babies need vital vaccines to survive childhood. Despite coronavirus, MAF was allowed to transport these vaccines in partnership with UNICEF and, in just two days, 2175kg of vaccines and syringes were delivered, providing babies with life-saving immunisation.
“During the pandemic, MAF is doing whatever it can to help save lives,” says MAF Communications Officer Charlotte Pedersen. “Villagers are very thankful for the vaccines – it’s one less thing to worry about when you’re cut off from the rest of the world!”
In Uganda, the work of hundreds of organisations was either prevented or hampered by the limited road travel permitted. When the Kasese region was hit by terrible flooding, farms were submerged and hundreds of thousands of people displaced leaving many in desperate need of shelter, food, medicine, clean water and blankets. With floods having destroyed the major bridge between Fort Portal and Kasese – preventing government relief from arriving by land – MAF aircraft swung into action, delivering vital supplies to those affected.
“It’s a great thing to resume passenger flying, which has a direct impact on the people we serve. Once again, we’re helping our partners to get the job done,” says MAF Pilot Greg Vine.
For 75 years, MAF has worked with thousands of humanitarian partners to help isolated people in hard-to-reach places. Every five minutes, an MAF plane is taking off or landing somewhere in the world, bringing medical care, emergency relief and hope to isolated people. It costs just £60 to fuel an MAF flight and reach the furthest corner of the world. Please consider giving a gift today.
Further information