MAF in Sudan
On the initial survey flight by Stuart King and Jack Hemmings (co-founders of MAF), Sudan was identified as the country most in need of a service like MAF.
We began flight operations in Sudan in 1950 but 14 years later all missions were forced to leave due to civil war. A respite in the war allowed flights to resume in 1977 for a further 6 years but since 1983, flying into Sudan has continued from the neighbouring countries of Kenya and Uganda.
Following the 2005 peace agreement, MAF opened an operation in Juba, a former garrison town of the northern Sudanese Government and now the capital of southern Sudan. Several NGOs and the UN have moved into Juba, and the Government of southern Sudan is also operating from here. Gradually missions and NGOs are moving their Sudan operations fully into the country. As they rely on us to support their work, there is an increasing need to quickly become established. Flights for Sudan continue from Lokichoggio, Kenya, (with pilots occasionally staying over night in Juba), and Kampala, Uganda.
MAF in Sudan serves many of the Christian and church agencies working in development and rehabilitation projects in southern Sudan. Up to six aircraft a day take relief and development workers, missionaries and essential supplies into remote communities. Without us they would be severely hampered in delivering humanitarian aid.
Along with World Relief, we established accommodation and offices in town. In the beginning, MAF staff lived in a renovated house on the SIL compound, working from a prefabricated office. The new office and houses are now established on land owned by the Episcopal Church of Sudan.
In these early days much revolves around getting permissions and infrastructure in place to allow the eventual basing of planes and more staff in the town. As people pour into town, it is also a time for establishing relationships.
MAF registered as an NGO with the Government of southern Sudan in May 2006. A temporary Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) was granted for the Kenyan aircraft operating in Sudan in January 2007.
All MAF aircraft operating in southern Sudan are from Kenyaand Uganda, at least one of which is based in Juba at any one time.
There are 4 international staff members and 6 national staff members.
Types of flying MAF does in Sudan:
- Medical emergencies
- Churches
- Missions
- Development work
Organisations served by MAF in Sudan:
- Tearfund
- World Relief
- Christian Blind Mission (CBM)
- World Vision
- Christian Mission Aid (CMA)
- Medair
- ACROSS
- ADRA
- Mustard Seed International
- plus a number of churches and diocese in Sudan.
Demographics
Sudan has the 31st lowest Human Development Index rating in the world
- Population: 40,218,455 (UK: 61 million)
- Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (UK: 11 births/1,000)
- Life expectancy at birth: 49 years (UK: 79 years)
- Population under 15 years: 42% (UK: 17%)
- High infant mortality: more than 1 in 12 die at birth (UK: 1 in 200 die at birth)
- Population below the poverty line: 40%
- HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 2.3% of population (UK: 0.2%)
- Literacy rate: 61.1% (UK: 99%)
Infrastructure
Civil war has crippled the infrastructure, much of Africa’s largest country is without roads
- Area of the country: 967,498 sq miles (UK: 94,525 sq miles)
- 7,394 miles of roads, but only 2,684 miles of paved roads (UK: 241,104 miles – all paved)
- 101 airstrips, of which only 16 are paved
Economy
Hit hard by years of civil war, Sudan’s struggling economy faces formidable problems with many of the population living in dire poverty
- 80% of the population employed in agriculture, fishing and forestry
- Main exports include oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic and sugar
Environment
Sudan’s faces a number of serious environmental threats
- Inadequate supplies of drinkable water
- Wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting
- Soil erosion and desertification due to over-cultivation of fragile soils combined with a windy, arid climate
- Periodic drought
Climate
A varied climate from tropical in the south to arid desert in the north, the country faces harsh conditions
- Dust storms
- Periodic persistent droughts
Religion
There is a divide between the largely Christian south and the Islamic north
- Sunni Muslim: 70% (in north)
- indigenous beliefs: 25%
- Christian: 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)