If you are a church or religious organisation who would like to share more stories and images about the work of MAF, then in this section you can find ready-written material, prepared by the MAF UK News team, for you to download and use.
Come us find us at various events around the UK this year. We'd love to meet you and tell you more about the amazing opportunities to train and work with us.
At the heart of all we do is a desire to see isolated people changed by the love of Christ. Become an MAF Prayer Partner and be a vital part of our team. Partner with us in prayer today!
Our quarterly Prayer Diary includes daily prayer needs, photos and themed scriptures to equip you in intercession. As an extra bonus, the Prayer Diary comes with our Flying for Life Magazine - full of up to date stories from the countries in which we serve.
Join us in Arnhem Land where your seven-day ‘whistle-stop’ tour begins!
Welcomed in to stay
Here we are in the beautiful and mysterious Homelands. You wouldn’t believe you’re in Australia!
Arnhem Land’s remoteness, humidity and challenging conditions make it an especially difficult place in which to live and thrive.
The area appears relatively small given Australia’s vastness. But, measuring 37,500 square miles (roughly the size of Scotland and Wales combined), the region is home to just 12,000 Aboriginal people.
Your exact location is the north-eastern corner of Australia, a long way from the developed, modern cities of Darwin or Cairns.
The region of Arnhem Land is a legally recognised reserve for the Yolŋu people – an indigenous group of hunter-gatherers who are bonded by a complex kinship system and reverence for creation.
Visitors need a permit to enter, and it’s unlikely you’d be able to access this part of the world without your MAF Discovery Pass. Our team has only been allowed to live here with the permission of the local inhabitants – a rare and respected privilege.
The ten beautiful aircraft in the hangar are helping our partners provide a range of practical and spiritual support for communities that have no other way of receiving healthcare, education or WiFi.
MAF’s work in Arnhem Land represents our most complex relationship with any remote people group, and our flights are the best hope for the love of Christ to grow among them.
Welcomed in by this mysterious, ancient community, our dedicated team is here to stay. It is only through our planes that you can come this close to the Aboriginal way of life.
Population
Roughly 12,000
Life expectancy
68 years
Languages
40 Aboriginal dialects
Nutrition
22% of Yolŋu people run out of food at some point each year
Neglect
60 children a month are removed from their parents’ care due to poverty-related neglect and abuse
Infant mortality
Babies born to Aboriginal mothers are only half as likely to survive their first year of life than those born to non-indigenous parents
Airstrips
MAF landed on 54 airstrips across Arnhem Land in 2019
Passengers
Our aircraft carried 14,103 passengers
Cargo
Our flights carried over 9 tonnes of cargo
1 – Watch the Jesus Film
in Yirrkala, where years of outreach have seen many indigenous people baptised and transformed. Awaken Arnhem Land, an event held by Youth for Christ, was facilitated by MAF through flights and technical support – giving 500 people the chance to learn about Jesus in a culturally sensitive way.
2 – Catch fresh fish
with one of our MAF families, who love visiting the beautiful beaches off the north-eastern coast. Arnhem Land is one of the best fishing destinations in the world, but the waters can be very dangerous with salt water crocodiles, sharks, jellyfish and poisonous sea life making swimming almost impossible – especially for young children.
3 – Support a Yolŋu family
by flying with them to South Goulburn Island for the burial ceremony of a loved one. Being reunited with your tribe to bury a body is very significant in Yolŋu culture, but many families can’t make the long and difficult journey without MAF.
4 – Eat Bananas
transported from Gäwa on Elcho Island. MAF helped this remote community recover from a cyclone in 2017 by flying banana suckers – a side shoot which, when planted in fertile soil, will grow into a new banana tree.
Carl Musch works for Indigenous Ministry Links Australia, just one of the many Christian organisations that partner MAF to share the Gospel with the Yolŋu.
‘The transformation of a person must be attributed to the work of God’s Spirit. But if I was to identify one organisation that has been used by God to transform these people’s lives and foster growth in the Yolŋu Church, it would be MAF.’
Caroline Falconer works for Laynhapuy Homelands Aboriginal Corporation, an organisation owned and directed by the Aboriginal elders. Non-indigenous doctors, nurses and dentists fly with MAF to the remote Homelands and offer culturally sensitive care. This enables the indigenous population to live a traditional lifestyle while still receiving modern healthcare – preserving their dignity and sense of purpose.
‘We love working with MAF as we travel out to the Homelands. MAF staff have the same attitude and care that we do. It’s about caring for the communities in a consistent and practical way.’
Devin Lepage works at the Gäwa Christian School on Elcho Island, which provides holistic education to the extremely remote Homelands communities. Working closely with the local elders, teachers can present unfamiliar concepts using the Yolŋu’s traditional knowledge and culture. This is known as ‘both ways learning’.
‘MAF is a huge support to all of us here in the Gäwa community. They do so much more than fly us between remote locations. They encourage us, pray with us, and many have become good friends.’
Children’s Activity Worksheet
Mike, Alpha and Foxtrot have put together some fun children’s activities which you can download and print as a booklet. In your printer settings, just choose the options to print on both sides of the paper and flip on the short edge.
– for Tim and Georgie Vallance-Webb and their four children. The family has moved to Arnhem Land to be part of MAF’s team. Tim is a pilot, and Georgie has a heart to serve the local Yolŋu community.