MAF's emergency flights save lives in Papua

Our light aircraft recently enabled a small boy to leave the jungle and receive a life-saving operation.

Mika had been swinging on a tree branch when it broke, impaling him. A local missionary tried to help but, because Mika needed urgent medical assistance, we flew the boy, his mother and the missionary to Sentani, Papua.

As soon as the plane landed, Mika was taken to hospital where a doctor operated immediately. The branch that had punctured Mika's small intestine and had been in imminent danger of causing further damage was successfully removed.

The missionary later discovered that, just as Mika was going into theatre, a group of Christian women in the village had begun praying for him.

A few days later, our plane flew Mika and his mother back to their home village.

Give thanks for yet another successful MAF medevac, and pray that its positive outcome will encourage the growing number of believers living in this isolated area.

Busy saving lives

MAF has carried out many other medical emergency flights to remote Papuan villages in recent weeks. Here are some of them.

• A medevac to Kono to pick up a boy who had broken his arm, and an emergency airlift for a patient called Wahyu who had cut his hand badly, and a man named Barnabas, who was suffering from severe constipation.
• Another MAF flight carried a man home with his wife and family because he was too ill for the hospital at Wamena to do anything more for him. When the patient returned to his village, he was greeted with mourning and wailing when his friends realised this would probably be the last time he would leave the village alive.
• MAF Pilot Kees Janse airlifted a lady from Ipdehek whose foot had become badly infected after being bitten by a pig.

• MAF Pilot Kevin Lynne landed in Karubaga to pick up a father, mother and child who were injured when the father lost control of his motorcycle and they crashed into a ravine. Both the mother and her boy suffered head injuries.
• Kees picked up a woman from Anggruk who had successfully delivered her baby four days earlier, but was now very weak and needed to reach hospital. Later, Kees also transported a boy from Panggema, who had broken his arm.'It was neat,' shares Kees, 'to see the dad's love and care for his boy. He wouldn't let him walk, but carried him around.'
• Kees flew to Ndundu to pick up Selamat, a three-year-old boy whose face and upper body had been severely burned.
• MAF Pilot Doug Allrich picked up a man from Ngergen who had fallen off a roof and injured his head badly.

We appreciate the support which helps us save thousands of lives each year in Papua and around the world.

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