Medical emergency in Papua New Guinea
A 23-year-old woman is experiencing labour complications, but as she lives in a remote village in Papua New Guinea, she needed an MAF aircraft to get the urgent hospital care she needs.
A 23-year-old woman is experiencing labour complications, but as she lives in a remote village in Papua New Guinea, she needed an MAF aircraft to get the urgent hospital care she needs.
If there was no MAF, there would be a sharp increase in the number of women and babies who would die.
Dr Kevin Pondikou
From our sub-base in Rumginae, MAF has a life-saving partnership with Rumginae Rural Hospital.
Our aircraft is the only ambulance available to many communities inaccessible by road in Papua New Guinea's Western Province - and often the only way doctors can reach them.
'MAF is the only airline in PNG that goes to the remote places,' says Dr Kevin Pondikou. 'We can depend upon MAF, especially as they can change their flight routes to pick up the patients. So MAF is an essential part of Rumginae Hospital.'
In PNG, the maternal mortality rate is high 710 per 100,000. Dr Pondikou says that this figure would be considerably higher without MAF as 'these women have no other way of getting healthcare'. The life of many newborn babies are also saved as a result.
By supporting MAF, you help make this life-saving medical service available to people in remote areas.
With dense jungle, mountainous highlands and hazardous roads, the need for MAF in Papua New Guinea is great
Versatile and spacious, the GA8 Airvan is ideal for rugged terrain and gruelling conditions MAF operates in.
Illness, accidents and childbirth complications can be catastrophic for those living in remote and isolated areas. Hours or days of overland travel to reach the hospital are not an option for those with life-threatening medical problems
On 21 February, the United Nations marks International Mother Language Day to recognise the importance language plays in education, development and social integration.
In a place where there are no roads, a 2-hour flight saved the life of a heart attack victim in Papua New Guinea.
Two German medical students recently spent their semester break volunteering at the Kompiam Hospital, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Magdalena (Leni) Bonleitner recalls their experiences of rural clinics and flying with MAF.
World Radio Day is celebrated on 13 February. Radios are a vital form of communication for remote areas, helping them feel connected to the rest of the world. In late 2019, Lukas Schadegg installed a HF radio for Biadi, Papua New Guinea.
MAF Papua New Guinea (PNG) pilot, Ryan Cole, explains the role which MAF plays in promoting education - just one of the responses to the question, 'what does a MAF pilot do?'
Support Raising and Training Manager Adam Pope speaks to Michael and Nicki Duncalfe on their return to the UK, following an incredible 25 years of service with MAF Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Clare and Paul Woodington are based at Wewak, where Paul is one of our experienced Caravan pilots serving the communities in the northern part of mainland PNG
On 30 May, UK pilots Paul Woodington and Israel Neale, re-opened the airstrip Pangoa Airstrip 25 years after the last flight.
Bonifas P.Korangia, known as Boni, served as a technician missionary for 22 years, until last year when he felt called to take a year off and reconnect with his village.
Two young Papua New Guinean dentists are making a big difference in remote communities that have never had access to dental care.
While husband Neal is hard at work in the MAF hangar, Lois Semanison spends her time blessing the community in Mount Hagen where they live. Many have come to faith through her witness and care.
Many of Papua New Guinea's 800 languages are spoken by just a few hundred people. The Ende language has 700 speakers in three villages around the Upiara airstrip in the South Fly, Western Province.
Radio: a constant and reliable communication channel. Reaching across high mountains and treacherous landscapes, radio communication has been used as a tool to penetrate some of the most remote areas.
When reports began to circulate of a move of God in a remote village in Papua New Guinea, Judith Dupuis, wife of MAF Pilot Michael Dupuis, just had to see for herself!
This radio might look dirty, old, and unimportant. but this radio is vital to rural communities in Papua New Guinea.
‘What can be more special than walking through the front door of your house and being leapt on by a nine-year-old girl and given a great big hug?'
Almost 3,000 families in the communities surrounding Simbai make a living growing coffee. Frequent MAF flights serve the community's needs and fly the precious cash crop to market.
Indian Pilot Satish Moka recently jumped on a medevac flight to rescue a man with a broken leg from Tamo, a village 75 miles north of Mt Hagen.
In the beginning was the cocoa pod – the beautiful, freshly picked, raw product – grown in tropical equatorial climates around the world, including Papua New Guinea (PNG).
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Much of the food flown by MAF to remote communities after the recent earthquake was donated by local churches motivated to help their countrymen in need.
Aid has reached remote communities in Papua New Guinea following the recent earthquake. Pilot’s Mathias Glass gives an account of a relief flight he flew to Muluma and Bosavi
Glenys Watson is a pilot and busy mum to four daughters. Here she shares a glimpse of her busy life in Papua New Guinea
MAFs Nawi Mabo flew to bring help to earthquake stuck communities in Papua New Guinea and describes what he saw.
Pilot Steven Eatwell flew a medevac and earthquake relief flight to the remote communities of Huya and Bosavi. He brought relief supplies and assessed the condition of the airstrips while he was there.
As the MAF plane lands in Mount Hagen, Communications Officer Mandy Glass is there to meet the patients and help with the hospital transfer.
Recently in Papua New Guinea, short-term Swiss staff member Remo Ruegg's plans for the day took a different turn when one of his neighbours knocked on his door. Story Remo Ruegg. Photos Remo Ruegg (RR) and Nawi Mabo (NM)
At MAF, we know that when we provide access to remote areas those areas are helped, resourced and receive medical assistance. However, sometimes it is when access is withdrawn for a time – often for unavoidable reasons – that it brings home the reality of our absence.
Paul Woodington, a pilot with MAF Papua New Guinea, recalls a medevac flight which happened just before Christmas 2017. Thanks to quick thinking, good decision-making and trust in God, Paul managed to help two severely ill patients, including the son of a missionary partner, reach the medical care they needed.
In August 2016, Geoff Boer was having a normal day. Just after dinner, disaster struck as he experienced a heart attack. he was flown for treatment the following morning and after surgery, has made a full recovery. Without the quick thinking and acting MAF staff and partners, Geoff may not have survived.
We all like a nice cup of coffee! But have you considered where your cuppa might have come from? Story and photos by LuAnne Cadd
When a medevac flight was delayed by bad weather God’s sovereign purposes were at work in a seemingly hopeless situation
Kompiam Rural Hospital in Papua New Guinea is at the end of a road, inaccessible except by walking or flying, to the people it serves. The area is troubled by tribal skirmishes which have claimed more than 40 lives in the last six months.
As exam season the UK comes to an end - to the relief of children and parents alike - Glenda Giles shares how students in Tekin, Papua New Guinea nervously awaited the arrival of their exam papers.
What's it like to date on the mission field in a culture drastically different to your own? British Siobhain Dales and Canadian Ryan Cole discovered just this...
MAF Pilot Paul Woodington displays professional dedication and personal sacrifice as he battles the jungle to bring the Jesus film to an isolated corner of Papua New Guinea. We hope it encourages you to continue fighting for the Gospel.
Maintaining the airstrips is just as important as maintaining the aircraft to ensure safe landings.
A workshop in Papua New Guinea teaches women how to be free from the fear of sorcery and magic through a deeper understanding of who God is. Story and photos by LuAnne Cadd
The mountain village community of Megau came together to build a life-saving medical aid post in just 24 hours. Everything down to the last nail was flown in by MAF
Michael Duncalfe has been flying Twin Otters since 1998, clocking up over 6,500 hours in the process. MAF Partnership Manager – and resident aviation enthusiast – Olly Nunn asks him to share with our supporters why this aircraft is so special
Senior Communications officer LuAnne Cadd spent a day flying on MAF's Twin Otter aircraft in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
MAF women in Papua New Guinea come together a few times a year to pack Care Bags for women we fly for emergency hospital care. Madeleine Bischoff, wife of MAF pilot Markus, shares the joy of blessing two new mothers, with bags and shares their stories.
No more killing: When a young schoolgirl heard that 17 innocent people were about to die, she decided to do something about it. Story and photos Anton Lutz.
Gebrau airstrip in the highlands of Papua New Guinea is finally open, after twenty years! It will be a huge benefit to the economy of this remote community.
MAF's scheduled flight from Wewak was cancelled at the very last minute. But then the phone rang! An urgent medevac flight was required. And Agatha's village was in the opposite direction. (Photos: Ludmer Meiko)
Mandy Glass, our Communications Officer in Papua New Guinea, shared her love of reading recently with 80 high school students through the gift of books.
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"The atmosphere must have been electric that day..."
"Rose was confronted by two men from the neighbouring tribe who proceeded violently."
Mud celebration marks historic landing in Papua New Guinea
MAF Operations Manager Siobhain Dales explores leadership and the challenges of culture for women in Papua New Guinea
Karina Mills describes a marathon that changed many little lives in Papua New Guinea
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A boy in a remote mountain community in Papua New Guinea is glad to be alive after being bitten by a death adder
We have a new aircraft in Papua New Guinea - and it's already come to the rescue of several people in remote communities
Kim Job recalls a recent medevac flown by her husband Jason, for an expectant mother with multiple health complications. Having recently driven the route to the hospital with her family, Kim reflects on the considerably shorter plane journey.
Pilot Tim Vallance-Webb flew Yolngu christian James Marawili and Divyan Ahimaz out to remote Garrthalala for a Sunday morning service. Story by Divyan Ahimaz.
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Dr Jasmine-Kim Westendorf and colleagues travelled with MAF to Oecesse, Timor-Leste to research the impact of peacekeeping measures, focussing on incidents of abuse and exploitation.
MAF's scheduled flight from Wewak was cancelled at the very last minute. But then the phone rang! An urgent medevac flight was required. And Agatha's village was in the opposite direction. (Photos: Ludmer Meiko)
Sight has been restored and lives transformed in remote Suai in Timor-Leste, thanks to the combination of MAF's aircraft and this dedicated eye surgery team.
Timor-Leste sits on a beautiful island but hides isolation and a limited healthcare service. That's why we partner with the Ministry of Health to provide an air ambulance to help save hundreds of lives, including mum-to-be Maria.
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Struggling to breathe, three-week-old Jiona joins an MAF plane on Atauro island for a flight to save her life
A boy in a remote mountain community in Papua New Guinea is glad to be alive after being bitten by a death adder
A beach runway has reopened on Timor-Leste’s Atauro island, allowing MAF to be a lifeline to its residents
We have a new aircraft in Papua New Guinea - and it's already come to the rescue of several people in remote communities
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After months of an untreated infectious wound on her leg, a young girl called Masha was at risk of losing her limb – then MAF stepped in to help.
Our partner in Nepal, Mountain Child, together with MAF recently helped a man get back on his feet after severe frostbite left him unable to walk.
Lives are changed on every MAF medical safari to the remote town of Beroroha
One of our youngest 'frequent fliers' Samuel Letikirich has a hope of walking again after being born with bilateral club foot, thanks to the MAF plane.
MAF Pilot Dallas Derksen witnessed first-hand how disabled children in the Mongolian Countryside are accessing services they need
Senior Communications Officer LuAnne Cadd, who joined the Kilimatinde Safari to Chidudu earlier this year, shares what our flights mean to people in this remote community. Photos: LuAnne Cadd
MAF's scheduled flight from Wewak was cancelled at the very last minute. But then the phone rang! An urgent medevac flight was required. And Agatha's village was in the opposite direction. (Photos: Ludmer Meiko)
EMERGENCY FLIGHT | Chris walked through the door and I could immediately tell his day had been far from easy. There was a tukul fire in Kajo Keji. The two boys lost their mother in the blaze...
Beautiful Borneo - hundreds of miles of uninhabited jungle. There are absolutely no roads to the village where we are flying. The only way in and out is by plane. Story and photos by Matt and Ellie Sheer.
A story of rescue and faith. When we received a message that a Papuan man had fallen from a tree, MAF pilot Pieter van Dijk flew to the remote community where Ferry lived to evacuate him. Story and video by Tjeerd van Dijk
Two-year-old Fitia suffered severe burns when a pot of boiling water fell on her, but a medevac flight in an MAF plane meant she could receive the life-saving treatment she needed.
Our team in Papua, Indonesia, continues to make life-saving flights for people in remote areas who have no other way to reach hospital in times of emergency. People like Mika.
Sight has been restored and lives transformed in remote Suai in Timor-Leste, thanks to the combination of MAF's aircraft and this dedicated eye surgery team.
Five days after the first Nepali earthquake on 25 April, Médecins du Monde drove four hours into an area that was heavily damaged by the earthquake. (Photograph © Médecins du Monde)
LuAnne Cadd meets an inspirational eye-team MAF flew to a remote corner of South Sudan
How four organisations worked together to change a Mongolian family forever
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MAF Pilot Dave Forney follows the tragic story of a young girl in Uganda
MAF is supporting efforts to combat a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
A boy in a remote mountain community in Papua New Guinea is glad to be alive after being bitten by a death adder
A beach runway has reopened on Timor-Leste’s Atauro island, allowing MAF to be a lifeline to its residents
We have a new aircraft in Papua New Guinea - and it's already come to the rescue of several people in remote communities
MAF Madagascar’s reputation as a supplier of medical aid makes all the difference to Nononje, an elderly lady wounded in a cattle raid