Stichting MAF International

Restoration for Victims of Violence

MAF’s Uganda team assisted 13 women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, flying them to Panzi Hospital, which is dedicated to help victims of rape and domestic violence.

Complicated planning

Flying across national borders requires additional permission. Covid travel restrictions and measures added further elements to a complicated planning and logistics. ‘A visiting team of European doctors came to Panzi Foundation in Bukavu this week,’ reported pilot Andrew Parker. The 13 ladies came from deep within the jungle for surgery. ‘The flight required more planning and complicated stops to collect passengers and also an overnight fuel stop in Goma both ways.’ The outbound route: Kajansi – Entebbe-Goma-Lodja-Bukavu

Nobel Prize Winner

On arrival, Andrew met Nobel Prize Winner Dr Mukwege, founder of the Panzi Hospital and Foundation. Dr Mukwege is a strong advocate for ending sexual violence and the use of rape as a weapon of war.
Andrew shares, ‘Dr Mukwege expressed his thanks for MAF and was really appreciative that we were willing to fly these ladies to the hospital. He expressed his hope that the relationship with MAF would continue, as this was a first flight bringing women to the hospital who live remotely and the surgeries needed to be done in the hospital and not via surgeons visiting them. The women had walked for days or taken motorbike taxis to get to the airfields in Gemena and Lodja to meet the plane.’

Separated from family

Due to the distances, the trip involved six days of flying, followed by a two week quarantine and Covid19 test for Andrew after his return. ‘I was feeling reluctant when I first heard about the flight because the area is unknown to me and most people speak French. But then, as I realised the significance of the flight’s purpose, how much the women needed the surgery and that it was God’s purpose, I knew I needed to just do what I’d been asked to do. Quarantine was a bit tedious and frustrating. Strange to be down the road from your family but not able to see them or help in anyway.’ However, Andrew wouldn’t have changed his decision after seeing the impact this flight made for his passengers.

It was a privilege for MAF to assist these thirteen women, enabling access to help and healing after the ordeals they have endured, and supporting Dr Mukwege’s vision of restoring women’s dignity.

Flash-floods in Kasese

Flash flooding in Kasese, Uganda, left 25,000 people homeless earlier this year. The floods hit at a time when the country was in full lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic: travel restrictions meant that MAF’s planes were grounded. It took two weeks of negotiation to gain authorisation for MAF to assist those impacted by the disaster. Within 20 minutes of permission being granted, Chief Pilot Greg Vine headed out to Entebbe where three of our aircraft were waiting and ready for the emergency flights, with a fourth plane joining them the next day. MAF flew 22 hours across a number of days with planes fully loaded with relief supplies for the people in Kasese, The full lockdown across Uganda lasted 10 weeks, with all flights (including MAF’s) being grounded. To add to the challenges of responding, very high water levels in Lake Victoria meant the Kajansi airstrip, where MAF usually operates from, was partially flooded. Our planes had had to be relocated to Entebbe, though work on the runway there added further complications. The country has also suffered from the impact of a huge swarm of locusts moving across East Africa.

MAF International
Mission Aviation Fellowship is an international Christian organisation whose mission is to fly light aircraft, and to use other technologies to bring help and hope to people in some of the world’s poorest communities.