I thought some of you might enjoy an update on MAF’s disaster relief in Nepal. To start off with here is a link to a thank you video from Inspire International. The first part is a thank you message, and the second part is clips of their work there.
Below is a letter giving a good update of the work in Nepal.
Dear all
Our Disaster Response Team are now in to month two of our work there so I wanted to give you the latest update.
Firstly, I wanted to thank all those across the MAF family who have been working so hard in fundraising for Nepal and to those donors and supporters who have given so generously. So far we have raised close to USD$1million which has been a fantastic achievement and the funds have really enabled us to do a huge amount of work as you can see from the statistics below.
At the moment we are planning to continue the disaster response phase of work in Nepal until mid-July when our funding from the UK government Department of International Development (DFID) will be exhausted and work is underway to see what further needs (and funding) there are for MAF involvement in Nepal after then – both in the short term to help with recovery and in the longer term. Please pray for wisdom for the team as they assess the options. I will keep you updated as the picture becomes clearer in the coming weeks.
In mid-May we flew a medical team for an Hawaiian NGO, Inspire International. Here is a message from Timothy Hiura MD for Inspire International: “Thank you so much for your partnership in helping us reach Nessing village in the Rasuwa district by helicopter. They had not received any aid prior to our arrival. The people of Nessing were grateful for us being there since it was inaccessible by car or foot due to the earthquake. It normally takes 10 hours by jeep and 5-6 hour hike into Nessing from Kathmandu. But by helicopter it took a mere 25 minutes. Due to our partnership with you they received 1900 lbs of rice, Dahl and tarps. It was so sad to see that 95 % of the houses in this village were destroyed. We saw 200+ medical and dental patients with approximately 8 life threatening interventions. We partnered with a local church plant in this village and His name was truly glorified in it all.”
Another great example of the work we have been able to co-ordinate is with the Ugandan Water Project. Rich Thompson from MAF Australia has made a great video on this work which you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3k4ADWWXJM . You can also find out more about the work Ugandan Water Project have been doing in Nepal on their Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/richard.welch.129/videos/824802153402/?hc_location=ufi
Here are the latest stats which I hope you will find interesting. In flight operations in the 5 week period from 9 May to 13 June , the MAF coordinated helicopter response facility has:
- Flown 507 hours to 206 different landing locations in 9 districts
- Conducted 1248 separate flight legs
- Carried 1788 passengers – saving an estimated 20 working years’ of time
- Carried 220,416 kg of relief and aid airfreight
- Conducted 19 aeromedical evacuation flight legs
- Flown 64 different organisations
- a helicopter has been taking off or landing every 8.7 minutes during the 10-hour operational day
- We continue to coordinate flights for a large number of smaller Nepalese NGOs. These 37 NGOs represent 50% of the 74 organisations registered with MAF.
The project continues to see strong demand for the service with flight booking lead time out to over a week in advance as NGOs try to achieve as much as possible before the monsoon rains start in the next week or so.
We have already had our first weather cancellation that has caused some rescheduling issues. While up to now we have been coordinating around 100 flight hours per week, it is anticipated that we will be limited by weather to a maximum of 60 hours a week by the week beginning 21 June. Last week there was news of a large landslide which killed over 20 people (due to rain and earthquake weakened hills). More such landslides are sadly predicted and this could become a substantial secondary crisis.
The relationship with Fishtail Air continues to go well. MAF has provided safety equipment and upgrades to Fishtail Air and these have been well received. The loaders on the ramp wear their personal protective equipment with pride and there is a sense that they enjoy looking more professional than other operators. The UN approved fuel containers that MAF donated to Fishtail Air have also attracted the interest of the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority who are very pleased with the safety upgrade.
ITEMS FOR PRAYER
- For safety during the bad weather expected in the coming weeks
- For wisdom for leadership as they look to what the future needs might be for MAF in Nepal
- For the incoming team over the coming weeks to rapidly assimilate into the operation
- For safe travels for the team members who are arriving and leaving
- Praise for the continuing positive relationship between MAF Staff and the Fishtail Air staff
- Pray for the Nepali people as they start to rebuild. Pray especially for protection for those communities and people most vulnerable to landslides.
Please do feel free to circulate this to supporters and prayer groups.
Wishing you all a great weekend.
Blessings
Lesley
I will end with a quick note about our flight permissions here in Central Asia. We are still waiting. This week the civil aviation inspectors were at our hanger on Saturday and will be there today again. Hopefully this will lead to progress on our permissions as they see that we operate with safety and integrity. Ramadan has started which means almost all of the people here in Afghanistan are fasting. This is the hardest month to fast especially since they go without both food and water. The days are long and hot. Pray for the people here that God will speak to them during this time. Pray for a quiet summer as tempers tend to flare when it gets hot and people are hungry. Pray for the right words for our team as we interact and speak truth into our national staff and to our local friends. Blessings, T.