| Haiti Report - March 25, 2010 |
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MAF continues to do great work in Haiti, more than two months after the disastrous earthquake that struck the tiny nation claiming over 200,000 lives and leaving tens of thousands homeless. We are carrying out a lot of flights to internally displaced people in remote areas. MAF delivered 100 tonnes of food from the World Food Programme in the first weeks but there are still large, hungry groups of displaced people and families all over Haiti in need of food and other assistance. "The medical teams in field hospitals have been doing thousands of amputations," reports MAF flight instructor Brian Shepson. He said so many people had injured limbs that were unrepairable because they either did not get help medical attention in time or because the injuries were too severe. Food drops in conjunction with partners Operation Blessing continue all over the country with flights to a newly opened airstrip at Fond des Blancs in the west enabling people in this remote community to receive food. Statistics of Life Numbers never tell the full story and of course never convey any sense of emotion. But hidden in the statistics below are stories of pain, loss, joy, gratitude, lots of tears and evidence of lives saved and changed by the intervention of MAF in Haiti. From the first week when flights commenced up to March 19, MAF had: • Made 606 round-trip flights • Carried 935 passengers and delivered 94,920 kilograms of food and other cargo • Logged 283 flight hours • Flown 34,620 flight miles (approx 64,000 kilometres) The following letter extract reflects the gratitude of a Christian doctor from California towards MAF. Anaesthetist, Dr Paul Phelps, volunteered his skills and travelled to Haiti shortly after the quake due to the desperate shortage of trained doctors. He confessed to a ‘deathly fear of small airplanes' but was reassured and comforted by the MAF pilots: "We did several surgeries and saw a lot of sad things. When the (MAF) pilots landed to pick us up and fly us to Cape Haitian, the first thing they did was shake our hands and say ‘God bless you guys.' I am a grown man but the spirit of God welled up so high in me I felt like crying. I had no fear of flying in their plane. I helped injured people in Haiti and did my best to spread the word of God. But when people ask me what impacted my heart the most, I tell them about how awesome the MAF team was. You have a great ministry. May God bless you." Dr Paul Phelps Article from MAF Australia website |