'MAF Brings The Schools from The Sky'

 

Children of remote Dusin in Papua New Guinea. The education hangs on the wings of a prayer.

 

Enables education in remote villages of 

Papua New Guinea

• The benefits of investing in education
• MAF supporting a school extension at Yifki

Not only does this school provide access to quality education for Yifki and the surrounding villages, but more importantly, it enables children to hear the Gospel.

Starting a new school at Iteri

The communities of Iteri and neighbouring Nakui also previously had full-time NTM missionaries who planted indigenous churches.
MAF Wewak had the privilege of flying in teams with representatives from NTM and Samaritan Aviation, plus tools and materials, so that over two multi-day visits a new classroom and office block, plus two teachers' houses, could be constructed.
The plan is for NTM to fund and oversee the school initially, with input and funding also coming from the local education authority.

Each year, our aircraft transport many boxes of school material from our various bases to schools in rural areas on behalf of the Minister for Education to support the students in their preparation for their end-of-year exams.

These were flown from Mount Hagen to Dusin, a rural community in the mountains of the Jimi Valley of Madang Province. 

Without the logistical aid that MAF provides via flying, rural schools would never be able to receive the required resources in time, nor send out their exam results before the marking deadlines, adding more stress to an already stretched education system.

Students of Mougulu High School in Western Province of Papua New Guinea.

MAF continues to work alongside both mission and government education providers to help bridge some of these gaps by flying around 300 hours each year in the transportation of:

• Building supplies necessary for the establishment and maintenance of school buildings

• Teachers to and from rural communities

• Educational resources such as curriculum and equipment for rural schools

The constant need

Regularly, we are approached by those in the remote communities who let us know that MAF is their lifeline for medical evacuations, necessary supplies, and the transport of educational materials, students, and teachers. 

Provincial governments also understand the logistical nightmare of providing education to their rural communities. 

A child gets his weight taken before he boards the flight.

Their involvement comes through the voicing of their tremendous need for assistance – both as we meet them at their individual airstrips and by official government communication.

It is a statistically proven fact that restricted access to education is one of the surest ways of transmitting poverty from generation to generation.

It also leads to increased maternal deaths and the rise of such diseases as HIV/AIDS.

Increased education allows for increased income and gives people the opportunity to leave their rural communities and have a career outside of them, which in turn allows them to bring development into their communities and increase the standard of living.

This is what we are hoping to achieve, better living standards that in turn help people become more productive so the overall development of the country can rise.

Yifki is a village situated in a remote side valley, off the major Lagaip River valley in the highland province of Enga.

New Tribes Missions (NTM) have established a vibrant church there, with many local believers. 

MAF the rural outback taxi that brings hope to the most remotest people in Papua New Guinea.

The missionary families who lived there full time have been able to leave the church in local hands, but the missionaries still have close links with the community, visiting regularly.

The village school is thriving and has outgrown the current building, as they seek to extend the capacity up to Grade 8 and to respond to the local hunger for education.

The school is staffed by Christian teachers and runs with a Christian ethos, holding regular faith-based assemblies.

In 2022, MAF aircraft made multiple cargo flights from Wewak to Yifki, taking in much of the building material for the project. 

Work is progressing well with local labour and help from visiting NTM teams. 

The village of Iteri is in the far west of East Sepik Province, in a valley at the foot of the Blue Mountains.

There are still close links between the mission and communities. NTM and Samaritan Aviation have been working together in the planning to start a school there, where, to date, there has been no education provision at all.

The community provided plenty of willing labour and put in the backbreaking work to clear the dense bush next to the airstrip where the buildings now stand.

Education supplies for Dusin school at MAF base in Mount Hagen, ready to be flown out.