Partnership with Samaritan's Purse Provides Crucial Help

Contact: Nicole Aptekar, 909-851-0326, naptekar@maf.org

NAMPA, Idaho, Sept. 21 /Standard Newswire/ -- Through a partnership with Samaritan's Purse, MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) has added a Cessna Caravan airplane to its fleet in Haiti, providing suffering people with greater access to food, medical assistance and other essential services to help rebuild the earthquake-rocked nation.

After a thorough inspection to ensure it met MAF standards, the Caravan departed MAF headquarters in Nampa last Friday, bound for Haiti. The ministry is leasing the aircraft from Samaritan's Purse for two years at a cost of $1.

"We look forward to all we can do with this plane to benefit the people of Haiti," said David Rask, MAF director of Aviation Resources. 'We also appreciate our strong partnership with Samaritan's Purse, which will enable us to increase services to the people of Haiti at a critical time of need."

MAF installed an aircraft payload extender on the plane, allowing it to take off and land with more weight on short airstrips.

MAF has worked in Haiti since 1986. Immediately following the earthquake, MAF served a significant role in coordinating 200 round-trip flights between Florida and Haiti, assisting with the transport of 3,500 passengers, and processing 1.5 million pounds of relief supplies.  In addition, MAF conducted 1,037 relief flights within Haiti, transporting relief workers and delivering vital cargo, such as food, water, tents, tarps and medical supplies. MAF continues to assist in rebuilding efforts.

MAF dedicated the Caravan on Sept. 10, the same day it dedicated two KODIAK airplanes assigned to Papua, Indonesia. One of the planes departed Sept. 10 for Papua, with the other to follow soon. The ceremony marked the largest deployment of aircraft at one time by the ministry.

MAF has ministered in Papua for nearly 60 years, helping multiply the effectiveness of some 65 agencies and hundreds of churches active there. In 2009 MAF saved Christian and humanitarian workers on Papua more than 17,800 days of travel time. Designed for rugged conditions, the KODIAK runs on jet fuel, which is more readily available and much less expensive than scarce aviation gasoline, or "avgas." This ensures the reliability and cost efficiency of missionary flights to various regions around the world.

"These plans represent the gifts of thousands of our contributors," Rask said. "People who gave $5, $10 or more for God's Kingdom work should be pleased with the results."

Founded in the U.S. in 1945, MAF (www.MAF.org) missionary teams of aviation, communications, technology and education specialists overcome barriers in remote areas, transform lives and build God's Kingdom by enabling the work of more than 1,000 partner organizations. With its fleet of 58 bush aircraft, MAF serves in 42 countries. MAF pilots transport missionaries, medical personnel, medicines and relief supplies, as well as conduct thousands of emergency medical evacuations in remote areas. MAF also provides telecommunications services, such as satellite Internet access, high-frequency radios, electronic mail and other wireless systems.