Mercy Air Picnic

In an attempt to better represent ourselves in the local community and raise the awareness of what Mercy Air actually does, we organised a 'picnic' at a local centre just outside White River. People were invited to come and view the aircraft and meet the staff. Local resturants sold food and there were a number of supporting events and competitions as well as live music.

The Kodiak was made for tight awkward strips like this.

The old road is now the airstrip.

Dean positions the new helicopter.

Quest Kodiak.

Two helis and a fixed wing.

People looking rounf the aircraft.

People took the oportunity to get on the aircraft and have their pictures taken.

Finding out about the Kodiak.

Matthias explains some aspects of the helicopter.

There was a paper aeroplane competition for the farthest distance as well as for the longest endurance.

Briefing before the winners have a flip in the helicopter.

Thank you

The Mercy Air team

Mercy Air Fleet Photoshoot

To celebrate the arrival of our new helicopter we recently organised a photo shoot with all our aircraft in the air and on the ground.

 

 

Thank you.

The Mercy Air team

Mozambique Flood Relief 2015 - 4

Another brief update from Dean and Kaylene in Mozambique flying in support of the aid organisations helping with the flood relief:

The flood waters still linger in many areas. Heavy overnight rain caused the Chire river and tributaries to swell again making it evident that the relief effort will continue for some time. So many bridges and roads are washed out which will leave many of these communities isolated for months and transport of relief supplies by road impossible.

Unfortunately, our time here is over as we have run out of hours on the heli engine and on Tuesday we will return to SA, grounded until our new heli arrives. Please pray that the final few things

holding up completion can be sorted soon. Pray that people can be kept from anger and frustration as the system to distribute aid often seems unfair. They are camped in emergency shelters away from home and mud and misery surrounds them.

Thank you.

Dean & Kaylene

Mozambique Flood Relief 2015 - 3

Another note from our Heli pilot in Mozambique:

Dear friends,

Below are a few photos giving a preliminary view of how Mercy Air is using the helicopter to help with the flood relief in Mozambique.

Due to internet limitations here and time available, I can't send more pictures or write explanations at the moment - but that will come. Please ask if  you need specific info for something.

So far, we have been doing survey flights for 'Save the Children' and 'Concern' NGO's in the areas of the
Chire River bordering Moz & Malawi and the Licungo River NE of Quelimane. The Licungo River flows through the town of Mocuba where the river level reportedly rose 12 metres in one day!

It's now two weeks since the major deluge that started this, so water levels have subsided substantially but mud and disaster remains.

'Floods don't just kill people by drowning them. They kill people by destroying crops, which means famine. They kill people by spreading disease. They kill people by washing away homes, possessions and livelihoods, leaving nothing to survive on

This is not just a disaster that will last a few days or weeks until the ground dries up. For many, it will last for years'. (BBC).

Thank you for being part of the team.

Dean & Kaylene

 

Mozambique Flood Relief 2015 - 2

Further to his last communication, Mercy Air helicopter pilot Dean Yeoman sent this report:

Central & Northern Mozambique are experiencing major flooding. You can pretty much add another zero onto some of the stats I quoted last Sunday! I have been doing survey flights for 'Save the children' NGO since Tuesday and seen some astounding scenes of widespread flooding beyond my imagination. Moz is a very flat country so doesn’t drain easily.

Two weeks of torrential rain has turned thousands of square kilometres into muddy lakes, washed out many bridges, isolated many communities by submersing roads, left this years food crops lying on their side covered in mud and of course taken many lives. In one of the villages we surveyed [Boni] hundreds of people spent 7 days on the only 'hill' in the area – a little mound about 3 metres higher than the rest, in pouring rain and very little to eat. Waters are now receding, but of course many houses have collapsed, food stocks lost and this years harvest wiped out. There are tough times ahead for tens of thousands of people.

Pray for courage for people to face their futures  and wise use of resources in distributing aid. It seems to take so long for aid to build momentum and be effective.

Dean & Kaylene


Here is a satellite image of the storms that bought all this chaos a week or so ago.

And here is a map with the flooded areas superimposed. The dark red area by the number 255 is 20km across and the length is about 140km. So a river that is probably a maximum of 500m has now become 40 times wider.

Next is our on board satellite track of where the heli has been in response. The map scale and area are more or less the same.

 Zoomed in just a little bit more gives and idea of the intensity of the flying that has been done.

Below are some photos taken by Dean as well as others involved in the relief efforts.

 

 

 

All this can get to a point where the scale and impact is lost as every picture just involves huge amounts of water. Unseen though is the suffering endured by countless people, families, villages and whole regions and it's these people we seek to help.

Thank you

Mercy Air team

Mozambique Flood Relief 2015

Late last week Mercy Air was contacted by a number of aid organisations asking us to provide help in survey and relief of the floods in Mozambique.

We hurriedly prepared and re-arranged our schedule and were able to send our helicopter up early this week.

Below are the first photos we have received from pilot Dean Yeoman taken in the central region between Quelimane and the southern tip of Malawi.

Thank you

Mercy Air team