Bringing aid to the Philippines

CUYO, Philippines — Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and New Tribes Mission (NTM) are working hand-in-hand to deliver food, clean water, and other critical aid to remote island communities of the Philippines in desperate need following Typhoon Haiyan.

The missionary organizations are among many that are providing aid to the typhoon-ravaged area.

NTM already had four aviation personnel stationed in the Philippines, operating two small airplanes and one helicopter. So when the disaster struck they were uniquely positioned to help, according to the organization’s officials.

MAF’s experienced disaster response personnel travelled to the Philippines to assist the NTM crew with logistics.

The team is focusing its efforts on small, isolated islands that no one else is assisting, officials noted. They have established an air bridge to transport relief supplies to the island of Cuyo. From there, the NTM helicopter delivers aid to people in desperate need.

“We have heard that the smaller islands have had 70%-80% destruction and no one is helping to meet this need in this remote corner of the Philippines devastated by Typhoon Haiyan,” said John Woodberry, MAF manager of disaster response and security.

The MAF/NTM team has been delivering rice, tarps, and other needed supplies. They are working with the Philippine Red Cross to distribute food and hygiene kits, and doing survey flights to identify isolated areas in need of assistance.

“We are partnering with the local church and local municipal leaders to find the best way to meet the needs and serve those most vulnerable,” said Woodberry. “The local church in Cuyo, where the helicopter is based, is putting together family packs with rice and canned protein to sustain families in remoter islands devastated by the Typhoon.”

Those wishing to support the Philippine relief effort can give online at www.maf.org or www.ntm.org.

“We are thankful to all those who are giving so that the NTM/MAF team can continue to deliver hope and life-saving supplies to these hurting families,” said Pam McCurdy, an NTM spokeswoman.

Founded in 1945, Mission Aviation Fellowship is a family of organizations with a singular mission: To share the love of Jesus through aviation and technology so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed. Recent MAF work has combatted malaria and Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, enabled Bible translators and evangelists in Asia, Africa, and Indonesia, provided relief flights to support the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, and supported rebuilding efforts following numerous natural disasters in Haiti.

New Tribes Mission is an international church-planting mission organization that works among groups who have had little or no access to the Bible, mostly in remote locations in Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific Region. While providing practical help such as medical care, community development and literacy education, missionaries also share Bible lessons that allow the people to choose for themselves what to believe.