GUELPH, Ontario, Dec. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Charitable organization, Mission Aviation Fellowship of Canada (MAF Canada) was able to send one of our Canadian pilots at a short notice to aid in the disaster response happening in Central America.
After Eta and Iota, two category 4 hurricanes, made landfall back to back in Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala in November, residents have been reeling in the aftermath. Homes and crops have been destroyed due to wind, flooding and landslides. This double blow comes on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had already depleted government resources and left many people unemployed.
“The national response capacity has been exceeded,” Executive Secretary of the Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) said in a statement, urgently calling the international community to respond with aid. Ten MAF staff from locations worldwide and four aircraft were able to respond quickly and begin delivering humanitarian aid and relief.
MAF Canada’s Nick Frey, originally from Kitchener, ON, was able to respond to the call for help in logistics, leaving Guelph, Ontario with only a few days’ notice. He is now on the ground in La Ceiba, Honduras for the beginning of a 3-week assignment. His role is primarily providing logistics for the Samaritan’s purse helicopter MAF is partnering with in the region, arranging fuel, flight plans, permissions, loading and unloading.
The aircraft being coordinated by MAF for use in the disaster response include:
- 2 aircraft in Honduras, including a Cessna 206 and a Cessna 185
- A Kodiak aircraft flown from the MAF US headquarters in the USA
- A Samaritan’s Purse helicopter
Across the region, MAF has been able to deliver family food packs to isolated areas, transport search and rescue teams to areas devastated by landslides, conduct an emergency medical evacuation flight, and transport passengers to clinics.
Between the 6 November - 29 November, 2020 MAF relief efforts have:
- Flown 110 flight legs and 159.95 flight hours
- Transported 200 passengers and 31,172 lbs of cargo
- Delivered 12 different organizations safely to 12 separate destinations
Please note: Nick Frey, originally from Kitchener, ON, can be made available for interviews from Honduras. Please follow the organizational contact information on this release if interested.
Since 1945, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has been using aviation and technology to reach isolated communities in the farthest corners of the earth. Today, we partner with over 2,000 organizations to deliver support, hope, healing, spiritual care, and community development to thousands of communities where flying is not a luxury but a lifeline.