Jun Deles, who is handicapped, lives on his own in his hut. Despite having a disabled right leg, he earns his living by fishing. Typhoon Odette (Rai) destroyed his small boat and consequently his means of making a living. When we as Helimission provided aid with one of our helicopters […]
Development Aid
12 posts
On December 16, 2021, Cyclone Odette swept across the Philippines with wind speeds of up to 260 km/h (160 mph), claiming more than 400 lives. According to the UN, 13 million people have been affected. For us, a family with three children, this storm was a disaster. It was much […]
The success of an aviation business depends on its economic efficiency. Profit is generated with many hours of flying, which is why you need to fly as often as possible. Here at Helimission it is exactly the opposite. Every hour of flying time costs money. That is why we want […]
Helimission has been partnering with Brillant for at least 15 years now. We do an average of two flight programs a year with him. He is one of only very few who work in the far southeast of Madagascar. The southeast of the country is a difficult and challenging remote […]
The year 2020 and 2021 brought many unexpected changes in the lives of many around the world. The lives and work of relief workers have also been greatly affected. Helimission Madagascar was forced to stop all flight operations for many months and could only carry out medical emergency flights. It […]
We were called to a lady in Tangumsili in the bush who was having trouble giving birth, so I immediately had Maichel, our young local pilot, plan the flight for the next morning. I had happened to run into a local doctor who used to fly with Helimission quite often […]
In Switzerland and throughout Europe, we are still doing relatively well during the Covid pandemic. In other parts of the world, people are suffering far more from the lockdowns. In our country, the state helps in many cases with compensation for closed businesses or short-time work. In addition, almost everyone […]
In the western world, the welfare state compensates for the financial consequences of “lock-downs”. In countries like India, Brazil and Indonesia, where millions of people are working as “day laborers,” the consequences of such restrictions are much more drastic. These people have no freezer, no storeroom and no fat savings […]
In Maolagi, in the Paniai District, between Wamena and Nabire, there are employees of a relief organization who completely depend on our helicopter and an MAF fixed-wing airplane. Usually, we fly by helicopter from Wamena directly to the nearest landing strip in Bugalaga. An MAF airplane flies the goods there from the nearest city, because it can carry much heavier loads than the helicopter. The helicopter, on the other hand, is more suited for flying the goods to the villages in short rotations (7 minutes).
Recently, our Malagasy housekeeper showed me pictures of her friend with dismay. She was so emaciated that she was just skin and bones. I was shocked.
My daughter and I recently visited a small, 6-year-old girl. As she has neither a birth certificate nor any other identity papers, she does not officially exist in Madagascar.
Shortly before Christmas, our children and their teacher prepared a small performance for the children at the garbage dump. They rehearsed for weeks to bring these poor children some Christmas joy.
