At the meeting on November 5, 2024 in Trogen, the Helimission Board of Trustees honored Ernie Tanner as Honorary President and Hedi Tanner as Honorary Member. This recognized the tireless commitment of the Tanner couple since the foundation was founded 50 years ago. "How did we deserve this?" asked Ernie Tanner in response to the gift package with the voucher and the bouquet of flowers. Well, a look back at a few "milestones" in the life and service of Ernie and Hedi Tanner shows their impressive achievement.
A detailed list would go beyond the scope of this article and would probably fill several books. Just this much to start with: They have fully achieved their goal of helping people in remote, hard-to-reach areas, whether in the social, medical or spiritual areas. And the range of assistance they offer from the air is continuing to expand.
Pioneers of Empathy
Ernie Tanner attended art schools, including in the USA, where he emigrated in 1948. There he completed basic training in the Air Force and, after an impressive church service, decided to study theology. At the age of 32, he was ordained as a pastor in 1955. Back in Switzerland, he married Hedi in 1957. From then on, Trogen was their base of life and work, always linked to deep religiosity.
And this is where the story of the Helimission begins and with it the impressive life of the Tanner family in the service of their fellow human beings, because in 1969 Ernie Tanner brought spiritual support to the people in the jungles of Cameroon by means of an eight-day hike on the "Gorilla Trail".
Crossing the Sahara with trust in God
Impressed by the helicopter technology used in the Vietnam War, he developed a desire to use such a helicopter to help people in need. This is how a pioneering organization was created in Trogen: an international helicopter aid organization that brings help even when there are no more roads and only space for the helicopter's skids.
Fully dedicated to this project, Ernie Tanner acquired his helicopter pilot's license at the age of 43 and in January 1972 became the first helicopter pilot to cross the Sahara to reach Cameroon and provide aid from the air. Thirty years later, he received an award from the Pro Aero association in recognition of being a helicopter pioneer. The Helimission Foundation was officially founded on November 1, 1974, 50 years ago.
Helimission is funded by donations
In 1989, Hedi Tanner wrote her first book, "More than an adventure." It contains the history of the Helimission. In the sixth edition, the history was expanded up to 2019. Ernie and Hedi Tanner represented the Helimission in public events and church services until 2022, i.e. at the age of 95.
The foundation is financed through voluntary donations. Its services include: transport of patients and medical staff, support of local organizations, disaster relief operations and more.
negotiations with Brazil and India
Today, Helimission is facing further challenges. Son and International Director Simon Tanner, who also lives in Trogen, looks ahead: "We have been registered as an NGO in Brazil since May 2024 and are about to build a new base in the Amazon region, in Labrea. Since July of this year, we have also been registered as a 'public limited company' in India. Now it's a matter of obtaining the necessary permits to operate flights; no easy undertaking, since we can be classified as neither 'commercial' nor 'private'."
Because airlifts are vital to survival in these two countries, Helimission is predestined to install its relief services there. Ernie and Hedi Tanner, who have not been active on the foundation's board since spring 2024, more than deserved to be honored for their pioneering work on Tuesday morning, November 5, 2024.
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