The three-day flight program was well planned so that we could combine serving three organizations in one mission.
First, I flew to the rain forest with Dinah and his team, and we spent the night in a village there. Dinah taught late into the night. Very early in the morning, we started off for the next village. I flew on to one of our “bush fuel stations”. (We place barrels of fuel at strategically important locations in the bush. We do this by boat, oxcarts, vehicles and sometimes also by airplane.) After refueling, I had to meet Tim at the agreed location. From there, I was to fly two canoes and Tim to a river, and then go back and collect his team afterward. Over the next few days, they wanted to teach in all of the villages along the river. After we had removed all of the helicopter’s doors and the canoes were tied down tightly, we flew off. Fortunately, the distance to the landing point was not very far, because I could only fly at reduced speed due to the load. I then flew on to the village where the first group with Dinah and his team was located. We wanted to continue to another village before the evening.
On the last day, we were scheduled to visit two villages that we had never visited before. We need not have worried – we were given a warm welcome. After the teaching, people gratefully accepted the material we had brought. Finally, we reached the last village in only 5 minutes of flying time. Here, one of Sedera’s workers who had been injured was waiting for us. He had a knee injury that made it impossible for him to get out of the bush on foot. He was very grateful that he could fly with us back to Antananarivo.
Nick, Pilot
