As Papua New Guinea celebrates 50 years of independence as a nation, Mission Aviation Fellowship has been honoured with special recognition for its decades of service.
Story by Tajs Jespersen
During the highly anticipated golden jubilee independence celebrations in Telefomin, the Governor of Papua Guinea, the Hon. Tony Wouwou and District Member the Hon. Solan Mirisim presented the King’s Medal award to Mission Aviation Fellowship in Papua New Guinea.
Having served the Telefomin area since 1952, MAF’s receipt of the King’s Medal highlights the vital service given to the people of West Sepik.
We still need MAF to stay with us, because there are communities around us that still rely on MAF to travel
Siobhain Cole, MAF’s Deputy Ground Operations Manager based in Telefomin accepted the award on behalf of the organisation.
“This award is for all the MAF staff in Papua New Guinea who have worked throughout the years to serve the isolated people of this country, so thank you from all of us,” she said.
The Hon Solan Mirisim, a Telefomin local and former MAF Traffic Officer, was delighted to give these prestigious awards to his “MAF family”.
“For MAF to receive a King's award today on September 16th (PNG’s Independence Day) marks that MAF have been here to provide services to the communities around Telefomin District,” he said. “MAF have been a lifeline to the Telefomin people.”
MAF connects isolated communities through aviation by delivering health and education services, flying church workers and missionaries and enabling development in areas that are otherwise inaccessible.
That faithful work is not finished, as many people still live without road access in the wider Telefomin area.
“We still need MAF to stay with us, because there are communities around us that still rely on MAF to travel,” said the Hon Solan Mirisim.
The services of MAF started in PNG when Harry Hartwig took to the skies in 1951. Convicted by his faith in Jesus, he dreamed that isolated people could be connected through aviation.
Passing away in a plane crash only three months later, he never saw his God-given vision come to fruition, but today his dream has been a reality for seventy-four years.
Without God, that dream would have been impossible to achieve. Now, generations later, Siobhain acknowledged that the work of MAF continues through God’s grace and for His glory only.
“I can glorify our God in heaven because the service of MAF belongs to God,” she said. “He chose MAF to come and serve the isolated people of Papua New Guinea.”
Watch our official independence video below.