On my way to ‘somewhere else in the galaxy’, my MAF flight stopped in at a place called Kaiam. While it didn’t take me long to see that we had dropped into a village far from most 21st century conveniences, there were elements of life-changing technology to be seen…
Story by Matt Painter
What’s the most advanced piece of machinery in the place you call home? The latest bit of tech in your system of the galaxy?
As I arrive in Kaiam, the first advancement I behold is a blue New Holland TD70 tractor. This mechanical marvel is one of two tractors that were flown in by helicopter to build the airstrip which was carved out from the bush only this century.
And since this Papua New Guinea village is miles and miles from the nearest road, it’s the airstrip itself that’s been a game-changing invention and advancement for a community that previously was accessible only by epic canoe trips or arduous journeys on foot.
“An airstrip is a big thing,” says Kaiam local Nick Samson, one of today’s passengers. “It’s our way to get help and service from other places.”
“We have a community health worker but no medicine,” he adds. “It’s like, when the medicine comes, it runs out quickly because there’s no other place to get medicine. There are a lot of people out there in the bush, and so when we get it, it runs out fast.”
But while shortages prevail, the advancements of the medical world and the expertise of doctors are brought close by MAF, at least semi-regularly. In partnership with the Enga Baptist Health Services team from Kompiam District Hospital, MAF is privileged to bring medical care within reach through ‘aerial health patrols’.
“When we get sick, they help us,” says Nick. “We get help in terms of medicine, vaccinations, children, pregnant women, serious illness, life-threatening illness – these people come and they help us.”
Nick explains that during these multi-day visits, patients are sometimes referred to hospital. Today, he’s arriving on an MAF flight with some of these patients who are now returning home.
They went to receive treatment, now they are coming back with us.
Standing by the aeroplane on the airstrip is a woman in her mid-thirties named Rebecca Lazarus. Her daughter’s skin is visibly affected by a fungal skin infection known locally as grile.
“It’s the grile of the Sepik,” says Rebecca. “She’s had medicine, but it’s finished now. And the grile has come back again.
“The aeroplane must come all the time,” she says with conviction.
It’s clear that while the aerial health patrols and patient transfers are making a difference, it’s nowhere near enough for this isolated community and their needs.
But how do the people of Kaiam relay their needs to the outside world?
It’s only through the most advanced piece of technology to be found in this valley: the high frequency radio, sourced from MAF Technologies. It’s this link to the outside world that keeps Kaiam connected and allows pilots like Timon Kundig to get essential weather and airstrip reports.
While the community mills around the parked aeroplane, Timon sells another fancy bit of kit to a local man named Ibex Zakarias.
Ibex is buying a subsidised audio Bible supplied by MAF Technologies. He explains that he’s buying it “to hear God’s talk.” In fact, on the spur of the moment, he decides to buy two. “God’s Word has power,” he says. “It helps us in our life.”
While the locals here regularly buy paper Bibles from the MAF pilots, Timon particularly loves selling the audio Bibles.
“They are excellent,” he says. “People can charge the battery – there’s a little solar panel on the back, and they don’t necessarily need to know how to read. And I mean, even if they did know how to read, it’s just a different experience to be immersed with the audio version. I think it’s a great product and it seems to be very popular.”
I was only on the ground in Kaiam for about half an hour, but it was long enough to see a few life-changing advancements at play in this ‘part of the galaxy’.
While Kaiam isn’t actually that ‘far, far away’, for mothers like Rebecca needing treatment for their children, it can sure feel that way. In terms of access to basic services, the people of Kaiam didn’t ask to be so far behind other ‘galaxies’—but geography and isolation have effectively left them in a place where the things we take for granted in 2026 are mostly not available.
While Star Wars is science fiction, this is an everyday reality—one that MAF is seeking to overcome.