Refugee’s powerful story shows the impact of MAF flights reaching Uganda’s Rhino camp – and helps organisations like the Khayamandi Foundation to bring lasting change.
With pain in her throat and tears rolling down her face, the breaking point came when her husband was murdered in a mass shooting at a market in her hometown of Bentiu in South Sudan. Rebels then invaded their homes.
The brutality of these events was too severe to bear, and so Elizabeth Andrew Gatluak decided to escape to Uganda in March 2022, where she currently is a refugee.
Elizabeth’s life change when Khayamandi Foundation employed her as a cleaner at their school, New Life Children’s Ministry Centre, so she could fend for her children with whom she escaped from South Sudan.
“One day I just walked to the office of the headteacher at this school, knelt down, told my story and asked for a job,” said Elizabeth. “Even though I was earning little, it helped me take care of my five children.”
According to Khayamandi Foundation’s Managing Director, Herbert Niwahereza, the availability of MAF to fly them to remote places in Uganda can only be equated to “life saving”.
“We consider MAF as life savers because getting to these different remote places with you makes a very big difference,” Herbert said. “Your flexibility is highly commendable, so we thank you.”
We consider MAF as life savers
An MAF flight from the capital city of Kampala to the foundation’s offices in Arua needs only an hour and twenty minutes, but a road trip takes nearly 12 hours.
A lot has changed in Elizabeth, who now teaches the top class at the school.
“I live a day at a time. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m grateful for the opportunity that New Life school offered.”
The troubles Elizabeth experienced are not unique to her. It’s the story of nearly all South Sudanese refugee women seeking shelter at Rhino Refugee Camp in Uganda.
For every refugee’s life transformed through help, hope and healing offered by its partners, MAF is encouraged to keep flying and multiplying the effectiveness of those on the ground.
“We are so thankful for the consistency of the MAF flights,” said Chris Willis, a board member at Khayamandi Foundation. “We know that they will get us whenever we need them.”
The foundation has also invested in a water project which has brought water services closer to the refugee community. Initially, refugees had to walk for forty-five minutes to find water.
