For 30 years, Manuel Pereira has served as a nurse on Atauro Island in Timor-Leste. He spoke of the challenging time before Mission Aviation Fellowship came to offer life-changing medical evacuation flights.
Story by Matt Painter
“When there was no MAF, we relied entirely on boats for transportation,” said Manuel Pereira, head of the health centre in Atauro Island. “When the sea was rough, the boats could not travel at all. Even when the sea was calm, the journey still took a long time.
“When we look back at those times, it was very difficult.”
Atauro Island is separated from the main island of Timor – and its national hospital in Dili – by a deep-water channel. When their government ambulance boat broke down, Manuel explained that they had to rely on community boats.
“Boats travel slowly, and they take a long time to reach Dili. This made the situation very difficult for both patients and health workers,” he said.
“Sometimes the journey took so long that patients sadly passed away while still at sea. There were also times when the sea conditions were too rough, making it impossible to evacuate patients. In those situations, the doctors had to assess the weather and sea conditions, and if the boats could not travel, even urgent patients had to wait.”
Manuel explained that during those moments, they could only do their best with the limited resources available to try to save the patients while waiting for the sea to become calm.
Sometimes the journey took so long that patients sadly passed away while still at sea
“The most important factor is speed,” he said. “Especially when a patient is in a critical condition and needs to be evacuated quickly to the national hospital.”
Mission Aviation Fellowship began operations in Timor-Leste in 2007 and helped to reopen the Atauro airstrip. In close partnership with the Ministry of Health, MAF provides medical evacuation services to communities all across the nation, flying an average of one medevac almost every day.
“We are very grateful that whenever there is an emergency call, MAF can respond and assist with evacuating patients from Atauro to Dili. In just about 15 minutes, the aircraft can reach Dili, which is extremely important when dealing with life-threatening emergencies.
“It is very good that MAF is operating in Atauro. MAF can help patients very quickly,” Manuel added.
In the last year, Manuel took on the leadership of the health centre, which functions as the primary lifesaving service for all the communities on the island. He’s personally accompanied patients on MAF medical evacuations, a witness many times to the life-saving impact that just one flight can have.
I cannot count exactly how many, but there have been many patients whom my friends and I have been able to save.
“The presence of MAF has greatly supported our communities,” Manuel said.
“Many patients’ lives would not have been saved if MAF had not been available. Especially for pregnant women, without an aeroplane it is extremely difficult to evacuate them, because transporting them by boat is very risky.
“I cannot count exactly how many, but there have been many patients whom my friends and I have been able to save.”
