We take a moment to sit with Rev Abraham Toroi, Bishop Emeritus of the United Church of Bougainville Region, and chat about the past, the present, and his dreams for the future of MAF in Bougainville.
Story by Matt Painter
“In 1969, when I was young, doing my grade three, I heard of MAF,” Rev Abraham said, his eyes sparkling through his dark-rimmed glasses.
“MAF left a very good history and legacy here in Bougainville. Under the leadership of Captain Harold Morton and some other pilots, they would go around Bougainville, especially in the United Church places, mission stations.”
Rev Abraham explains that Harold was a friend to many, because he not only knew how to speak Tok Pisin, but also a little bit of the Kieta people’s language.
“He was just a friend. The pilots were friendly,” says Rev Abraham.
“They were carrying missionaries, the Catholics, the Seventh Day Adventists, the United Church and Methodists at that time. It was one of the ‘reconciliation’ moves that MAF did.”
MAF left a very good history and legacy here in Bougainville
The young Abraham couldn’t help but be personally interested in the work of MAF.
“My dream was to become a pilot. But I was no good in mathematics, so I couldn’t get in,” he says. “But whenever I had time, I would come to Aropa and see my friend Captain Adams, one of the pilots from New Zealand. He was very good. He would get me to help with all sorts of things.
“At the time I didn't know how to drive a tractor, but he said, ‘I want you to drive.’ Just from Aropa airport to the nearby MAF base. So, I drove the tractor! And when it was going this way and that way, then my heart was going that way, that way! But I was still going! That was those days.”
Rev Abraham credits MAF with playing a key role in the development of Bougainville.
“MAF opened up Bougainville. They did a lot of developments here,” he adds. “They would carry building materials for schools, government clinics, hospital aid posts. They would also carry people. MAF was also helping people with economic developments. When they dropped off building materials up at Lehu, they would carry bags of dry cocoa down to Kieta. There was no road that time. It was the airstrip.”
MAF’s work in Bougainville began in 1966, and its staff contributed to the ministry of local churches.
“They were doing a lot of evangelistic work. They would come join the local congregations to worship with us. And we got very excited, especially the young people like me.”
Rev Abraham fondly remembers Harold’s cheeky airborne evangelism.
“When we flew up from Sandaru over to Kieta above the mountains, and we went over the other side, there’d be a little bit of an air pocket, and the plane would drop. We would all grab onto our seats. And then Harold would look over and say, ‘Hey, give your life to Jesus!’ So, they were preaching up in the air as they were flying the plane!”
In the 1970s, the Bougainville Development Corporation was formed. This entity bought the MAF aircraft and Bougainville Air Services was born, under Captain Isaiah Moroko, “one of our local pilots,” explains Rev Abraham.
By 1976, the efficient operation had been handed over, the last MAF staff had departed, and the operation had become wholly government owned. Bougainville Air Services carried on vital services facilitating continued development until it faced financial challenges in the lead up to the most difficult chapter in Bougainville’s history.
“When the crisis came in 1988, everything stopped,” says Rev Abraham. “Even the Bougainville Air Services stopped.”
From 1988 to 1998, the people of Bougainville suffered through the most violent conflict in the Pacific region since the Second World War. A large proportion of the population was displaced and between 15,000 to 20,000 people died as a result of the conflict. When peace came, people began to rebuild, but there has never been anything like the service that MAF provided.
“When normalcy began to come in, there were some airlines,” Rev Abraham says. “They were running, but they were just going to Kieta and then back again, Aropa airport and then back again. But they didn't go to Buin, and they were not serving the airstrips, the communities we are now getting into.
“The reason why I started to negotiate for MAF to come back is because at this time we don't have any airlines in Bougainville now.”
When the crisis came in 1988, everything stopped. Even the Bougainville Air Services stopped.
Rev Abraham was at the forefront of repeated invitations for MAF to return to Bougainville. He even thinks MAF people got tired of him, “Because whenever we met, I would ask them, ‘When are you coming back?’
“The point that won their heart was that MAF is not just any commercial plane or whatever, it is a missionary plane. It has a mission to do here in Bougainville: preaching the gospel, to wherever we want to go.”
In the midst of Abraham’s efforts, he had a heart attack while in Port Moresby. When discharged, he was staying in mission accommodation and saw Stephen Charlesworth from MAF.
“I said, ‘Stephen, when are you coming over? I am just recovering from heart attack now. I don't want to drive or run on the road. I want to fly now.’ And then he said, ‘Give me some reasons why you think MAF should come, why it's best for now.’
“I said ‘I'm going to give you two.
“‘One: There is a separation between mainland Bougainville and atoll islands. There’s a lot of disturbance. We lost a politician with his family going from Buka to Nissan. When MAF comes, we will just fly them, ten minutes, 20 minutes and then back again, instead of risking our lives across the sea.
“Number two is: it will continue the missionary work in Bougainville. Today, I’m glad MAF is here, and I flew from Kieta,” Rev Abraham says, all smiles, his eyes tearing up. He’d just flown with MAF during the response to Cyclone Maila, our first flight operations in Bougainville since the 1970s.
“My heart rejoices in the Lord. We got it. Timing and seasons belong to God. Thank you, MAF, for coming back.”
I'm a happy father
Looking forward, Rev Abraham is not afraid to think big.
“In the future of MAF, I want us to do the same thing as we did before. There will be extensions from here to Rabaul and then from here to Solomon Islands. These are the new places we want to venture into as MAF in Bougainville. And so, I thank God, and I’m asking him to keep me alive to see these two places for the extension of MAF.”
Rev Abraham sits back with satisfaction and concludes.
“I’m a happy father,” he says, smiling. “I’m the father of MAF. I may be humorous, but I love it. It’s just like my baby. I want to see it, you know, go. And then we serve the people of Bougainville.”
