As a Mission Aviation Fellowship aeroplane lands on a small airstrip, it’s a flight that’s bringing healthcare services the Mariama people have not seen in years.
Story by Hillim Gitonga
It is a bright sunny morning in more ways than one when the MAF aircraft touches down on Mariama airstrip.
Only a year ago, this airstrip was rehabilitated, bringing Mariama and surrounding communities back into ready connection with the outside world. In a place where roads simply do not exist and river travel can take days, MAF’s aviation services can actually mean the difference between life and death, reflecting the light of God’s love into the community.
“This is the only way to reach a community like Mariama,” said Maureen Maharigu, Director of Nursing Services at Kompiam District Hospital and team leader for today’s ‘aerial health patrol’. “Without MAF, we simply could not get here.”
Maureen explained that while Mariama has a population of over 500 people, there is no health facility in the area.
After disembarking from the aptly named aeroplane, ‘P2-AHP’ (Aerial Health Patrol), the Enga Baptist Health Services team board a dinghy and travel 20 minutes along the river to reach the village that is surrounded by thick forest.
As the sound from outboard motor carries, villagers gather at river’s edge, ready to welcome the nine health workers.
“As we approached the village, we could hear singing in the distance,” said Maureen. “We were welcomed warmly with songs and garlands.”
Without MAF, we simply could not get here
Stepping out from the boat carrying medicines, vaccines, testing kits and other supplies needed for a medical outreach, the team are led to the hilltop centre of the community.
“We sat together and drank fresh coconut juice while discussing the reasons for our visit,” said Maureen.
The team begins work, aiming to make the most of the two-day visit and treating as many people in need as possible. Malaria, yaws, pneumonia, diarrhoea and suspected tuberculosis were among the most common conditions diagnosed. In addition, 22 pregnant women are receiving antenatal care, many for the first time.
“Nearly every child from the villages along the river tested positive for malaria,” said Maureen. “It was heartbreaking how much people were suffering without proper health services.”
On this visit, their first since 2020, the team isn’t wasting any opportunities. In one corner, dental doctor Philomena Baking is carefully looking in a patient’s mouth. Later, she gives a health talk on oral care.
Meanwhile, Community Health Worker Londe Iki runs a baby clinic, does more than 500 immunisations for children under five, and gives a talk on immunisation. Nursing Officer Stewart Jackson and Health Extension Officer student Samuel Londe work together to screen all sick adults and children. Three people with eye infections are treated, 16 with skin diseases, six with asthma, one with malnutrition—the list goes on and on.
The team also run health awareness sessions on malaria prevention, nutrition, hygiene, breastfeeding and tuberculosis, reaching 462 community members.
Before the second day is over, the team is reminded of how long this community has been cut off from healthcare services as all of the malaria diagnostic kits and first line antibiotics are used up.
“The journey to Mariama was one that I will never forget,” said Maureen. As the team boards the MAF plane again to return to Kompiam, a staggering total emerges: 539 patients have been seen by the team on this visit.
The 30-minute flight covers over mountainous jungle terrain with ease—a journey that would simply never be attempted by a health team having to carrying food and supplies on their very backs.
Without MAF’s aerial health patrol, this clinic would never have taken place.