In Depth:  Papua New Guinea

Because remote Karimui has no roads to connect people to the rest of Papua New Guinea, the only way villagers can obtain Bibles is to get them from the back of an MAF aircraft.

Pastor Kimin Mauwe, the community-appointed agent for Christian aviation charity MAF, began ministry in Karimui 33 years ago. For the past 32 years, he’s served MAF by providing weather reports and preparing passengers and cargo for travel.

Emily Pollok

Papua New Guinea is officially a Christian country after its Constitution was modified last month.

Prompted by Prime Minister James Marape, the Constitution has been amended to state that: “(We, the people of Papua New Guinea) acknowledge and declare God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit as our Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe and the source of our powers and authorities, delegated to the people and all persons under the geographical jurisdiction of Papua New Guinea.”

Whether it’s snakebite or sorcery, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flights are making all the difference to the people of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Growing up in Dodomona, in the Middle Fly District of Western Province, PNG, Titus Yabua witnessed many members of his community dying from treatable illnesses, accidents, snakebites and pig bites.

Thanks to MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship), three vulnerable infants received urgent medical attention in Papua New Guinea.

‘One Monday afternoon,’ reports MAF Pilot Tim Neufeld, ‘I was thinking it was time to wrap up, but was asked to do a 15-minute flight to Nomane. A small baby was struggling to breathe, and recent heavy rains had caused several landslides, making it impossible to reach the nearest medical centre.’