Papua New Guinea: Land of the Unexpected

What does a “normal” day look like for our pilots in Papua New Guinea? We can’t anticipate when emergency calls will come in, but some days are busier than others!

Maria

WHATEVER IT TAKES In November of 2019, we received a call from some missionaries serving in Pei, an hour flight from Wewak. A woman named Maria was suffering from pregnancy complications and both her and her baby’s lives were in serious danger. Luke Hamer and Jacinta, a nurse from Boram Hospital, flew to the village. […]

Clements: A Family Changed Forever

A FAMILY CHANGED FOREVER In 2013, our team picked up a woman named Rose who was suffering from a retained placenta. Once we flew her from the village of Kanduanam to the hospital, she was able to get the care she needed so both she and her baby girl could go home healthy. This story […]

Gilbert

KEEPING THE PHONE ON There are many stories we could share, but this story about a call coming in this past Christmas morning struck a chord with us. We were reminded just how committed our team is to the work we do, and we couldn’t help but be inspired. As all health care professionals know, […]

Benedict

BENEDICT A 20-foot fall, a broken leg, and a very brave boy. Pilots Luke and Nick brought 8-year-old Benedict in from an aid post on the Kalawari River on October 7th. He had been climbing a mango tree and as he walked out on a branch, it broke and he fell about 20 feet to […]

Trauma Healing

Samaritan Aviation Team Gains New Skills Through Trauma Healing Course In September, our Papua New Guinea staff had the opportunity to take part in a SILs (Summer Institute of Linguistics) course called “Trauma Healing.” This course teaches how to cope with trauma, and help others going through trauma, in light of the Gospel. Our staff […]

Maggie: Finding Peace in Hardship

FINDING PEACE IN HARDSHIP As an emergency service, oftentimes our patients are only in the hospital a short time before they are discharged and sent home for the remainder of their recovery. Our goal during this brief time is to demonstrate Christ’s love for them not only by meeting their physical needs (i.e., bringing them […]

Alison

ANTIVENIN SAVES A LITTLE GIRL “[Alison’s parents] knew that a life flight provided by Samaritan Aviation was the only option to save their daughter’s life!“ It was a typical Tuesday afternoon, with Nick and Lorraine Mosca engaged in language training with Chris and Sarah Cooke on the Samaritan base. Then an emergency call came in: […]

New Airplane Launched in Wewak

NEW AIRPLANE LAUNCHED IN WEWAK, PNG! What a great day of celebration as many PNG government, health, and community leaders joined our staff and the U.S. Ambassador to officially launch Samaritan Aviation’s new airplane for the East Sepik Province! The theme for all of the speakers was hope, love, and service. The reality is that […]

Mona Lisa Smiles

MONA LISA SMILES Mona Lisa has a smile that lights up the Haus Sik (hospital). Three weeks after being flown in from her home village of Ambunti, she is starting to feel like a kid again. At just seven years old, she was suffering from a bone infection that caused severe swelling in both of […]