by Hannah Braly
In Papua, Indonesia, it can be extremely difficult for people living in isolation to visit bigger cities.
Massive mountain ranges—stretching up to 430 miles in some areas—separate isolated villages from urban areas. You can’t go around or over them easily, if at all, without access to the resources needed for a very long hike.
At Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), pilots help isolated communities overcome these geographical barriers by delivering vital supplies—items like rice, cooking oil, and building materials.
But after delivering the supplies, pilots often load their planes with living cargo … like pigs.
“I love it when I fly pigs,” said pilot Kent Embleton. “Without MAF, these villagers wouldn’t be able to sell them to support their families.”
Kent flies pigs at least once a week, bringing them into bigger cities to be sold. Before being loaded onto the plane, the villagers fit them with makeshift diapers made from rice bags to keep the airplane clean.
These pigs aren’t just livestock—they are a lifeline for many families.
Once the pigs are sold in the city, the income is often used for basic supplies or to pay for kids’ school fees. In fact, when Kent isn’t flying animals, he’s often flying kids on the way to and from school in the city.
Without this source of income or MAF to transport the pigs, students living in remote areas of Papua, Indonesia, may otherwise never receive an education.
Your support of MAF makes it possible for pigs to fly, which in turn supports educational opportunities for students living in isolated areas. These flights are a tangible way to show the love of Jesus to people in remote places, giving them dignity and the opportunity to learn.
Mission Aviation Fellowship is a nonprofit with a vision of seeing isolated people changed by the love of Christ.
