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Lessons Learned

{Bringing relief after Haiyan}

Before Super Typhoon Hagupit arrived in the Philippines last week, NTM Aviation was already preparing to help with disaster relief. Yesterday and today, they have been flying to seek out remote areas that are in need and unserved.

Those are results of lessons learned. But one lesson -- a lesson NTM learned but has not been able to apply -- could ground them.

Lives Saved

Because of lessons learned in the wake of last year’s disastrous strike by Super Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines was far better prepared for this storm. Philippines government officials fine-tuned their timing of evacuation orders, and this time around, most people didn’t need to be told twice.

MAF sent a disaster response team to the Philippines immediately after the storm, and asked NTM Aviation to be their eyes again, as they were after Haiyan. NTM Aviation’s personnel and planes were ready to respond because of lessons learned last year.

“We hope to carry out the assessment over the weekend,” wrote Phil Koop, director of NTM Aviation, to seek out “pockets of remote areas which are being overlooked by major aid organizations and government.” That will be followed by decisions on how best to get aid to them, which may or may not include NTM Aviation.

But one of the hardest lessons still needs an answer, and you could be part of that answer.

Relief Can’t Wait

Seeing the huge needs around them, NTM Aviation’s pilots and mechanics jumped into action after Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines. The pilots’ training, experience and skill in flying under difficult conditions, and their specialized aircraft, were invaluable in bringing aid to unserved remote areas. That was the right thing to do. But it soon became apparent that people’s generous response to the need was lagging behind the huge costs of moving aircraft and personnel, and keeping the planes and helicopters fueled and maintained.

More than once, the concern was raised: Will we have to stop flying … stop helping … stop saving lives?

That’s why NTM established a Disaster Relief Emergency Fund -- to provide money to get going and keep relief flowing. So far, a little over $3,000 has come into that fund. And $8,000 is the estimated cost of simply surveying the hard-hit remote areas for those in need in the Philippines -- the first step. The initial costs of responding to a major disaster could easily reach $50,000.

Relief efforts can’t wait until people respond to a need. And when the need seems small, many people won’t respond at all.

Yet the needs are real. Lives are being spared.

Tags: Asia-Pacific, Aviation, Mission News, Prayer, Philippines,
POSTED ON Dec 14, 2014 by Ian Fallis
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