Moriel Ministries is contributing $10,000 of the contributions it received to address the needs of the Haiti earthquake victims to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), a long-standing Evangelical missions organization specializing in reaching remote and underprivileged areas of the world through missionaries operating a fleet of small aircraft, the establishment of communication systems, and distance learning programs to evangelize and disciple wherever possible. The on-the-ground reports of their activities in Haiti are provided and updated here.

As has been the case with other natural disasters such as the tsunami in Indonesia, MAF already had missionary families operating small aircraft in the area when the earthquake struck. Because they specialize in getting aid out to the hardest-to-reach areas, nearly every participating relief organization, religious or secular, seeks to partner with MAF because they have the skills and integrity to ensure that equipment, supplies, and services reach those for which they are intended. They also provide the establishment of satellite and radio communications which often assist in the coordination of these efforts at a crucial time when communication infrastructures are normally overloaded or inoperable.

Because of the nature of operating small aircraft, they are not only able to bring much needed relief to the remotest of areas, but to extract those needing medical and other emergency services. They have already provided an additional plane to their existing fleet to step up efforts, and they are depended upon by many other organizations who can get large amounts of supplies to Haiti in general but are unable to distribute them fully to those most needing them specifically. This is an organization bridging the gap between donor and recipient, ensuring that the aid so generously offered is actually getting to the people it was most intended to assist as quickly as possible.

One of the tangible benefits they have been able to provide in this time of crisis is to transfer those needing medical care in the over-run urban areas out to the more remote rural hospitals which did not suffer the kinds of physical damage experienced in Port Au Prince. But an even greater benefit is the opportunity these missionaries are being provided to share Christ not only with the victims of the earthquake, but with relief agency workers also engaged in the overall effort. MAF personnel in such situations become effective witnesses for Christ at a time when it is needed most.

Those wishing to contribute directly to MAF's "Haiti Disaster & Recovery Fund" can do so online here.