Food dropped by air

NAMPA -- Haitians are trying to recover in the aftermath of hurricanes Ike, Hanna and Gustav.

Hanna alone brought torrential flooding to Haiti, killing at least 500 people, making it the deadliest tropical storm yet of the season

A local organization is providing aid in Haiti and surrounding areas - but it's not easy.

The Mission Aviation Fellowship is part of a worldwide relief effort and it's U.S. headquarters are based in Nampa.

These missionary teams of pilots and other specialists are hoping their small efforts will save lives and send the message to devastated countries that help is on the way.

The port city of Gonaives, Haiti, is completely covered in water - leaving hundreds of thousands of people with no place to go, and no way to get supplies.

The torrential rains which are pounding the island nation because of hurricanes Ike, Hanna, and Gustav have washed out roads and bridges in Goniaves and many other parts of the country.

"The airstrips Goniaves - and Port Au Prince and Hinch, I can see them in my mind's eye and Goniaves is an airstrip that's totally underwater.  That whole region is cut off from any help and the Haitian people generally speaking don't have much going for them. So when you have no access, there's nothing," said MAF president John Boyd.

Just a few days ago pilots with the Mission Aviation Fellowship or MAF started performing food drops into hard to reach areas.

"We look at more of those gaps. Those isolated areas that aren't getting any help. And then we can air drop in or fly in about 900 pounds per flight." said MAF disaster response manager John Woodberry.

Boyd says even though not nearly enough needs are met, the help they do provide has a huge impact.

"Imagine for a moment if you and your family were cut off and had no one to help and you heard the sound of this little red and white airplane flying over and it was an MAF airplane dropping these sacks of rice and beans to feed your family," said Boyd.

Boyd, who has flown trips in Haiti, points out how devastating the flooding is for families whose lives have been ravaged during these storms.

"They're living in shacks and huts and some of them have managed to find higher ground. Folks are really clinging to whatever they can find.  It's a tragedy.  There's no 911 out there," said Boyd.

MAF has bases in 40 countries including Haiti, and Boyd says if the disaster does increase they will send people from Nampa to help with the program there.

Boyd says they're always looking for ways to increase their efforts.  Right now, they're sending a part for airplane doors, which will help reduce windflow during those food drops.