PCM News: More Limpopo Eye Cataract Surgery

20 August 2022

More Limpopo Eye Cataract Surgery

This last Saturday Paul flew another eye cataract surgery team to Limpopo and back.

The team give their time for free and travel to a rural hospital to perform operations for people who otherwise would not get the chance to receive this life changing procedure.

As they are all professionals and time is tight, our flight saves them a 12 hour round trip drive, which would obviously be prohibitive.

The team just before boarding on a cold and blustery morning in Johannesburg.

Just over two hours later we're in the hospital and the first patients are receiving their 'block'.

They are then taken to theater where the surgeons remove the cataracts...

..and insert a new lens.

This continues all day until we have to leave to drive to the airport to take off just before dark.

You will be happy to know that my responsibilities never extend past getting everybody there and back safely. Other than that I am only ever an observer!

Not a brilliant picture in itself but included as the last person seen was a 99 year old lady. It is heartening to know that everybody has the opportunity to benefit from what is made possible by these flights.

The team worked tirelessly all day and now another 15 people will be able to lead a more normal life.

After all the activity, all that was left was the drive to the airport and complete the 1h30 flight back in the dark into a still cold and blustery Johannesburg.

Thank you

Paul and Cathy

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A short history of us

Not long after we were married we felt that God had some full time work for us overseas. This initially began with a move to Sheffield in 1992 to work for a Christian management training company. Three years later we felt the Lord's prompting that another change was imminent and this led to a move to Africa where we helped set up a youth program with the Lesotho-Durham link in the capital Maseru. An initial three year commitment turned into four after which the youth work was handed over to the nationals.

Then, after feeling God was moving us into mission flying Paul enrolled at a flying school and completed his South African commercial license with an instrument rating in December 1999.

We moved from Lesotho to White River in South Africa in June of 2003 where we now work with Mercy Air. Mercy Air was borne out of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and is a sister, although smaller organisation to the more well known Mercy Ships. We are situated near Nelspruit and provide a service to missions and the development/aid community in the southern African region but mainly serve Mozambique.

We operate four aircraft at present - a Quest Kodiak, a Cessna 310 and two Airbus 350 helicopters which are often used for the relief flights.

When not flying Paul is responsible for flight operations and is Mercy Air's Safety Officer.

Cathy, who is a registered Nurse and Midwife works part time at Africa School of Missions which is a bible college preparing missionaries for overseas service. She teaches in their School of Health and is part of a team which visits a number of rural clinics during the week. She is also helps with the hospitality ministry that Mercy Air runs.

Matthew spent four years at Rhodes University in Grahamstown where he studied photo journalism. He has now flown the nest and is living with his wife in Durban. They have a young daughter named Isabella.