In a flight of less than three hours’ duration, MAF in Guinea has transferred a patient from N’Zérékoré to Conakry – avoiding a difficult road journey of 24 hours or more.
Story by Joel Conte
Israel Kourouma is a young university student with his life ahead of him. He’s in his third year of studying law in N’Zérékoré, a region in the country’s southeast.
“Unfortunately, on September 2, he was the victim of a serious motorcycle accident that left him in a coma,” said Mr Jean Guilavogui. Jean is the General Secretary of the Groupes Bibliques des Elèves et Etudiants de Guinée – the Bible fellowship of students in Guinea, of which Israel is an active member.
“Doctors recommended an urgent evacuation to Conakry for better care, as he suffers from a head trauma and a cerebral haemorrhage,” said Jean.
Unfortunately, while N’Zérékoré is Guinea’s second largest city, it is also the most isolated from the nation’s capital, Conakry.
“We wanted to take him by road – to take an ambulance to get through,” said Jean. “But taking the road is very complicated because Israel is in a coma with a cerebral haemorrhage. And the accident happened 1000 kilometres from Conakry.
“It takes at least 24 hours or more before arriving. With the state of our roads, it’s very complicated,” said Jean.
“In this situation, we contacted MAF, and they played a very important role in this medical transfer.”
Mission Aviation Fellowship has been operating in Guinea since 2022, serving isolated communities with a Cessna Caravan that is equally capable of carrying a full load of NGO passengers as it is carrying a stretcher patient like Israel.
Jean and the fellowship were “deeply marked” by MAF’s response to the request for the patient transfer flight.
“Despite the cancellation of this week’s flights between Conakry and N’Zérékoré, MAF immediately agreed to respond to our request for help for the evacuation of this young man,” said Jean. “For us, this is really a humanitarian gesture of great value.”
Dr Alexis Honomou was on duty in the intensive care unit when the team saw that Israel’s needs outstripped the care that was available in the regional hospital of N’Zérékoré.
“He is in a deep coma,” Dr Alexis said. “The hospital had fought with all possible means to save this young man, and, at the last minute, we really saw that there was a need for examinations, a CT scan and better care. But this was not available in our department.
“This care is only possible in Conakry, so it was urgently necessary to transport him,” he said.
“Fortunately, we arrived in Conakry in less than 3 hours, something that would not really be possible if MAF did not exist in Guinea.”
Dr Alexis went on to express his gratitude for MAF’s ministry in the nation.
“We say thank you to MAF, not only for the support they have just given us, but also for the great role that MAF plays with communities in the interior of the country.
“We pray that this ministry will continue to impact even more lives in Guinea and beyond,” he said.
“Thanks to this gesture, the life of a young student with a bright future has a chance to be saved. And in this gesture, we see more than just air transport. It is truly a humanitarian work and a true Christian solidarity.”
