2019 Annual Report (extract) – 1.8 million affected by Cyclone IDAI – 400 lives saved

Our 2019 Annual Report shows our major achievement was being a first responder to Cyclone IDAI in Mozambique. 1.8 million people were affected. We landed in Beira

2019 Annual Report – partners in IDAI

We partnered with Mercy Air in funding over 45 hours of helicopter response. Wings coordinated the air group for the Mozambican government and the UN. Up to 23 aircraft were operating from Beira, from the governments of Mozambique, South Africa, Angola, India and France. Air coordination is an amazing privilege, read more here.

Fixed wing aircraft are faster and so better for finding people. It was a pleasure to work with Mission Aviation Fellowship and the ARCO IRIS fixed wing from the beginning. Veterans like Medecins Sans Frontieres and the UN

2019 Annual Report - Cyclone IDAI (courtesy of Mercy Air).
So how do we sleep? – Cylcone IDAI early surveys

2019 Annual Report – Results – lives saved, people fed

The result was about 400 lives saved. (After a while you just lose count.) Lots of this was with Rescue South Africa using long strops under the Mercy Air helicopters and picking people to safety off isolated hillocks.

It’s not just life saving. as the 2019 Annual Report shows. For the IDAI response, the government and the UN required survey work, delivering food and medicines and rescuing ill people. As we better understood the size of the disaster, the more the response grew. The UN Humanitarian Air Service and Samaritan’s Purse arrived later, with a much bigger planes and the latter with a mobile hospital!

Overall, the air group helped feed over 400,000 people and saved countless lives in the subsequent 5 weeks. There are more photos here.

2019 Annual Report –

Six weeks after IDAI, Cyclone KENNETH struck further north and Wings funded 10 hours of MAF’s response.

Thank you so much!

Wings thanks all our donors for making all that response possible. Overall we raised nearly £42,000 in 2019. Please donate to help us prepare for the next one. Thank you!