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Recently, I learned that Village Press, Twin & Turbine’s publisher, is committed to supporting Wings of Hope, an international aviation char- ity. Naturally, I had to learn more and realized this story deserved special attention. After talking with two of Wings of Hope’s leaders, it became apparent that its past wasn’t the only story. The current mission and future goals are just as important.
In Plato’s Socratic dialogue Repub- lic, it was famously written, “Our need will be the real creator.” This quote eventually became the English proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Necessity was rampant in Kenya’s Turkana in 1960. The Turkana Desert in northern Kenya experienced a drought that killed 80 percent of its livestock and most of its vegetation, only to wither under the subsequent pressure of sickening flooding.
Disaster in Africa Creates Needs
Nairobian officials were histori- cally and naturally protective of their territory and culture. [As an aside: The East African Rift, often called the cradle of humanity, includes Kenya’s Turkana. “Turkana Boy” is an ancient hominin skeleton unearthed in the region, and the tectonic activity that caused the East African Rift also has made an environment ideal for the proliferation of life. The persistent erosion of the cliffs of the Rift often contributes to further discoveries.] However, it had come time for the
capitol city’s officials to approve for- eign aid to help their country’s inhab- itants, who were severely affected by the extreme weather patterns. In 1961, The Medical Missionaries of Mary were ready to act, establishing their first relief camp in Lodwar, Ke- nya, 158 miles north of Kitale, where the main hospital is located. A trip that takes about 15 hours by off-road vehicle.
The following year, several things occurred during the timeline that greatly inf luenced the creation of Wings of Hope:
• Mike Stimac, teacher of science and aviation at St. Joseph’s High School in Cleveland, Ohio, arrives at the Mang’u mission school in the foothills of the Aberdare Mountain Range in Kenya (~20 miles NE of Nairobi.) From Mang’u High School, he founded the
Amateur Radio Club, Electronics Club, and Air Program. Compelled to bring every experience to his new students, he would establish a radio station, train students to apply for amateur radio licenses, rent airplanes from Safari Air at Wilson Airport, and teach them to fly. These programs are still active at Mang’u High School to this day.
• BishopJosephB.Houlihan,whose diocese covers the Turkana, ap- peals for assistance from Catho- lics in the United States. Pacific Northern Airline pilot, Jerry Fay, corresponds with Houlihan, and when the question of transporta- tion difficulties arises, Houlihan points out how valuable a light plane will be.
• Jerry Fay organizes the Marian Medical Aircraft Fund to raise $11,000 for a Piper Super Cub
Max Conrad receives a papal blessing in Rome
Sister Michael Therese Ryan pilots the Piper Super Cub
10 • TWIN & TURBINE / May 2023