Heri got it!!

Hello hel-lo-ho!

Look what has happened!?!  Yup, its the Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO)approval...   Finally!

 

Here's the main man Heri, centre, with Thomas and Jez after a key prayer time.

 

We want to thank God and tell you that CAS (Central Aviation Services) has been granted the AMO.  Halelu-Jah!  Heri, MAF's ex-chief engineer down in Dodoma, along with us and "team" has been waiting and praying and working and persevering, petitioning God and the Aviation Authority in various offices in order to gain the AMO, something we've been working on since we arrived. 

 

Central Aviation Services is up and running, independent of MAF.  Glory to God!

 

It's a wonderful legacy for MAF to leave in the nation and means we here in Arusha can continue with the vital work of reaching isolated communities secure in the knowledge that our planes can be reliably and efficiently maintained to the high level assured by Heri et al....we are so pleased, it has taken almost a year of waiting for the wheels of Government to turn! 

 

Well now we’ve just worked out that a month from today we shall be visiting Papua New Guinea and three months today we shall be on another plane headed for Home Assignment in good ol’ Blighty!!  This means 3wks of work then 3wks away (2 of which are work and one of holiday/celebrate Jez’s birthday/get over 50+ hours actual flying time alone, minus all the hanging around, waiting for flights) with a final 6wks here in Arusha, with at least 5 lots of separate non Tanzanian overnight guests and a gzillion tasks to complete ... and realised we haven’t even shown you “our street” yet... without further ado then:

 

Coming out of our gate and looking up the road to Scripture Mission compound where the MAF office is, so no reason to be late to work (or home! ahum!)  

 

 

 

 

 

Looking down towards the main road – not certain how we shall negotiate it when the heavy rains arrive, its pretty treacherous!

 

 

 

Just to our left of the above picture is the quarry, about 300mtrs from our gate – VERY narrow road currently with nothing to stop the earth becoming saturated, mud sliding and road disappearing....!

 

 

 

 

 

The quarry below us, to the right of where the lady is sat

 

Think we may have showed you before: rocks that were hacked out of the quarry, this size:

.....are smashed into tiny pieces .... supervised by a minder who speaks pigeon English as opposed to the hardworking ladies who sit all day, every day, saying “salaama, salaama” to greet us!  And no, they don’t want their photos taken thanks very much!  It's a local dialect they speak, frustrating (OH UNDERSTATEMENT) not to be able to communicate more than smiles and waves...besides they're too busy, not permitted to stop.

 

 

 

Some of the local housing....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Inspector called....and praise the Lord he granted the Air Operators Certificate (AOC) for MAF TZ to continue flying for one more year.  He was due Monday and arrived Tuesday.  A good example of the difference in cultures.  In Africa “time is coming” and there’s plenty of it so why rush, whereas in our Western minds we’re of the opinion that time is rushing, slipping away from us and we must seize every moment and fill it!  QUITE a lesson for us to learn and put into operation – the heat helps slow us down of course but we couldn’t possibly convey the frustration often felt ....”poley poley” is the phrase on everyone’s lips “slowly slowly”........

 

Now we are up and running - well flying, hahaha, with both regulatory requirements fulfilled.  We now await the buyer to actually  complete payment for the Dodoma compound A and then we can finalise paperwork and tick another box.  

Finally, this coming Monday the new finance officer begins :o)

 

So on a happy and relieved and grateful note we'll close with a picture of random pineapples growing.  Why?.. just because ...

Love from Jez and Carina xx