For long-serving partners Mark and Andrea Hotchkin, MAF flights don’t just save time, but are instrumental in enabling their mission.
Mark and Andrea Hotchkin have worked as medical missionaries in remote northern Chad since 2010. Both trained in the UK – Andrea in obstetrics and gynaecology, Mark in general surgery and emergency medicine.
‘My wife will do caesarean sections, and I’ll treat people who’ve been shot in the abdomen, limbs, and sometimes the chest,’ explains Mark.
‘We work with Chadian doctors and nurses to deliver care, but also train people so that standards can be improved.’
Mark and Andrea have spent the last seven years serving in Bardaï. Surrounded by rocks and sand, it’s an isolated town in the Tibesti Mountains, deep in the Sahara Desert. Sent by BMS World Mission, they collaborate with The Evangelical Alliance Mission and local NGO, Association for Development and Peace.
Mark has made the road journey from N’Djamena to Bardaï by road on a couple of occasions since 2017. It’s a four-day trip which initially involves driving through the Sahel – semi-arid scrubland – and then getting into the large, hot Sahara.
‘The final day,’ he notes, ‘is spent climbing through the mountains at about 20km an hour maximum, often just at walking pace. The total distance is about 1,700km.
‘As we make the journey to and from Bardaï about twice a year, we’re very grateful to have MAF fly us there in less than six hours.’
The hospital where Mark and Andrea work is the only one in the entire province, serving a local population of around 50,000 people, along with an additional 100,000 ‘gold diggers’ who’ve settled in the region over the past 15 years.
The nearest hospital to theirs is 850km away – a journey that takes days over rough terrain.
Since then, Mark and Andrea’s work has expanded beyond medicine. Their team supports literacy and language development among the local Teda-speaking population, whose culture is being rapidly reshaped by the arrival of gold mining.
Looking ahead, Mark and Andrea hope to continue their work for another three or four years. But they’re also preparing for who might follow them.
‘It’s difficult for staff to come from the south of Chad to work in the north,’ Mark says.
‘Many who are sent simply don’t come. It would seem to be an impossible dream, but if one day they could fly like we do with MAF, that would be a great thing!’
Please remember Mark and Andrea in your prayers, particularly for safety for the missionaries serving in northern Chad. That Mark and Andrea will find people who are willing to follow in their footsteps and bring healthcare to Bardaï. And for MAF to find more people and organisations with whom they can partner so they can aid development in northern Chad.
Many thanks to David Casson for passing this MAF Prayer Letter on to us.