Eyes: Through Flying for Life’s partnerships with volunteer Ophthalmologists from Pretoria and Johannesburg, patients in the Vhembe District are able to receive life-changing cataract surgeries for free. In 2016, we conducted eight flights for this project and 154 patients received cataract surgery.

Teeth: Many children in rural communities do not know about oral hygiene. By collaborating with the Department of Health and dentists from Johannesburg and Pretoria we see several schools per year to educate children on dental hygiene, conduct extractions, and examine problem areas. We saw 125 patients in 2016.

Ears: Hearing tests are being conducted for those who don't have access to audiologists. Along with the tests, hearing aids are provided when necessary.

General Practitioners: Patients in rural isolated areas can wait up to a month to be seen by a doctor. We fly doctors to visit areas that aren't accessible by the district's doctors. In 2016,104 patients received medical attention and 22 women had a cervical examination.

Disability: The lack of specialist disability services in rural communities has left many disabled people without treatment or a good quality of life. We flew in Jan Willem, a Social Worker from Operation Mobilisation, who trained the teachers at a Disability Centre to best understand their clients and compiled medical reports for each of the 22 children.

Cancer Awareness: Many of the clinics and traditional healers know very little about cancer and how to identify its early stages. In 2016 we flew Choc and Pink Drive who trained 44 people in cancer awareness, 227 people were assessed, and 2 people were referred for further examination.

Teachers: We flew LoveTrust to train 12 current caregivers from local crèches. They received training to become registered SAQA approved teachers.

Crèches: Tanda community received a shade as well as a jungle gym and a cultivated garden because of the partners we flew in who felt the desire to improve the communitie’s facilities.

Education: Three schools were taken through career guidance with Baaitse Consulting in 2016.

Football: We flew in IQ Football, which facilitated a programme that uses brain-centred training methods to speed up and improve the mental processes of a player, including concentration, special awareness, and speed of thought. Training in this way created a positive space in working with the community.

Farming: FFL flights made it possible for Farming God’s Way to reach Makuya and surrounding schools. Vegetable gardens were planted that both the school and community could benefit from.

Future Projects: We are always increasing the sustainability of our existing projects, and only embark on new projects when the community is invested and involved.