Good Samaritans touch down at Salem Air Park
By LEONARD GLENN CRISTArticle Photos
PERRY TOWNSHIP - A couple of good Samaritans Wednesday touched down at the Salem Air Park.
Gary Bustin and Mark Palm, co-founders of Samaritan Aviation, a Colorado-based ministry that provides medical and mission services using airplanes, landed in Perry Township as part of a 40-city tour designed to raise funds and awareness and thank supporters.
Bustin and Palm flew in on a newly refurbished Cessna 206 dubbed "The Spirit of Paradise." The amphibious plane is schedule to arrive in Papua New Guinea in November to provide medical services to remote villages in the Pacific island nation.
"Most American's don't know a thing about Papua New Guinea," Bustin said. "They don't even know where it's at."
It's a place Palm, and especially Bustin,who was born there, are quite familiar with.
As college roommates in 1994, Bustin and Palm visited the nation and realized the need for aid.
The country of about 6 million people, located north of Australia, has one of the most diverse indigenous populations in the world, with more than 820 different languages spoken. The country is slightly larger than California, area-wise
"It's a beautiful country," Bustin said. "There's some harshness there, but that's what we're working to address." People aren't starving to death in Papua New Guinea, but poverty is high and health care, education and infrastructure are poor, Bustin said.
For the last seven years, Samaritan Aviation has made frequent trips to Papua New Guinea. Now the ministry will have a full-time presence in the northern town of Wewak. Palm will move there with his wife and three children to pilot the plane.
The area where Samaritan Aviation will operate in Papua New Guinea has 500,000 people spread out over an area that, for villagers, could be up to a 14-day walk to the nearest hospital. By plane, those 14 days are reduced to an hour-long flight.
"This plane will be a lifeline for that area," Bustin said.
People needing assistance will be able to contact the plane though high frequency radios strategically placed throughout the region, Bustin said.
Bustin and Palm included Perry Township on their tour because a few of Samaritan Aviation's long-time supporters are from the Salem-area, Bustin said.
Bustin and Palm had lunch with a few locals at the Skyline Diner. They planned to informally talk about their work, give a presentation and take some of the supporters on a plane ride.
During the 40-city tour, the ministry hopes to sign up 200 new sponsors who donate $20 each month to help pay for the Cessna's operating costs, Bustin said.
"When you see this plane, to us, it's a pretty airplane," Bustin said. "But to somebody in the backside of the jungle in New Guinea, its a symbol of hope. When somebody is dying and that plane flies over, that means there is going to be life. That's an important thing to remember."
The ministry has a Web site at http://www.samaritanaviation.com
Leonard Glenn Crist can be reached at lcrist@salemnews.net
