About Us
Mercy Air is a Christian-NGO registered as non profit company (NPC) in South Africa. Since 1991, Mercy Air has been providing aviation services to humanitarian and mission organisations throughout southern Africa. We are based in White River, South Africa. Our international offices include South Africa, United States, Switzerland, and Germany.
Our History
In 1986 Ron & Barbara Wayner were attending a mission school seminar in Texas USA, and heard Don Price (YWAM, SA) talking about his vision of aircraft being used to transport missionaries into war-torn Mozambique, and other surrounding countries.
Inspired by what they heard and following God’s leading, they raised the funds to purchase and rebuild (over 9 months) an old Cessna 180. They left Holland, Michigan, USA on September 5th 1991 and arrived safely in South Africa a number of days later, after flying for 80 hours to ferry the plane across the Atlantic Ocean. YWAM Mission Air later became known as Mercy Air.
Soon the Cessna 180 was replaced by a Cessna 210 and a Beech 18, here shown in its new Mercy Air paint scheme. Ron and John Herbert can be seen doing their pre-flight walk around.
Both aircraft were operated by Mercy Air for about 18 years.
In September 2004, N-MA joined the Mercy Air family which was soon in action bridging the gap between remote airfields and inaccessible villages.
In 2014, Mercy Air added a Quest (Daher) Kodiak 100 to the fleet — a rugged, single-engine turboprop purpose-built for the rough, bush strips we operate from. With seating for up to nine passengers and genuine short-field performance, it has allowed us to continue serving remote communities across the region and is our primary fixed wing aircraft at present.
Vision
That remote communities know the hope of salvation found in the love of Jesus Christ.
Mission
Mercy Air facilitates spiritual and physical relief by collaborating with like-minded partners serving remote communities best accessed by air.
Core Values
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Christ is at the center of who we are and what we do.
We seek to honor God, humbly follow Christ, and demonstrate His love through our words, actions, relationships and service. We believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ, the love, mercy and grace of God are made known to us and to all people.
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We do what is right, even when it is difficult.
We are honest, trustworthy, accountable and transparent. We keep our commitments and take responsibility for our decisions and actions. We steward carefully the funds and resources entrusted to us by donors and partners.
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People are our priority.
We value every person, accord them dignity and treat them with compassion, respect and humility. We care for those we serve, for the partner organizations we serve alongside, and for one another. We regard our partners as colleagues in a shared calling and invest in those relationships for the long term.
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We give of our best in everything we do.
We work hard, as for the Lord. We maintain high standards in aviation, aircraft maintenance, flight operations, ministry and administration. We are prepared, competent, disciplined and committed to improvement.
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We are ready and willing to serve.
We listen, communicate, adapt and respond to needs with urgency and wisdom, within our operational and logistical capabilities and with emergency responders. Where funding is short, we seek to raise it rather than turn a need away.
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We serve with understanding and respect
We seek to understand the cultures, communities and people we serve. We listen before acting, respect local knowledge and customs, and work alongside others rather than imposing our own perspectives. We do this without compromising the Word of God.
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Safety is never traded for schedule, cost or urgency.
We maintain a just culture in which every person is ready to speak up, and every hazard and occurrence is reported without fear of blame. We fly, maintain and dispatch to the required standard, or we do not fly. Our mature and active Safety Management System is how this value is made real.
