MMM Publications                                       Tanzania                                                 28.07.2024

In 1985, Sister Joan Grumbach, and Sister Ruth Percival, joined the community in Loolera, Tanzania, while Sister Geneviève van Waesberghe was needed back at Arusha. She was sad leaving Maasailand. Before they set out for the airstrip at Kijungu, she went to say a few last farewells. The people blessed her and offered her gifts of beads. Many of the Maasai warriors, womenfolk and children walked ahead to the airstrip to wave her off. Sisters Joan and Ruth drove the 6 km by Land Rover. In the six-seater plane there were three other passengers seated behind Geneviève, and the pilot, Pat. The passengers included Bishop Durning of Arusha and two priests, one of them nicknamed ‘Shorty’. The small plane taxied down the airstrip and turned. Then it revved up and took off in the familiar cloud of dust.

Geneviève remembers and tells the story:
“I soon realized that we were in trouble. The plane was not gaining altitude. In fact, we were caught in a downdraught from the intense heat. We were about to hit a small peak when Pat changed course and turned off the engine. We felt a shock as first the tail broke off and then a wing. The little plane had landed on a dry thorn tree on the side of the mountain and crushed it to the ground.

For a moment we remained shocked, silent. “I can’t believe this”, said Pat, as he folded. “I whispered to him: ‘Pat, we are all alive’, she recalls. “After a few minutes, Pat and I forced the jammed door and got out of the plane. Shorty and the Bishop were clearly in pain. I quickly looked at them and advised them not to move. Pat tried in vain to make radio contact with AMREF in Nairobi. He then climbed a tree to see if we could see Kijungu and if the people who had waved us off could have seen us crash.”

Sure enough, back at the airstrip they had watched in horror, their apprehension growing as they witnessed the plane growing smaller in the distance but failing to gain altitude. Was that cloud which eventually emerged above the faraway hills a cloud of dust or a cloud of smoke? How could they get into those hills to find out and hopefully rescue the survivors when there was no road? Ruth tried to reach Nairobi by radio-tel, but the reception was very poor. Back at the crash site, Geneviève tried to teach Pat the Maasai emergency call – oooooeeúúú, oooooeeúúú – but by now Pat was too shocked to do anything. She tried herself but feared that her voice would not carry far and, besides, the Maasai would be unlikely to recognize the call coming from a woman. Telling the three injured men to remain in the plane, Pat and Geneviève began to climb down the mountain. They were afraid of wild animals. Soon they heard the Maasai warriors replying to the distress call. So, they returned to the plane and waited.

Sikorei was the first to arrive, followed by all the staff from Loolera. He was steaming with icy sweat. They had run all the way from Kijungu, armed with machetes to cut a path through the mountain, following their unerring instincts to the place where they had seen the cloud rising – not knowing that they would find anyone alive. Geneviève kept her head: “I tried first to calm down Sikorei, and then we proceeded to help the three remaining passengers out of the plane. The Bishop had a broken clavicle. Someone gave me a shirt and I splinted him. Shorty had a lot of chest pain due to broken ribs. “The warriors went ahead of us, carrying the wounded passengers down the mountain, where Sister Joan was waiting anxiously with the landrover and blankets. Her relief was unbounded.

For the next two days, streams of Maasai people came to sympathise. “You entered the lion’s mouth and got out”, they said. Many of the local government representatives also travelled to Loolera to sympathise and wish them well. The Sisters were touched by their concern. The Bishop appreciated the wonderful rapport that now existed between the people and the MMMs. He could see for himself that Primary Health Care brought us close to the people. Next day, AMREF sent a plane from Nairobi, and the travellers were safely airlifted back to Arusha.