When Recreational Aviation Is Given A Job To Do, Good Things Can Happen

Zenith Aircraft has furnished us with a story about how recreational aviation and a homebuilt aircraft can bring hope, vision, and learning. This is a continuation of the story we covered of a flight to deliver a donated Zenith STOL CH 701 to Haiti about a year ago.

Jeff Badgero is on a mission in Haiti to develop enthusiasm of aviation learning. Since his flight from Florida to Haiti almost a year ago, Jeff and the other members of H.O.P.E. Missions have been working hard to make their vision come true for the people living in Haiti.

When speaking with Jeff about his experience, you can see from the following the pride that he takes in what they have accomplished.

"On January 17, 2015, I left Fort Pierce, Florida for a three day, 18 hour, 800 mile trip to Haiti. I arrived safely on January 20th. Our main goal is to teach aviation to mission students with the hope that they will become pilots to bring spiritual and physical healing to remote areas of Haiti. I contacted the Henri Christophe University in Limonade, Haiti and was accepted as a non-paid aviation instructor. I have taught thirty university students basic ground school.

"We are also involved in basic medical training, teaching locals basic assessment techniques, and equipping them with a basic medical kit. Blandine Thelusmonde is a nurse in Haiti. We helped her further her aviation education at a mountain strip in Pinion, Haiti. It used to take her three hours by truck to travel the same distance that it now takes forty five minutes by air.

"Last year the university was very interested in building a plane. The university and the country of Haiti both have a new President and we hope the interest continues. We know there are many more qualified pilots, certified flight instructors, and builders than us. We invite you to come and be part of the vision to increase general aviation in Haiti. We are very interested in any project donation whether they are completed or not."

The folks at Zenith say it’s great learning about how the donated STOL CH 701 is helping the H.O.P.E. Mission make a difference.  We at ANN are glad that we can share the story with our readers!

For more information about H.O.P.E. Missions, please contact Jeff and Carol Badgero via email jeffbadgero@gmail.com or call 231-709-7073.

(Images provided by Zenith Aircraft)

FMI: Zenith/H.O.P.E. vision