The first photo is how you get coffee over there in Meulaboh, in a bag. The next photo is the landing strip that MAF uses in Meulaboh. The next photo shows the lasting effects of the tsunami. There are bodies of water where previously there was none. The next photo is the same. The last photo is MAN-Mike Alpha November, the plane that Hugo fixed. When we lived in Papua in 2003, we went on this plane home from Nabire to Sentani. Now it is based in Aceh.

Hugo fixed the slaved compass system on MAN. Now that it is working again, the plane can fly IFR (Instrument Flight Regulations). That means that they can for example, fly through clouds instead of having to go around them. After that Hugo fixed the back-up power supply for the MAF satelite internet provider. This had been broken for a while as no one had been able to fix it. In a place where the power frequently goes on "break", it's important to have a working back-up power supply. This internet service is used by NGO's working in the area.

While in Meulaboh, Hugo stayed at the Canadian Samaritan's Purse guest house. There he experienced the luxury of squatty potties and no showers. He also shared the house with enormous gecko's and spiders. The MAF pilot who was working with Hugo is Amber Desist, one of the very few female pilots working for MAF. She had left Bandung a few months after we arrived so we had already gotten to know her. When I told the people in our kampung, she also lived in this same kampung as we do, that Hugo had been a passenger on an airplane flown by her, they thought that was pretty amazing. Because Hugo and Amber were in Aceh, they were not allowed to be alone in the house for supper (there were no other guests at that time) so they ate at a place where local women are learning different trades including cooking. There they have also opened a restaurant where they practice what they have learned. Hugo was happy to be able to speak to the MAF workers there now that he's studied bahasa Indonesia for 7.5 units. It sure makes a difference when you can communicate with others in their own language!