Story number 1 for 7 Sep 2001

(Democratic Republic of Congo)–Our newscast begins today in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Even as rebels and the government have made progress towards peace, main roads are still cut off. That makes getting humanitarian relief into the areas difficult. However, AirServ International’s Alan Graham remains optimistic. “The peace process is very encouraging. Both sides are guardedly optimistic that the fighting is over…probably. That will just make it far easier for the humanitarian world to address those needs that are so critical in the area.” Graham says they work to bring the hope of Christ to the suffering, by meeting the physical needs as well as the spiritual. He adds that they will be introducing a third relief aircraft into the DRC. “It’ll increase our capacity by about 50-percent. That’s needed because right now, our two airplanes are normally booked three to four weeks in advance. So, if urgent needs come up, then we either have to cancel a pre-scheduled flight, or people have to wait.”