A northern Saskatchewan man is among a group of volunteer pilots in the middle of a journey across Central and South America for charity.
The three pilots took off from Kelowna, B.C., in January for their journey. The “Give Hope Wings” effort aims to raise money for Hope Air, a charity that provides medical flights to Canadians who can’t afford commercial rates.
“We enjoy flying. We were looking for a challenge,” pilot Harold Fast said from the group’s current location in Buenos Aires.
Many Canadians in remote communities have trouble affording medical flights to larger centres, according to Fast, who is from Spiritwood, Sask.
“If you’re living in Vancouver, for example, you’re close to specialized medical care — not a problem — but if you’re living in Grand Prairie that’s not the case,” Fast said.
The group began fundraising over a year ago, initially with a goal of $400,000 for Hope Air. They increased that goal to $500,000, which as of Feb. 3 has already been surpassed by $3,000.
The amount raised so far would pay for about 2,000 medical flights, according to Fast.
Hope Air has provided over 100,000 flights since it was founded in 1986. Of those flights, 28 per cent of the patients would have had to cancel or delay their appointments without the charity, as stated on its website. Cancer patients make up 21 per cent of those flights.
A live map of the crew’s adventure and donation instructions are available on their website.
