One is a champion in the air, one is a champion on the ground
The South African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind (SAGA) is taking to the skies, thanks to National Airways Corporation’s (NAC) social responsibility project called ‘Flight for Sight’.
Freedom and independence mean different things to different people, but to a visually impaired person it means the ability to go where they like, when they like; to be able to travel to work safely on a daily basis, go shopping unaided, deposit their salary at the bank, visit friends or go to church. It is not easy to comprehend the joy that a guide dog can bring into a visually impaired person's life.
“SA Guide Dogs is very excited and grateful to have formed a partnership with such a caring and professional company as NAC. We look forward to working with their wonderful team on this exciting campaign,” said Noel Midlane, Corporate Fundraising SA Guide Dogs.
NAC will be working on many projects with SAGA, including transportation, from time to time, of dogs to Cape Town, as well as staff fund raising programmes and customer donation campaigns. During the coming months you will be able to see NAC’s support of this programme at air shows, where NAC will be present. As a first in the series of projects, NAC will be distributing donation forms on all their charter flights.
“As an association that has no funding other than that received from private and corporate donors, NAC is delighted to be their partner in fundraising initiatives,” says NAC Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Tracy Porter.
On 26 November 2008, SAGA’s first flight with NAC took place when two dogs were taken to Kyalami Preparatory School.
SAGA was represented by Noel Midlane the fundraiser and Pieter Van Niekerk the Public Relations Officer. Noel was accompanied by a service dog called Olivia, a beautiful Golden Retriever, and Pieter brought Thornton, his fully trained three-year-old Labrador guide dog. This team, along with Tracy Porter and Tanya Krause from NAC, was flown to Kyalami Preparatory School in a magnificent Bell 430.
After landing at the school, Tracy explained to the children, ranging from grade 0 to grade 7, how they could stand a chance to win a flight in an NAC Tecnam and a flight in a 43 Air School King Air simulator. Children could enter the competition by making a R10 donation to SAGA and drawing a picture of a dog with an aircraft.
To the children, this visit was part of the school’s ‘Lateral Learning Week’. There is no doubt that they learned quite a lot when Pieter explained how guide dogs are trained and how they operate. Pieter also gave the children practical advice, such as to never touch a guide dog or break its concentration, without the owner’s permission. Children were then shown a DVD, which further emphasised the importance of guide dogs in our society.
Pieter visits between fifty and one hundred schools per year, raising awareness of these incredible dogs. SAGA relies completely on private and corporate donors for funding, which is why NAC staff took it upon themselves to sponsor the training of two guide dogs. Pieter proudly announced to the children that NAC staff had managed to raise the R12 000 required to do just that.
Bell 430
The Bell 430 that was used to transport the SAGA team to Kyalami Preparatory School is the only one of its kind in South Africa. This helicopter type’s story began during the 1970s, when the first light twin-engined helicopter was built in the USA. The helicopter was called the Bell 222 and the type became famous because of the television series, ‘Airwolf.’ The Bell 230, with its increased fuel capacity, was an improved version of the 222, but nothing quite personifies status, presence and power like the Bell 430. This is the ultimate development of the 222, featuring a lengthened fuselage, more powerful engines and four composite rotor blades with a bearingless, hingeless hub. Capabilities include oilrig support, medical services, general utility duties and VIP transport.
The future
In addition to supporting SAGA in terms of logistics, fund raising and awareness campaigns, NAC is now distributing donation forms on all its charter flights. Tracy Porter, Marketing and Public Relations Manager at NAC, is confident that the partnership is a long term, sustainable project and summed up NAC’s standpoint, “To work alongside the association with the work that it does, in turning a blind person’s loneliness and limitation into social success, and dependents into independents, is both an honour and privilege for the NAC team.”
For further information about guide dogs and ‘Flight for Sight’, please visit www.guidedog.org.za and www.nac.co.za
