Leon Prinsloo is the Operations Manager at MAF International’s newest programme in Guinea.
Leon has worn many hats throughout his career with MAF International: as a Chief Executive Officer at MAF South Africa, a Country Director, a Deputy Country Director, and an Operations Manager.
At the beginning of this year (2023), Leon served the MAF Kenya programme as Deputy Country Director for six months, before embarking on his new role in Guinea.
To work for an organisation like MAF, I so often, almost daily, just ask God how he has so much favour on me that I could be part of an organisation like this.
“I was touched during a conversation with MAF pilot Daniel in Kenya. He flew to a remote airstrip in northern Kenya to deliver medicine for a partner organisation who were fighting a cholera outbreak in the community,” shares Leon. “Being able to fly development organisations and church missions who have a heart to offer help to others is a great honour.
“To work for an organisation like MAF, I so often, almost daily, just ask God, how he has so much favour on me that I could be part of an organisation like this. I'm almost as a freelance, but it's an honour to be part of MAF to serve His people.”
Before joining MAF, Leon was a pilot for 26 years.
“I was certainly not confident during my first flight, I was a bit scared because I hadn’t done it before, but I knew it’s what I wanted to do,” explains Leon.
“Growing up, I was fascinated with flying at a very young age because we lived next to an airport and every day, I would see planes landing on the runway passing over our house.”
After many years of flying, Leon realised his calling was not flying planes, but serving God’s people through aviation in a different capacity of operations to take help to the most marginalised communities.
Leon’s memorable moment goes back to his tenure in Liberia, working as a Country Director.
“While in Liberia, one late afternoon during my running routine round the 2.5km loop overlooking the coast and the beautiful sunset, a MAF plane came past fairly low along the coast on the approach to Spriggs Airport; everything looked so perfect at that moment, and the MAF plane was part of that perfect picture and that special moment. Immediately I was in a moment of worship,” he says.
Leon’s biggest milestone is being a part of the establishment of the Flying for Life organisation in South Africa in 2010 through MAF, providing air transport to those offering healthcare and education solutions in rural communities.
Leon is a family man, married for 30 years, and blessed with three children. He describes his wife as his soulmate, and his children share his affinity for MAF, something that he says, “makes it possible for me to work with MAF”. He owns a sports, corporate wellness and coaching business that is now managed by his family, giving him time to serve isolated communities throughout MAF programmes.
Leon believes there is still huge potential for growth for the work MAF is doing in Kenya as northern regions deal with the effect of drought. He believes that he is privileged to encounter diverse cultures in his line of work, from the deserts in the Sahara, all the way to East Africa and South Sudan.
He says, “I think that travelling and getting to see so many people and nations and cultures exceeds the privileges that I think I enjoy.”