News United States Air Force
 349th AMW delivers ‘heaven sent’ aid for Haitian childrenPublished Oct. 1, 2022
                        
                        
                        349th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
                **TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS)  --**
                A **349th Air Mobility Wing** aircrew from **Travis Air Force Base** opened the tail of their **C-17 Globemaster III** Sept. 24 in Port Au Prince, Haiti, and delivered three yellow school buses.A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III sits on the flight line at Travis Air Force Base, California, Sept. 23, 2022. A Reserve aircrew from the 301st Airlift Squadron performed a three-day mission Sept. 23 – 25, to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated from San Diego Unified School District were transported from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Haiti. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jonathon Carnell)A C-17 Globemaster III sits on the flightline at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Sept. 23, 2022. A Reserve aircrew from the 301st Airlift Squadron performed a three-day mission Sept. 23-25, 2022, to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated by the San Diego Unified School District were transported from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., to Haiti. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jonathon Carnell)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    










With ongoing civil strife in Haiti endangering the lives of children simply trying to make their way to and from school each day, providing buses for them became a priority for Those Angels, a non-governmental organization located in Oakland.Fortunately, when Airmen at Travis AFB received Joseph’s call, they were no strangers to the **Denton Humanitarian Assistance Program**. According to **U.S. Transportation Command**, the program helps move humanitarian cargo donated by U.S.-based NGOs “to developing nations to ease human suffering.”Active-duty aircrews at the **60th AMW** have delivered numerous aid packages under the program over the past few years, including one that delivered **90,000 pounds of aid** to Honduras in August. When it was determined that their aircrews were not available for the mission to Haiti, they turned to their **Reserve** partners at the 349th AMW to deliver the golden payload.Capt. Neil Brown, 301st Airlift Squadron C-17 pilot, was undergoing upgrade training to become an aircraft commander when this mission came up.A school bus approaches a C-17 Globemaster III Sept. 23, 2022, at March Air Reserve Base, California. A Reserve aircrew from the 301st Airlift Squadron performed a three-day mission Sept. 23 – 25, to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated from San Diego Unified School District were transported from March ARB to Haiti. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jonathon Carnell)A school bus approaches a C-17 Globemaster III Sept. 23, 2022, at March Air Reserve Base, Calif. A Reserve aircrew from the 301st Airlift Squadron performed a three-day mission Sept. 23-25, 2022, to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated by the San Diego Unified School District were transported from March ARB to Haiti. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jonathon Carnell)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    









“I was excited to do this,” he said. “It is hugely satisfying to know we can work with humanitarian missions like this and help people. This was a no-kidding opportunity to do real good — bringing buses so kids can make it to school.”But before Travis AFB answered the call, the San Diego Unified Board of Education did the same by **voting to donate** 10 decommissioned buses for the children in time for their first day of school on Oct. 3.“For those of us in education, nothing hurts our hearts more than the suffering of children, whether they live in San Diego or anyplace else,” said Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, San Diego Unified Board president in a recent district newsletter. “We are grateful for the opportunity to provide the children of Haiti with a source of hope for years to come, and we hope to inspire others to join us, because San Diego is a generous community.”Reservists at **March Air Reserve Base** also played an important role in the aid mission when Airmen from the **452nd AMW** took delivery of the three buses at the Southern California base Sept. 10 and prepared them for the incoming Travis AFB C-17 aircrew."I’m very grateful for Travis Air Force Base stepping up,” said Claude Joseph, Those Angels founder. “We just made one phone call and it took off from there."Airman 1st Class Romit Raj, 301st Airlift Squadron, guides a school bus off of a C-17 Globemaster III on Sept. 24, 2022, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 349th Air Mobility Wing performed a three-day mission to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated from San Diego Unified School District were transported from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Haiti.Airman 1st Class Romit Raj, 301st Airlift Squadron, guides a school bus off a C-17 Globemaster III Sept. 24, 2022, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 349th Air Mobility Wing performed a three-day mission to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated by the San Diego Unified School District were transported from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Haiti. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jonathon Carnell)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    









Joseph said acquiring transportation for aid is one of the greatest difficulties NGOs face, but through the Denton Program and Airmen who are committed to making a difference, “thousands of students have been safely taken back and forth to school,” since their humanitarian efforts began.“Together, we have now delivered three of the ten buses San Diego Unified donated, which will make an immeasurable impact,” Joseph said. “These buses are heaven sent.”(Online applications and additional information about Defense Department humanitarian assistance programs, Denton and Funded Transportation Programs, are available **here**.LR 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



Denton Program 



AMC 



Air Mobility Command 



Travis AFB 



Haiti 



Humanitarian 



C-17 



Globemaster III 



aid 



Those Angels 



golden payload 



School Buses 



349th AMW 



60th AMW 



March ARB 



452nd AMW 



Air Force Reserve