About us
About the De Wit Family
From our home country, The Netherlands, the whole world is within reach. By bike to the shop, by car to family or by plane on holiday. An ambulance can reach you within fifteen minutes. But for many in Africa, the daily reality is very different. They have none of that and live isolated, far from civilisation.
We are Joost de Wit and Ruth de Wit - van der Ploeg. We live in Nairobi, Kenya, with our children Naud and Annemijn. Ever since we were children, we both wanted to become pilots. We succeeded. Together we had a long career as pilots at KLM.
When we got to know MAF, we realised how much of a difference an airplane can make for people in isolated communities. Since then, we have developed a rapidly growing desire to use our talents and experience as pilots for a new mission: reaching the unreached. After two years of preparation, we resigned from KLM and left for Africa to help them as pilots at MAF
We believe that every person in this world is God's beloved child. Regardless of color, background, belief or any form of distinction. By plane we are bringing help, hope and healing to the ends of the earth.
Ruth de Wit – van der Ploeg grew up in Leiderdorp After High School she attended commercial pilot training at OBS, the Netherlands. She obtained her pilot's license before her driver's license. At the age of 21 she became the youngest flight instructor in the Netherlands, amongst others at the KLM Flight Academy. From 2008 to 2023 she was a pilot at KLM. Her last position was co-pilot Boeing 777 and 787.
Joost de Wit grew up in Valkenswaard. He started flying gliders at the age of 16. After High School he traveled and worked for a year in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. In 1998 he started commercial pilot training at the KLM Flight Academy. From 2001 to 2023 he was a pilot at KLM. His last position was captain Boeing 737.
About MAF
Mission Aviation Fellowship uses airplanes, communications, technology and specialists to reach the unreached.
More than 1400 organisations are depending on MAF for support of humanitarian aid, development aid, medical care and missions. Every five minutes a MAF plane takes off or lands somewhere in the 26 poorest countries of the world.
To make this possible, MAF sends out voluntary pilots, maintenance technicians, IT specialists, teachers and managers, together with their families. We are one of those families.
