The New Tempe Airport recently played host to a very special occasion, an event that is well-established in South Africa, and has reached thousands of underprivileged children, The Children’s Flight.
“The aim of The Children’s Flight at Tempe was to produce a 9th edition of the well-established Gauteng event in a new province,” explained Felix Gosher, Director and Co-Founder of The Children’s Flight, “and to grow the concept and expand the reach of aviation charity to a wider target area.”
There were more than 500 children who got to experience flying on the day. “The bulk of whom comprised of 27 welfare institutions, mainly Free Statebased with a few exceptions,” explained Gosher. “There were a few unexpected arrivals for whom we had reserved capacity to cater for.”
Gosher, who is a pilot, believes in the power of community participation and enjoys taking on the challenge of getting people involved in charity.
“I enjoy the challenges of linking the right sponsors to create the ultimate chain reaction to achieve the core functions of Children’s Flight,” he said. “If you can get anyone in the room to help you with one aspect of the event, you have a ball game. It’s all teamwork and not only individuals.”
The event was sponsored by more than 150 corporate and private sponsors, each taking on a key role in organising the event. There were also 55 pilots involved, who made the flights possible, including several who are based at the New Tempe Airport.
Alongside the Children’s Flight is the Elders’ Flight, which Gosher explains is based on the same model. “The target beneficiaries are underprivileged elders older than 60, who have never had the chance to fly,” he said.
“We have been blessed to have run nine consecutive events in nine years,” added Gosher. “At this stage the venue of the 2025 event is still undetermined, but likely to emerge before the new year.”
Warren Hawkins
