A Milk Run from Italy to the Caribbean

My name is Cristina and for the past 16 years I have worked as a handling agent at the airport of La Coruña in northwestern Spain.

For many years I have also been a volunteer in the NGO “ASF” –aviation without borders.

This NGO, whose members are mainly people who work in aviation, carries out projects in which we can contribute to cooperation and development.

I first heard of ASF when I was working at the check-in counter when a woman with a  child approached, and on her shirt were the words “Crew ASF·.

I asked her what it meant, and she told me she was a volunteer in ASF, and working in a project called “Wings of Hope”, Her mission that day was to accompany a child on his trip home after his surgery in a Spanish hospital. ASF volunteers used their companies’ air tickets to accompany such children. As experts in aviation they are able to make the children feel at home when they are far away from their families.

I was immediately taken by her story and I wasted no time in joining the team as a volunteer.

After accompanying several children on flights, I learned about the “Couriers of Solidarity” project, whereby ASF volunteers help in the shipping of humanitarian aid.

An NGO in the Dominican Republic notified us that it needed to pick up a special kind of milk that had been donated in Italy and that had to be delivered to Santo Domingo. ASF started the wheels turning, and Iberia joined the chain.

Our job was to take 350 litres of milk to feed children being nourished through gastric tubes and who had no other source of nourishment. Iberia donated most of the shipping cost, and ASF volunteers would pick up and accompany the shipment.

At work every day I witness the excitement and sometimes the nervousness of our customers. Some are going on holiday, and others are going to visit their families after long absences. Some are going to sit for important exams. But this time I was the bundle of nerves, both on the trip to Milan and then to flight to Santo Domingo. 

First we went to the staging room to meet the flight crew for the Milan leg. They were already informed, and understood that everything had to be perfectly coordinated.

In Milan our colleagues at the check-in counter immediately recognised us and booked the cargo through for us, wishing us the best..

We stopped over in Madrid and then took off for Santo Domingo, where we picked up the numerous cases of milk from the luggage carousel.

Finally it was time to hand over the milk at the Casa San Marcos facility, where we were greeted with big smiles. The people receiving the shipment showed in their eyes that they were as emotional as we had been during the entire mission.

Iberia lent us the wings, and we volunteers put our time and effort at the disposal of those who needed them most!