From Durant, OK's The Buzz

Fulfillment in Africa for SOSU grads
By Scott Corbin
Flying airplanes in some of the world’s most violent places and landing on airstrips in
jungle clearings with most of the stumps removed likely is a little more excitement than most
people expect in a day. But it’s a life a former Durant resident and his wife love.
David and Amy Cathey are pilots for a non-governmental organization known as Air Serv
International. David is the son of Durant attorney Wendell and Juliet Cathey. He met McCloud,
Okla., native Amy at Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s aeronautical school. They married a month after graduation. David went to work as the pilot for Sundowner Trailers in Coleman, and Amy got a job in Dallas. But something was missing for each of them. David was the first to look for “something more fulfilling with his career,” venturing out for
six-month stints in Congo and Kabul, Afghanistan. Amy stayed in the United States while he started chasing his dream, since she had a highpaying position as flight director for
the Holly Corporation. But Amy said she had the same dream, even as a young girl in central Oklahoma. “Ever since I was a child I have wanted to be a pilot and fly in Africa,” Amy told The KLBC Buzz. “I am just one of those kinds of people that I’m motivated enough and am lucky to do what I dreamed of doing as a kid.” In 2007, Amy made a two-week visit to David’s home base in the Congo. “I absolutely fell in love with it as he had done,” she said. “There is
just something indescribable about Congo. Mostly, it is the people — the children and women — that my heart breaks for.” Congo, or the Democratic Republic of Congo and formerly
known as Zaire, was devastated by the the Second Congo War. It began in 1998 and claimed 5.4 million lives. It was the deadliest since World War II. Peace accords were signed in
2003, but fighting hasn’t stopped in the country’s east. That region has been identified as the world’s worst in prevalence and intensity of rape and sexual violence. Congo’s death
toll reportedly is still at an estimated 45,000 per month, largely due to widespread disease and famine. Almost half the fatalities are thought to be younger than 5. The country’s poor leadership plagues its rich potential, which is evident even from the air. As Amy said, “Just flying in Congo is pretty amazing. Not only does Congo have huge resources of gold, diamonds, copper, coltan, oil and hydro power, but the landscapes are like no other place in the world. They could make a lot off of just tourism alone if they could get their act together. Unfortunately, that is what makes Congo so tragic.” National Geographic Channel’s Explorer series recently featured the Congo bush pilots, and the Catheys attested it is basically true to life. The TV feature suggests Congo bush piloting might be one of the world’s most hazardous professions,
requiring pilots to land on some of the most challenging terrain. Large sections of the country
are impenetrable by road, so inhabitants are dependent on service from the sky. “I don’t know of anything really dangerous we do,” Amy said, “besides just flying in Congo.” Most of the Catheys’ Air Serv flights are for United Nations agencies and various relief organizations.
“Back during all the rebel activity, David evacuated 30 people out of far-north Kivu, back to Goma,” Amy said, referring to the armed Kivu conflict in which the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo became involved. “They had been attacked by some rebels and were very happy to see him.” David also spent six months flying in war-torn Afghanistan while Amy still flew corporate planes. “The most moving thing for me is flying the women who have been sexually violated,” Amy said. “We bring them from the field to Goma where HEAL Africa has a program
that allows them to have surgery to fix their bladder, teaches them how to sew, and then when they are healed mentally and physically, they give them a sewing machine, and we take them back home — sometimes. Getting to hang out with orphan kids on occasion is pretty cool too.”
Seeing the world is a remarkable benefit as well. The last e-mail The KLBC Buzz received from David and Amy was sent from Cape Town, South Africa, where they were taking a bit of a break. The couple also spent some time in Egypt, seeing the pyramids and riding camels. For information about Air Serv International, visit www.airserv.org. Follow the Catheys online at:
davidandamyslifeadventure.blogspot.com.