JAARS

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JAARS, Inc.

Founded	1948
Founder	William Cameron Townsend
Type	Non-profit
Location	7405 Jaars Road, Waxhaw, North Carolina, USA
Coordinates	34°51′53″N 80°44′31″W / 34.864771°N 80.741808°W / 34.864771; -80.741808
Area served	World Wide
Revenue	> US$7,000,000[1]
Website	jaars.org
Formerly called	Jungle Aviation and Radio Service

A Helio Courier in the JAARS hangar

A hangar building at the center

A King Air in the JAARS hangar

The Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS) is a non-profit organization that helps organizations around the world get practical, day-to-day support for Bible translation. As of November 2012, JAARS focuses on five main types of practical support: aviation, land transportation, water transportation, information technology, and media.^[2]

JAARS is a wholly controlled subsidiary of SIL International, but also partners extensively with other organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Operations and activities[]

JAARS typically doesn't start and operate its own programs overseas, instead working with local field partners. The type of involvement varies depending on the location, partner, and other factors.

JAARS Center[]

JAARS' headquarters in North Carolina is commonly referred to as the "JAARS Center". While the JAARS Center serves as the home for all of the organization's core operations (like transportation), it also hosts staff from partner organizations. For example, SIL International has both IT and media staff working at the JAARS Center. The center's airport is registered with the FAA as JAARS-Townsend Airport (FAA LID: N52), a public-use airport.^[3]

Aviation[]

In aviation, JAARS helps its field partners start and run local aviation programs. This help comes in the form of training staff, setting standards, equipping aircraft, research, and more.^[4]

In turn, these partners provide a range of transportation services to a variety of people, including translators, support personnel, consultants, trainers, linguists, Christian mission organizations, hospitals, local people and governments. These services can also include medical evacuations and disaster relief work.

JAARS' aviation partners fly a variety of aircraft, including:

• Bell LongRanger helicopter, flown by SIL International in Papua New Guinea
• Robinson R44 helicopter, flown at the JAARS Center and by SIL International in Cameroon
• Cessna 206, flown at the JAARS Center and by partners in Brazil, Cameroon, and Papua New Guinea
• Cessna 207, Soloy Turbine conversion, flown by SIL International in Cameroon
• Helio Courier, flown at the JAARS Center
• Pilatus PC-12, flown by YAJASI in Indonesia
• Pilatus PC-6, flown at the JAARS Center and by YAJASI in Indonesia
• Quest Kodiak, flown by SIL International in Papua New Guinea

JAARS was one of fifteen organizations that financed the prototyping and development of the Quest Kodiak.^[5]

History[]

William Cameron Townsend co-founded Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1934, and as the organization grew, he saw the need for airplanes and radio to reach remote areas around the world, to provide safe access to language groups. JAARS was originally formed as Jungle Aviation and Radio Service in Peru in 1948 and moved to its current location in Waxhaw, North Carolina, in 1961. In 1986, as a result of diversifying activities (like information technology), JAARS officially dropped the original meaning behind the acronym and became simply "JAARS, Inc."

Museums[]

JAARS operates two separate museums at its headquarters campus in Waxhaw, North Carolina:

• The Museum of the Alphabet was established in 1991 by JAARS founder William Cameron Townsend, and focuses on the development of the alphabet and the history of writing systems and written languages.^[6] Exhibits include maps, paintings, sculptures, a copy of the Rosetta Stone, a Torah scroll that is over 150 years old, and a handmade lyre.^[7] The languages covered include Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, and African languages.
• The Mexico-Cardenas Museum was established in 1977 by Townsend with a focus on Mexican culture and Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico's president from 1934 to 1940.^[8] Cárdenas was close friends with Townsend, who led early efforts to study Mexican languages. Exhibits include Mexican folk art, photos, artifacts, and clothing.^[7]

References[]

External links[]

• JAARS.org
• JAARS Flight demonstration of Helio Courier landing (YouTube)
• ECFA Member Profile of JAARS
• Wycliffe and JAARS
• Missions Box Bio: William Cameron Townsend