1. Mercy Ships operates the worlds largest Charity hospital ship: The Africa Mercy.

2. 2 out of 3 people on the planet do not have access to surgery when they need it.
Conditions that would have been rectified at the very first sign here in the UK are left untreated for most people.
Basic surgeries such as cataract removals, club foot corrections, cleft palate repairs and caesarean sections are unavailable for 5 million people around the world.

3. 17 million people die every year from conditions requiring surgery
17 million people die every year from conditions requiring surgery. This is higher than the number who die from TB, malaria and HIV/Aids combined. 17 million is more than the populations of all these cities.

4. The Africa Mercy performs life saving surgeries onboard which reduces the backlog in each country it visits.
Mercy Ships runs training programmes for local health care professionals. The ship also recruits non-medical people to work on-board providing employment for local people whilst the ship is in port and teaching them a trade.
Lastly, Mercy Ships renovates and donates equipment to local facilities so that there is a lasting legacy of change long after the ship has left port.

5. Let me tell you about some of the patients we help.
This is Gamai.
Gamai was just a year old when an accident happened. She was toddling past a pot of boiling water when she fell and pulled it over herself.
Her desperate parents took her to the local hospital but couldn’t pay for any treatment. The only thing they were able to afford was a tube of ointment for the pain.
Here in the UK the treatment for burns is very good. However without treatment burned skin will heal into a tight contracture like Gamai’s.
Wanting to protect their daughter from ridicule, her parents kept Gamai at home and away from the outside world.
Play Gamai video
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When her family heard about the Africa Mercy they brought Gamai to the ship for treatment. Surgeons operated on her arms and hands to release the contractures. She received weeks of rehabilitation and physiotherapy so that she could learn to use her hands.
Today you would never know that this happy child with an enormous smile was once kept away from the world.

6. Mercy Ships offers training and mentoring to local professionals.
One of the major issues in developing countries is that if a medical professional wants to develop their skills or become a specialist there is no training available.
Mercy Ships provides that specialist training onboard.
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Dr Odry Agbessi completed a training programme onboard the Africa Mercy and is now the only reconstructive surgeon in Benin.
She can now treat burns for patients like little Gamai that you saw earlier thanks to the training she received on the ship.
And what’s even better? She is now training other surgeons so she is sharing her new skills and knowledge.

7. Mercy Ships offers training and mentoring to local professionals.
One of the major issues in developing countries is that if a medical professional wants to develop their skills or become a specialist there is no training available.
Mercy Ships provides that specialist training onboard.
As well as providing training, Mercy Ships will also renovate local facilities and donate equipment.
This operating theatre is in Madagascar.
In the before photo you can see the standard of the facilities they had, and remember that most of the population wouldn’t even be able to afford treatment here.
In this after photo not only has the facility been transformed but the volunteer crew also provided training to the local staff in how to use the new equipment efficiently.

8. So if learning about Mercy Ships has inspired you in any way there are ways you can help.
Give:
If you can make a donation that will help to fund the lifesaving work our volunteer crew provide onboard.
Go:
Or, could you be a crew member? Remember only 50% of the roles are medical and if you have skills, chances are the ship will need them! Many of our crew dedicate their time onboard to God.
Pray:
Or if you can’t travel to Africa then why not see what you can do right here in the UK? I’m a volunteer! So if you think you could become a speaker like me, or if you could organise a fundraising event at your church or simply pray and keep our volunteer crew and patients in your thoughts.

9. Think how you can help change lives today and support Mercy Ships either by Giving, Going or praying.