Sally and Dave Parr are preparing for a big trip.

We are off to Guinea in West Africa for a two week experience that we expect we will never forget. We are visiting Sally's sister, brother-in-law and nearly 6 year old nephew who live and work on a hospital ship run by a Christian charity, Mercy Ships. The ship, Africa Mercy, is currently docked in the port of Conakry for a 10 month period helping the people of Guinea. 

Mercy Ships Background

Mercy Ships is an international faith-based organisation which works to increase access to health care throughout the world by visiting some of the world's poorest countries. They use hospital ships to transform peoples lives by helping to fill the gaps in health care systems by tending to the needs of the country's population through the provision of free surgery and medical care, partnerships with local communities to improve health care, offering training and advice, materials and hands-on experience.

Mercy Ships also offer help with water and sanitation, education, agriculture and construction.

Achievements

Since 1978…

Mercy Ships has provided services in developing nations valued at more than £600 million, including the following:

• Performed more than 61,000 life-changing operations such as cleft lip and palate repair, cataract removal, orthopaedic procedures, facial reconstruction and obstetric fistula repair
• Treated over 539,000 patients in village clinics
• Treated over 109,000 dental patients with more than 278,000 dental procedures performed
• Trained more than 5,770 local health-care teachers who have in turn trained many others
• Trained over 29,400 local professionals in their area of expertise (e.g. surgery, anaesthesiology, midwifery, leadership)
• Taught over 150,000 local people in basic health care
• Completed over 1,100 community development projects focusing on water and sanitation, education, infrastructure development and agriculture.

Photo examples

Here are some examples of some of the marvellous operations Mercy Ships do and you can imagine the diffence they make to individuals lives

Before                                                                                     After

 

 

 

For more information on these and other operations plus individual stories please visithttp://www.mercyships.org.uk/lives-changed/transformations

The Africa Mercy

Deployed 2007
The newest ship in the fleet, the Africa Mercy, with her increased health care and development capacity, is dedicated to bringing continued hope and healing to the people of Africa. This vessel overtakes the Anastasis as the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship, with six operating theatres, a 78-bed patient ward and accommodation for more than 450 volunteer crew members.