 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Mercy Ships" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Logo of Mercy Ships | |
| Formation | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Donald & Deyon Stephens |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Purpose | To provide free surgical care and improve surgical delivery systems in the poorest nations |
| Headquarters | Garden Valley, Texas and Switzerland |
Region | West, East, and Central Africa |
| Services | Surgery, Healthcare, Development |
Chairman | Gary Brown |
| Volunteers | c. 3,000 annually[citation needed] |
| Website | www |
Mercy Ships is an international charity basednon-governmental organization[1] that operates the largest non-governmentalhospital ships in the world,[2] providingsurgical care and surgical education in Africa, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs, agriculture projects, andpalliative care for terminally ill patients. Its headquarters are inGarden Valley, Texas.
Mercy Ships has visited several countries with a focus on the countries of Africa for the past 30 years.[3][non-primary source needed] The organization operates a two-ship fleet consisting of theGlobal Mercy and theAfrica Mercy.
Mercy Ships was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens inLausanne,Switzerland.[4] A major inspiration for Mercy Ships founder Don Stephens was the work of the international hospital shipSS Hope. The birth of Stephens' disabled son, John Paul, also inspired him to move forward with his vision of a floating hospital. A visit withMother Teresa inCalcutta, India, further deepened his commitment to serving people in need.[citation needed]
The first ocean liner acquired was theVictoria, which was purchased for its scrap value of US $1 million.[citation needed] The vessel was transformed into the hospital shipMV Anastasis and sailed to Africa in 1982. The ship's 350-member crew included Mercy Ships founders Don and Deyon Stephens, who lived on board the ship with their four young children for ten years starting in 1980.[5]
In 1983, theAnastasis (the Greek word for "resurrection") began operations in the South Pacific, then moved to Central America and the Caribbean Sea in the mid-80s. The ship moved on to Africa in 1991[6] and remained in service there until 2007. The final port of call for theAnastasis wasMonrovia, Liberia.[citation needed]
Originally, Mercy Ships was a part of theYouth with a Mission (YWAM) family of Christian ministries, before becoming a standalone organization in 2003.[7] The organization historically used retired ocean liners and ferries that had been transformed into floating hospitals.[8] In 2021, however, its first purpose-built hospital ship, theGlobal Mercy, joined the fleet.[9]
.jpeg)
Mercy Ships purchased the Norwegian coastal ferry MSPolarlys in 1994 and transformed it into theMVCaribbean Mercy, a hospital ship that went to Central American and Caribbean ports. The ship offered berths for 150 crew. Over the course of several years, the ship was equipped with eye-surgery capabilities. On land, volunteers from theCaribbean Mercy also provided dental, orthopedic and healthcare services. TheCaribbean Mercy visited 138 ports of call[10] and remained in service until May 2005.[6]
In 1983, the Canadian ferry formerly MVPetite Forte ofCN Marine was donated to Mercy Ships to provide relief operations in the Caribbean. Initially named theMVGood Samaritan,[6] the ship was renamed to theMVIsland Mercy in 1994. The 60-berth vessel[citation needed] remained in service until 2000[6] or the spring of 2001 before being sold[to whom?] as training ship Far East I. The countries it served included Brazil, the Dominican Republic,Guyana andHaiti. The ship also reached beyond the Caribbean with relief and medical operations inGuinea-Bissau,Western Samoa, theTokelau Islands and New Zealand.[citation needed]
Since 2000, Mercy Ships has had the 16,500-ton vesselAfrica Mercy,[8] which measures almost 500 feet long.[3][non-primary source needed]
In 2007, theAfrica Mercy made her official maiden voyage to Monrovia, Liberia, from the shipyard in England.[2] In 2008, theAfrica Mercy continued her service to Liberia, offering free surgeries, assistance in healthcare infrastructure development, and community-based preventive health care programs.[citation needed] More than 1,200 surgical procedures and 10,000 dental procedures were completed,[citation needed] along with community health projects such as HIV/AIDS prevention and construction of wells and latrines.[citation needed]
Early in 2010, the ship was docked inLomé, Togo, for the 2010 field service. In August 2010, theAfrica Mercy went into a shipyard[which?] inSouth Africa, where it was equipped with new, more efficient generators.[citation needed] In 2009, the ship was docked inCotonou, Benin, from February to December, providing free surgeries and medical care.[citation needed] Mercy Ships also worked with Beninese citizens on agriculture and water development projects on the ground in Benin.[citation needed] Before theAfrica Mercy arrives in port, flyers are distributed to alert the public to the ship's upcoming visit.[citation needed] According to Jonathan Eppley of theBig Rapids Pioneer, the ship must first get invited by "adeveloping nation with a stable government." Then the ship will dock and operate as a floating hospital generally for 8 to 10 months, then goes off to resupply and make ship repairs.[11]
In 2019, theAfrica Mercy docked inDakar, Senegal, for a six-month field service. On February 1, 2022, theAfrica Mercy returned to Dakar, Senegal with the goal to provide surgery to approximately 950 patients whose surgeries were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2024, following a period of extensive refit and maintenance in South Africa, theAfrica Mercy arrived into the port ofToamasina, Madagascar, to begin her next field service.[citation needed]
The new ship, the MVGlobal Mercy, in partnership withStena RoRo, finished construction and joined the fleet in June 2021.[12][13] TheGlobal Mercy is the organization's first purpose-built hospital ship and is the largest civilian hospital ship in the world.[citation needed]
In February 2023, theGlobal Mercy arrived in the Port of Dakar, Senegal, to begin her first surgical field service. In August 2023, theGlobal Mercy arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone for its next field service. More than 170 healthcare professionals across the surgical ecosystem received training.[citation needed] After a period of maintenance, the hospital ship returned to Sierra Leone in August 2024 to begin another 10-month field service.[citation needed]
In 2024, Mercy Ships announced its plans to expand its fleet with a new, purpose-built vessel.[14]
| Vessel Name | Built | Entered Service for Mercy Ships | IMO | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Mercy | 2021 | 2022 | 9726499 |  | |
| Africa Mercy | 1980 | 1999 | 7803188 |
| Vessel Name | Built | Entered Service for Mercy Ships | Left Service for Mercy Ships | IMO | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anastasis | 1953 | 1978 | 2007 | 5379729 |  | Scrapped at theAlang Ship Breaking Yard in 2007[15] |
| Good Samaritan (1983 - 1994)Island Mercy (1994 - 2001) | 1961 | 1983 | 2001 | 5276135 |  | [data missing] |
| Caribbean Mercy | 1952 | 1994 | 2006 | 5280930 | | Scrapped in 2010 |
Mercy Ships is a predominantly Christian interdenominational missionary organization, describing their mission as "bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, following the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus".[16] The organization treats all patients free of charge without regard to their religion, race, or gender.[17]
Its volunteers have provided services and materials valued at over $1.85 billion. Mercy Ships has delivered services to more than 2.87 million direct beneficiaries and Mercy Ships volunteers have performed more than 117,000 free surgical procedures, such as cleft lip and palate, cataract removal,burn contracture release, and orthopedic and facial reconstruction.[citation needed]
Mercy Ships is aBetter Business Bureau accredited charity.[18]
Mercy Ships has conducted multiple medical missions in Madagascar since 1996, providing free surgeries and healthcare training. Major field services in 2014-2016 and 2023-2024 focused on surgical care, medical capacity-building, and hospital partnerships. Working with the Malagasy government, Mercy Ships aimed to improve medical access and infrastructure.[19][self-published source]
In December 2011, Mercy Ships signed on as a full partner to a Health Agreement with Sierra Leone, focusing on improving the country's principal hospitals. The agreement calls for Mercy Ships to focus on upgrading medical and surgical services, patient recordkeeping and the physical conditions of hospital buildings and infrastructure.[20][self-published source]
The organization's partner in Sierra Leone is the Aberdeen Women's Centre, formerly the Aberdeen West Africa Fistula Center. The Aberdeen Women's Centre is one of the few locations on the African continent offering obstetricfistula repair for women who have been injured during childbirth. Started by Mercy Ships[21] with the Ministry of Health, Addax Foundation and other partners,[citation needed] the Fistula Centre is now operated by the Gloag Foundation.[21]
After a period of maintenance in the Canary Islands, theGlobal Mercy returned to the Port of Freetown in August 2024 for another field service.[citation needed]
The Mercy Ships 2013 field service in Pointe Noire marked the first visit by a Mercy Ship to the Republic of Congo.[citation needed] Mercy Ships partnered with the country's Ministry of Health, and programs addressed requests by the authorities in the Republic of Congo to support continuing education opportunities for practicing professionals.[citation needed] Those included mentoring and training in nursing, anesthesiology, infection control, cataract removal surgery, basic surgical skills, trauma care, newborn resuscitation, palliative care, midwifery, and community health education. Mercy Ships partnered with local hospital infrastructures to help improve quality of care, teamwork and communication.[citation needed]
In August 2018 Mercy Ships arrived in Conakry for the fourth time and stayed there for a ten-month mission.[22]
Medical personnel on board the organization's hospital ships provide surgeries and healthcare to treat a wide range of problems, includingcleft lip and palate,cataract, bowed legs (genu varum),burns and burn scars, dental problems and obstetric fistula repair for injuries sustained during childbirth.[23] Many of these ailments are extremely severe because patients have had little prior access to medical care.[8] In addition, people with disfiguring medical conditions have often been shunned by their communities, so medical treatment from Mercy Ships can also help relieve the stigma and isolation that they have experienced.[24]
The lower deck of theAfrica Mercy is equipped with five operating theaters, 82-bed recovery wards, a CT scanner, an X-ray machine and a laboratory.[citation needed]
On the upper decks of theAfrica Mercy,[25] the ship has 126 cabins that provide accommodations for more than 400 crew, including families, couples, and individuals. The ship is equipped with a day care center, an accredited academy for all grades through senior year of high school, a library, a launderette, a shop for groceries and sundries, a restaurant, a gymnasium, and a donatedStarbucks cafe. A fleet of 28 vehicles travels with the ship, for use in Mercy Ship's land-based operations.[26]
Meanwhile, theGlobal Mercy is 174 meters long, 28.6 meters wide and has space for 200 patients, six operating rooms, a laboratory, general outpatient clinics, dental, and eye clinics and training facilities.[citation needed]
During a typical year, the two ships will include more than 3,000 volunteers from 60 nations serving on board the fleet. About 200 African nationals also serve as day crew on the ship in any given port.[23] TheGlobal Mercy is the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, theGlobal Mercy has the capacity to accommodate 641 people on board, including crew and medical staff.[citation needed]
Mercy Ships offers short-term (from a few weeks up to a year) and long-term (more than one year) volunteer opportunities.[27] Due to the nature of the ship, positions for surgeons, dentists, and nurses are often readily available, but jobs such as deckhands, carpenters, seamen, teachers, cooks, engineers, machinists, welders, plumbers, videographers, photographers, writers, electricians and agriculturalists are also available.[27][28] Volunteer crew often serve as blood donors, since there is a high demand for donated blood due to limited space to maintain a blood bank on board.[29]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
