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| A lemur in Madagascar. This beautiful photo was taken by Duminda Perera. |
As it has finally been confirmed, I will return to Mercy Ships, serving on Africa Mercy (AFM) in Madagascar as a firefighter. The ship will sail to South Africa for its annual maintenance, so I will join for that sailover too. I haven't been to either Madagascar or South Africa yet, it's a dream since many years ago, and I'm very much looking forward to it!
I've written about Mercy Ships previously, as I got accepted for serving in Sierra Leone, was getting ready for the trip, and finally about serving as a firefighter there for a month this summer. Mercy Ships is an international charity-based organisation, founded in 1978, that runs two floating hospital ships at the moment. One is a RoPax ferry, built specifically for that purpose, and that's the one I served on in Sierra Leone. Its name is Global Mercy, and it's only about five years old, still very modern and comfortable. The other ship, called Africa Mercy, is older, it's a cruising ship that has been rebuilt to be a self-sufficient hospital. I have heard a lot about it. When it comes to comfort, it's less modern of course. But when it comes to the sense of community, everyone agrees that Africa Mercy wins. So I'm looking forward to the opportunity to have served on both, so I can compare.
Both ships sail around the coast of Africa, despite the difference in the names. Normally, they go to harbours in developing countries that have a lot of people in need of medical help. They stay there for almost a year at a time, often several years in a row, carrying out surgeries that transform people's lives. The patients would normally never dream of having those surgeries done otherwise, because it's very hard to afford and there is very little available surgical care. They also train local medical staff in order to strengthen the local capacity.
There are groups of specially trained staff that travel the country and find people that need help, and have a good chance to living a better life after the surgery. Then, they are scheduled for the different procedures that are needed. Usually, it's about removing tumors, cleft lips, club foot, helping with burns, dental issues, eye sicknesses and other things that greatly affect the lives of children and adults, causing inability to work or study, or being excluded from the social spheres. You can read patient stories here: in Swedish, or on the international page in English. Behind every story there is a person that deserves dignity and needs hope.
The ships are staffed with volunteers. These are experienced doctors and nurses from the whole world. Some come just for a few weeks at a time, some work here for years, living on the ship with their families, kids studying abroad. They do not get paid, and many of them depend on external funding to be able to continue working for free. Every volunteer has their own page where you can support them - here is mine.
Bear in mind that not only nurses and doctors are needed. The ship needs a huge organisation to function, with several hundred staff on board in total average, with every kind of role from electricians to hospitality professionals. All of these are volunteers, too - and they need new staff continuously. From bakers to network technicians, from administrative staff or project leads to accountants and maintenance workers. Bloggers, photographers, and of course deckhands, engineers and other maritime professionals. And firefighters. So this is why I am here. The role of "firefighter" that I have had on Global Mercy encompassed everything from general fire safety to training of the firefighting organisation of about 30 people, designing and carrying out drills, doing fixed firefighting appliance maintenance, looking into attack plans, analyzing and documenting risks and hazard areas, and much more. Coming on board Africa Mercy, I would expect the role to be similar, but that may change depending on avaiability of other staff, and any specific needs on board.
I'll try to update my Instagram continuously, and will of course report here too, which may take some time as usual. Service will have to come before anything else!
Wishing you a great holiday season. I will spend my Christmas on board in Madagascar, and the New Year somewhere in Indian Ocean, while sailing. A good old tradition, I guess. Take care!