About Mercy Ships

I've gotten some emails asking for more information about Mercy Ships so I thought I would give some more information about this organization. It is definitely an organization I am proud to be a part of and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to get involved in mission work.

Mercy Ships is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor using Jesus as its example: the blind see, the lame walk, the mute speak and the Good News is proclaimed and demonstrated. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know about the hospital - where surgeries are performed everyday to restore sight, repair orthopedic problems, restore dignity to women leaking urine, remove facial tumors and restore function to burn victims. This is a large part of what Mercy Ships does but it's not all.

One of the problems with many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) is that they come into countries like Liberia that are in desperate need of support (and I'm sure with good intentions) but cause long-term stability problems. If an NGO comes in and gives handouts but doesn't create programs that are viable once the NGO leaves, then they have not really helped all that much. For example, if an NGO comes to Liberia and distributes rice for free, it is definitely welcomed during the emergency phase when people are starving. However, if they continue to distribute rice for free for years on end without establishing any programs to help people find ways to provide food for themselves, then what happens when that NGO leaves? People again are starving and have no means to feed themselves.

Mercy Ships is different than these other types of NGOs. The hospital part of Mercy Ships is definitely a unique program that really only impacts the individual who is having surgery. It doesn't necessarily have an impact on the nation as a whole. But the hospital is only one ministry that Mercy Ships offers.

Mercy Ships partners with local organizations (usually churches) in the country where we are working that already have visions and goals. We don't come in to start programs on our own - we only help local organizations that are already working to make a difference. So when Mercy Ships leaves the country, the program doesn't just fall apart.

For example, a Mercy Ships team helped build a new medical clinic. This clinic was the vision of a local church. The church had saved enough money to purchase some land and was planning on building a house for their pastor. However, the church/pastor decided that the community needed a medical clinic more than the pastor needed a house. So they decided to use the land for the clinic instead. They were in the process of making the cement blocks for the new clinic when Mercy Ships came alongside them and helped to build the clinic. It is staffed by local doctors/nurses and just opened in September. It is the only clinic available to serve this community of 50,000 people. This clinic is not dependent upon Mercy Ships for funds or volunteers. It is self-sufficient and when we leave in November it will not be affected.

Here are other programs that Mercy Ships has going on in addition to surgeries while we are here:
Womens empowerment - teaches women how to create and operate two businesses: how to raise rabbits (to sell) and how to raise bees (to sell the honey).
Agriculture - teaches farming techniques (including to prisoners so they will have a skill when they get out).
Community Health Education- works with a village to reduce health problems caused by lack of hygiene, latrines, clean water, etc.
HIV/AIDS - challenges pastors to form groups and lead the campaign to address this issue.
Mental health - developing programs at the request of the Liberian govt to address the mental health issues caused by the trauma of war.
Church empowerment - assists to bring churches together to make a difference in their community. Is sponsoring an upcoming pastor's conference that over 450 pastors will attend.
Schools - a new school in Congo Town was built. The community had already laid the foundation of the school when Mercy Ships came alongside them to help finish the project.
Dental Clinic - operates daily out of Redemption Hospital to provide free dental work. In addition, they travel to the prison to also perform free dental work.
Mercy Ministries - provides opportunities for the crew to volunteer at Sisters of Charity (the organization created by Mother Teresa), two orphanages, a home for the disabled, the mens and womens prisons and the pediatric hospital.

Mercy Ships also has a land based operation in Sierra Leone where they have a permanent clinic that performs free VVF surgeries (the leaking urine problem) as well as the New Steps rehab clinic providing rehabilitation services to physically disabled people (1 out of 10 people are disabled in Sierra Leone because of the civil war).

Mercy Ships also has a land based operation in Honduras called Global Missions Health Institute. It's an educational and empowerment program that assists medical professionals and community health workers to design programs for sustainable health care improvements in the communities in which they live.

As you can see, Mercy Ships is more than just a hospital ship and we are always looking for volunteers. Any skill that you possess can be utilized by Mercy Ships. The medical staff is a small part of this organization. In addition, we have accountants and hairdressers here; chefs and kitchen staff; housekeepers and hospitality crew; engineers, electricians, plumbers, deckhands, security and maritime officers (and many other ship-type positions that I've never heard of like bosuns)...it takes a lot of people to run this big ship! You can come for as little as two weeks or for as long as the rest of your life (if you come forever, you get a better cabin:).

So there's my plug for this great organization. You can check out their website at http://www.mercyships.org/.

Peace,
Michele