Two remarkable women reunited in October after 30 years.

Three decades ago, a Mercy Ships volunteer nurse, Aly, was visiting a local hospital in Sierra Leone. She found an 18-year old young woman named Catherine who had been in labor for four days. She and her unborn baby were surely nearing death.

Aly and another volunteer organized an emergency C-section delivery for Catherine. Mother and baby survived.

Four months ago, Aly and Catherine reunited in service together aboard the hospital ship Global Mercy. The emotional reunion of the veteran Mercy Ships volunteer, Aly, and the young woman she worked hard to save many years ago was illustrative of the power of the generational relationships formed through Mercy Ships. 

Now a mother and grandmother, Catherine had returned to Freeport to serve as a volunteer, thereby perpetuating a legacy of care.  

The two certainly share a bond – a bond of life. 

There may be no better witness to the good works of Mercy Ships than this story, although there are hundreds, thousands, of other stories,  many just as poignant and just as powerful. 

The non-profit humanitarian organization headquartered just down the road in Garden Valley is readying itself for a banner year. For the first time in many years, Mercy Ships will be operating two hospital ships.

The newly-constructed Global Mercy is in service, while the veteran Africa Mercy has completed a major refit. For the first time since 2007, Mercy Ships will have two hospital ships providing life-changing care to the far reaches of the globe. 

The Africa Mercy is just days away from mooring at Toamasina, Madagascar. The ship had just completed a 7-month maintenance and renovation period at Dormac Marine and Engineering in Durban, South Africa. 

In addition to a multitude of maintenance actions and inspections required while in dry dock, the Africa Mercy received significant information technology (IT) and habitability upgrades. The IT improvements were necessary to allow Africa Mercy to communicate adequately with the Global Mercy. The habitability improvements greatly increased the living standards for the crew and volunteers.

The Global Mercy is presently on task in Sierra Leone. She will pass out of service in June in order to undergo periodic inspections after her first year in service. In August she will return to Freetown, Sierra Leone to conduct a 10-month mission.  

The management of these two floating cities presents myriad operational and logistical challenges. Mercy Ships manages these large hospital ships from the International Support Center at their Garden Valley compound.

The 500-acre campus is a village in its own right. The facilities from which the approximately 150 local employees work include a variety of offices housing an executive element, a human relations team, an information technology team, marketing personnel, donor services, accounting, shipping and receiving, a cafeteria, a chaplaincy,  café, and maintenance team. 

A variety of accommodations are also maintained on campus to house the volunteers and crew while they undergo new-hire orientation. The two-week training period is considered essential in ensuring the mission and values of Mercy Ships are fully appreciated by those heading out to join the ships as well as those serving a supporting role ashore. 

A weekly community gathering is held for all employees and volunteers worldwide to provide program updates and encouragement for their support of Mercy Ships.

While Garden Valley may be the epicenter of ship support, it is far from the only Mercy Ships office. The non-profit organization maintains 17 international offices. Additionally, an African Bureau office has been stood-up in the West African nation of Benin, while the Mercy Ships Global Association is located in Switzerland.

All shoreside staff serve the strategic five and ten-year plans which guide near-term efforts. The international offices facilitate advance mission planning – each mission requires about two years of pre-visit liaison with national authorities – volunteer recruitment and fund-raising.

Beyond providing free surgical, medical and dental care, the mission of Mercy Ships involves partnering with governments and the nations they serve to improve local health care infrastructure.

Mercy Ships has completed over 1,000 infrastructure development projects developing medical facilities ashore, donating medical equipment, and training local personnel. Sustainable medical care can be continued ashore long after the ship departs.

Once the Global Mercy became active, Mercy Ships more than doubled its capacity overnight. Hence, the organization is actively recruiting volunteers with a wide range of skills. In addition to medically-trained personnel, especially nurses, there exists a need for mechanics, drivers, counselors, carpenters, maintenance men, cooks, cleaners, marine personnel, sterilization technicians, teachers, computer specialists and more.   

The work aboard Global Mercy and Africa Mercy continues apace. The performance of Global Mercy, the first purpose-built ship to have served in the Mercy Ships fleet, has been overwhelmingly positive. She is reported to be ‘running like a dream,’ and the crew is especially impressed with the degree of precision in her construction. 

Mercy Ships accelerates access to surgical care and surgical education – strengthening the nations they work with, and igniting hope where hope has been lost.

Additional reporting on Mercy Ships in the Wood County Monitor may be found in the Jan. 13, 2021 edition ‘Ships of mercy take healing around the world,’ and Jan. 11, 2023 edition ‘Mercy Ships’ newest floating hospital in service.’