Mercy Ships Assist the Poor
When I was interviewing Michael Beans for All At Sea, I became quite interested in his charity - Mercy Ships and decided to do some research. What I found was quite fascinating and I thought that readers of AAS might enjoy knowing about these charitable medical hospitals at sea. Basically, Mercy Ships is a global charity serving people of all faiths that welcome volunteers who have the time to devote to the work of bringing hope and healing to the poor in third world countries.
Their ships at sea have performed more than 2 million services, costing 250 million dollars, bringing medical help to over 5.5 million people since their founding in 1978 by Don Stephens.
Until recently, there was a Caribbean Mercy Ship which joined the fleet in 1994 and primarily focused on the Caribbean Basin and Central America. Unfortunately, it was placed into a Not-In-Service mode starting 6 June, 2005 for a period of 6-12 months. When I investigated this, I discovered that it is not known when or if it will rejoin the worldwide fleet due to lack of funds. Obviously, this would be a wonderful way to contribute to a project that directly affects our area. The crew on Caribbean Mercy Ship has transferred to other Mercy Ships locations or ships.
Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide, bringing hope and healing to the poor and serving all people without regard for race, gender or religion. Their crews and staff are multi-national using land-based teams, as well as those on board, to supplement the work of the ships. Converting old cruise ships to hospital ships, they bring world-class medical assistance and long-term sustainable development to over one million people a year. Their corporate sponsors and gifts-in-kind donations result in over 2:1 leverage for all financial gifts; however the crews defray costs by paying monthly crew fees.
Their areas of concentration are to help the blind see (cataract operations), the lame to walk (orthopedic operations) and the mute to speak (cleft-lip and palate operations). They also offer Women's reproductive health (VVF operations) and help to spread the “Good News” concerning the nature and character of a loving God, which they proclaim among the poor.
They also welcome volunteers who would like to give of their time, efforts and expertise to the work helping them to reach their ideals. Short-term volunteers can participate from two weeks to a full year with Mercy Ships, while others may choose to serve in a career capacity. The Founder & President of Mercy Ships, Texas Attorney Don Stephens runs the International Operations Center in Garden Valley, Texas, where he directs and leads an international workforce of over 850 professional volunteers in 17 national offices and on hospital ships. Currently, Mercy Ships operates three hospital ships worldwide. The flagship of the growing fleet, the m/v Anastasis, is currently the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship. All ships are crewed by skilled international professionals including deck officers, engineers, lab technicians, doctors, surgeons, galley crew, etc. They all serve as volunteers with all community development services and health care services provided free - for the poorest of the poor.
Don also runs the Voice of “The Mercy Minute”, a radio broadcast aired on over 700 stations daily and is the author of three books: Ships of Mercy, “The improbable but thrilling story of how a farm boy built a navy, how a retired ocean liner learned to be a hospital, and how a boat load of volunteers are changing the face of the world…one person at a time.” Thomas Nelson Publishers US and Hodder & Stoughton UK Publishers, 2005; Trial by Trial, Harvest House Publishers, 1985; and Mandate for Mercy, YWAM Publishing, 1995.
Let’s get Caribbean Mercy Ship back into service. Please visit www.mercyships.org to see how you can help.
-Performed more than 18,000 operations such as cleft lip and
palate, cataract removal, straightening of crossed-eyes, orthopedic and facial
reconstruction.
-Treated more than 300,000 people in village medical
clinics.
-Performed 110,000 dental treatments.
-Taught over 5500 local health care and professional
workers, who have in turn trained multiple thousands in primary health care.
-Trained local medical professionals in modern health care
techniques to carry on after the ship leaves.
-Delivered more than $21 million of medical equipment,
hospital supplies and medicines.
-Completed close to 350 construction and agriculture
projects including schools, clinics, orphanages and water wells.
-Demonstrated care & love to people in 95 ports in 53
developing nations.
-850 career staff and crew from more than 40 nations serving
today.
-More than 1,600 short-term volunteers serving with Mercy
Ships each year.
