Mercy Ships UK Onboard Magazine | Summer 2024

News and stories from the Mercy Ships community

Enduring hope

“I

can’t wait to go back home feeling healthy”

Inside: Astou’s journey to healing

About us

Our hospital ships bring free, life-changing surgeries to women, men and children across sub-Saharan Africa.

Safe surgery is out of reach for 9 out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa. This is unjust. We believe everyone has the right to safe surgical care, whenever they need it.

As a faith-based organisation, we follow the model of Jesus to bring hope and healing.

Our hospital ships are fuelled by your love and support.

Hope. Healing. Transforming lives.

mercyships.org.uk 01438 727800

info@mercyships.org.uk

This is the place where lives collide passion stirs faith’s renewed hope and healing is born.

Will you make this place your home?

Thank you for your valued support

It takes courage to hold on to hope. To keep believing that change is possible – even when everyone around you tells you it’s not.

That’s why, in these turbulent times, I am so moved by your unwavering support. Your gifts and prayers are the ever-flowing waters that keep our hospital ships running.

You, our crew, and our patients, are all on an incredible journey together. Together, we are building a legacy of hope and healing, which will be felt for generations to come.

In this issue of Onboard magazine, I hope you enjoy reading how your support is making a lasting impact.

Your kindness will be felt for generations to come.

On page 4, you’ll read about two patients, Samba and Umu, who were both born with conditions that needed surgery.

Their stories remind me of something our longterm surgeon, Dr Gary Parker, once said. “They had been shunned and ridiculed since birth because of a lack of basic surgical care. They are humans just like you and me, with hopes and dreams, but their opportunities had been so limited. I want to allow them a place at the table of humanity.”

You helped Samba find a place at the table when he at last felt loved and accepted. And little Umu has now gone to school, thanks to her lifechanging surgery. Your gifts are not only treating symptoms, but helping to change lives forever.

You’re not only bringing life-changing surgeries to our patients, you’re also empowering healthcare providers across Africa. Read more on page 5.

We’re so grateful for your support.

On pages 6-9, you can read Astou’s story of hope and resilience. She lived with a life-limiting injury for 20 years, because surgery was always too much to afford. I only hope her baby Sokhna grows up with better access to healthcare than her mum ever had. Her healthier future will be thanks to the kindness you show today.

As I reflect on the impact you have made over the past year, I am touched by the countless moments of hope and healing. And now, with two hospital ships at sea, we can touch so many more lives than before.

So I want to thank you for your generosity. For all our volunteers, past and present. For our speakers who inspire more people to join us. For those who have given in their Will, or to remember their loved ones.

Thanks to you, there is so much to feel hopeful for.

With love and thanks,

Joanne Balaam Chief Executive Officer

Images: (Left) Dr Gary Parker. (Right) Astou with her baby, Sokhna.

to be

hopeful Reasons

From helping children like Umu go to school, to providing training for healthcare workers. Your generous gifts have made amazing things possible.

Samba

Finding healing, at last Samba, 56, was born with a cleft lip. He never had the chance for surgery – until now.

“People used to laugh at me when they saw me. They used to run away from me. It was tough.”

“The first time I came to the ship, I was so scared. But the surgeon reassured me and said that he would do his best.”

Dr David Chong, from Australia, was the surgeon who operated on him.

“What struck me about Samba was that he had such a strong sense of self-worth, despite everything he’d been through.

“By one year of age, most cleft lips will be repaired. So you come to Senegal and you meet someone like Samba who’s 56 years old with an unrepaired cleft lip, and you just think, ‘Wow. How did this happen? How did you get to this age?’ But it’s so common here in sub-Saharan Africa.”

It took just two hours to perform his surgery. Samba’s eyes filled with grateful tears as he looked in the mirror, with a smile he’s never seen before.

“When I look at myself, I feel so happy. What you have done for me comes from God. I am the happiest person,” says Samba.

“Samba had such a strong sense of self-worth, despite everything he’d been through.”

Without you, none of this would be possible. You can help more patients find free, expert surgery on our floating hospitals. Give now: mercyships.org.uk/hope

Umu

“She really melted our hearts”

Do you remember Umu from our Christmas Appeal? This little girl was born with a huge tumour on her neck, and she found it hard to eat and breathe. Umu came to us for emergency surgery.

We’ve just heard some wonderful news from Dr Sarah Kwok, Chief Medical Officer:

“Umu and her mum came back to visit us recently on the Global Mercy. Umu has started school for the first time. And her mum doesn’t need to look after Umu all the time anymore – she can now go out and earn a living.”

Thank you – from the bottom of our hearts. You have given children like Umu a new life, full of hope.

Image: Samba meets Dr David Chong before his surgery.

BBC Radio 4 Appeal

We’re so grateful to volunteer surgeon Dr Rachel Buckingham, who spoke on BBC Radio 4 for a special appeal on Easter Sunday.

Dr Buckingham, an NHS children’s orthopaedic surgeon, shared the impact of our life-changing surgeries with millions of listeners on national radio.

The Radio 4 Appeal raised an incredible £67,000. That’s enough to fund surgeries for 150 children like Amadou.

Thank you so much.

Volunteers

Our passionate team of volunteers are working so hard, both at home and abroad...

• 44 crew members from the UK are serving on board our ships, and 58 more will soon be joining them, including surgeons, teachers, nurses, mariners and engineers.

• 89 dedicated volunteer speakers have been spreading the word about Mercy Ships by giving inspiring talks in groups and churches across the UK.

Your support is making a huge impact in Africa

Last year, your support helped deliver life-changing surgeries and trained thousands of healthcare professionals on our hospital ships.

Here’s how you’ve helped make a lasting impact across Africa…

Senegal

You helped 657 patients receive surgery and provided training for 518 healthcare professionals in Senegal.

The Gambia

79 patients from The Gambia received surgery and 140 healthcare professionals received training.

Guinea

Partnerships with the University of Conakry, Guinea, opened doors for training courses in dentistry, anaesthesia, biomedical engineering and more.

Sierra Leone

Since the Global Mercy arrived in Freetown last summer, we’ve performed more than 1,800 surgeries so far.

Liberia

Donations of anaesthesia machines and training for 354 participants have led to safer surgeries in Liberia.

Togo

Your support helped restore sight to 1,688 people with cataracts, through our local partners in Togo.

Benin

34 people received training in nutritional agriculture. With better nutrition, whole communities will lead healthier lives.

Madagascar

We look forward to opening the Africa Mercy for surgeries later this month.

South Africa

Thanks to you, eight courses in safe midwifery and paediatrics for hundreds of trainees took place last year.

A woman of resilience

Twenty years of hiding in shame, and Astou never gave up hope.

Today is the day everyone has been waiting for. The sun is shining. Women drink sugary tea in their finest dresses. Children run barefoot. The bride and groom arrive on a motorbike, horns honking and lights flashing. The whole village is here to celebrate this special wedding day.

But someone is missing.

Astou isn’t here. As she shares her story, you can see on her face how painful it was to miss her own sister’s wedding.

“On the day of the wedding, I locked myself in my room. I told my family, ‘Don’t tell them where I am.’”

Astou shut herself away from the world. She didn’t go to church, her local market, or even her own sister’s wedding day. It’s hard to imagine, but she lived in hiding for 20 years. That’s because she lived with the shame of obstetric fistula.

Image: Astou washes her dresses at home in her village.

My secret shame

Twenty years earlier, Astou woke up from an emergency caesarean, knowing something was very wrong. Her baby’s heart had tragically stopped beating. Her long and traumatic birth had left her with severe internal injuries.

“I stayed in bed for a month, I couldn’t get up or do anything else,” she says, remembering how heavy her heart felt with grief. “At that time, I started leaking urine. I couldn’t stop it.”

Incontinence is hard for anyone to live with. Astou leaked when she sat down, in her bed, everywhere. She often had painful infections.

If Astou had the chance of safe surgery sooner, things would have been so different. She would be a healthy new mum, holding her newborn baby. Instead, she was left with empty arms, a broken heart, and a devastating injury.

Her community saw Astou as unclean. Her husband abandoned her. She shut herself away from the world out of fear that she would leak and smell.

You very rarely hear of an obstetric fistula in the UK. In rare cases when this does happen after giving birth, a woman is given surgery straight away. But two million women in the world’s poorest countries struggle to live with it.

Astou also found she had a swelling on her neck. “When the goitre started, it was so tiny,” she explained. “It continued to grow and ended up so big. I got tired when I walked a short distance. And I had problems breathing.”

What would you do if you were Astou, struggling to breathe? You would pick up the phone and call 999. But Astou had no access to medical help. She spent every day in fear, ashamed by her condition, alone, and short of breath.

Such desperately poor health would drive anyone to despair. But Astou never gave up hope.

“The hospital told me I needed surgery. I didn’t have enough money, so I stayed at home, relying on God.”

Images: Astou was afraid to speak to or even make eye contact with anyone before her surgery.

She always prayed that she would find healing one day.

Finding hope and courage

Letting the sunshine back in her life

For the first time, Astou met women on our hospital ship who had spent years with the same pain and rejection she had suffered. For the first time, she knew she wasn’t alone.

After their surgeries, the women rejoiced together in a special ceremony on our ship. These women had survived the darkest times of their lives. So here, on the hospital wards, they danced with joy as they reclaimed their dignity.

Astou’s prayers were answered when she met Mamadou. This kind and gentle man asked her to marry him. When she told Mamadou about her condition, she expected him to change his mind.

“It won’t stop me from marrying you and doing everything I can to get you medical care,” he told Astou.

Mamadou gave her courage that she would get better. He kept his promise and started saving up to take her to the hospital. They also welcomed a miracle as she gave birth to her beautiful daughter, Sokhna.

A few months later, Astou heard on the radio that Mercy Ships was coming to Senegal. Mamadou held her hand as she spoke to the volunteers. At long last, Astou heard the good news she had waited so long for –she could have surgery – and even better, it would be free!

Now back at home, Astou’s life has changed. Before, Astou never made eye contact, her eyes filled with fear and sadness. Now, no longer in the shadows, she shines like the sun.

“Since she has been treated, she is free and happy,” explains Mamadou. “She can go out and she can also welcome anyone she wants at home with happiness and full of joy.”

Help a woman dress herself with dignity

Could you help another woman who is hiding in the shadows?

A generous gift of £30 today could help fund surgery and a dress ceremony for a woman like Astou. Send a lifechanging gift today at mercyships.org.uk/hope or scan the QR code.

Images: After her surgeries, Astou reclaimed her dignity in a Dress Ceremony on board our hospital ship. She said, “I can’t wait to go home to my husband and daughter feeling healthy.”

A beacon of hope

The newly-renovated Africa Mercy has arrived in Madagascar. Later this month, our hospital ship will open her doors for surgeries. Follow us on social media for more news coming soon.

And in Sierra Leone, where the need is so great, we were asked by the government to stay for longer. So the Global Mercy will continue to serve the nation until summer 2025.

Working closely with our local African partners, we look forward to serving three nations next year – Ghana, Benin and Togo.

PartnerShips

We are proud to partner with maritime industry experts, Spinnaker Global, Seawork and SSY.

Mercy Ships has partnered with hundreds of companies over the past 45 years. Could your workplace be next? Find out more: mercyships.org.uk/partnerships

See you in the fields…

A team of passionate Mercy Shippers are heading to Big Church Festival, New Wine, Focus and Wildfires this summer.

Our volunteers will warmly welcome visitors to our pop-up cinema. Festivalgoers will get free tickets to watch the life-changing miracles that happen on our hospital ships. If you’ll be there, come and say hi – we’d love to see you!

A purr-fect gift

YouTube star, Emma Cruises, has released a new version of her Captain Hudson toy. Emma and her pet cat, Captain Hudson, have a very special place in their hearts for what we do.

So far, Emma has raised an amazing £100,000 by selling her Captain Hudson toys. All profits go to Mercy Ships. These incredible charity donations could fund orthopaedic surgeries for more than 200 children, helping many bright girls and boys to walk, run, and follow their dreams.

Now, Emma has created a new, best-selling version of Captain Hudson. Her fans have posted photos of these cute cuddly toys in locations all around the world, from Dubai to Australia.

“I can’t believe how well it’s gone,” says Emma. “What a privilege to be able to support Mercy Ships and for my followers to hear about the charity too.”

Thank you so much Emma and all your generous followers!

How you can help

As the days get brighter and the nights get longer, we’re glad to see summer is nearly with us!

Why not step outdoors this season, and help transform lives?

Give

Make a lasting impact with a regular gift. Visit mercyships.org.uk/donate

Follow us

Join our online community: @mercyshipsuk

Fundraise

From cake sales to dog walking, there are so many fun ways to fundraise. Go to mercyships.org.uk/fundraise to get started.

Leave a legacy

Remember Mercy Ships in your Will. Go to mercyships.org.uk/legacy to find out more.

Get involved

Run, jog, walk, cycle, or swim for Mercy Ships by taking part in one of our challenge events. Email getinvolved@mercyships.org.uk

Volunteer

Share your time and talents on board our hospital ships. Find your place at mercyships.org.uk/volunteer

Pray

Pray for our patients on board our hospital ships. Find out how your church can support us at mercyships.org.uk/church

Feeling inspired? Why not make something you love and raise money for Mercy Ships.

Brumley, Judit Maier, Tirsa Tapia (pages

Maier © May 2024