From the Field

Dr. Faya Yaradouno, a general surgical resident at a hospital in rural Gabon, has completed his surgical rotation onboard the Africa Mercy. Mercy Ships surgeons mentored him in general and maxillo-facial surgery, and Dr. Yaradouno called the experience “very beneficial.”

“I learned so much from the experienced surgeons,” Dr. Yaradouno said. “They have taught me very good skills.”  read more »

Even though Mercy Ships will provide free life-changing surgeries for thousands of people during this year’s outreach in Benin, there are cases where a person cannot be helped medically by Mercy Ships because of cancer or other terminal illnesses. However, there are still ways that Mercy Ships helps these suffering individuals.  read more »

At the beginning of June, Mercy Ships volunteer surgeons screened dozens of women for obstetric fistula repair. Twenty-seven of them were selected as fit to receive free operations to restore them to new hope and new life.

Obstetric fistula is a condition that results from obstructed childbirth, often causing the death of the baby being born. The women then become incontinent and are often shunned by their communities and families. An all-too-common occurrence in countries with inadequate medical care, the women face unparalleled isolation and shame.  read more »

The community of Ifangni consists of 71 small villages, located a few miles north of the capital of Benin. The community has suffered from a severely high infant mortality rate due to sickness and disease caused by poor hygiene and malnutrition. Mercy Ships became of aware of these problems during its 1997 outreach to Benin.

When Mercy Ships made contact with the community, a nutrition programme was established to monitor children’s weights and educate their mothers on healthy living and eating.  read more »

Cotonou, Benin, 14th June 2009.  Millions of people around the world owe their lives to individuals they will never meet — people who donate their blood to help others. 

But crew members on a Mercy Ship live and work just minutes away from the patients who receive their “gift of life” every day in West Africa.

The blood bank onboard the Africa Mercy is not stored in a refrigerator in neatly labelled packages for days or weeks.  read more »

Along with providing thousands of surgeries to the people of Benin during the 2009 Field Service, Mercy Ships is also offering medical training to health care workers and surgeons to build the capacity of Benin’s medical sector for years to come. 

Dr Steve Arrowsmith is training surgeons in vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) repair, while general surgeons Dr. Jose Uroz Tristan and Dr. Bruce Steffes are training surgeons from Benin and other parts of West Africa to increase the capacity for surgical care.  read more »

The Mercy Ships Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) programme has begun in Benin; overseen by Carlos Amaral, a Biomedical Instructor onboard the Africa Mercy.

Although Benin is one of the least developed nations in the world, several investments have been made in the area of health care development, there are only three qualified biomechanical engineers working in the entire country.  read more »

Approximately two blocks from the port of Cotonou, where the Africa Mercy is currently docked, is a warehouse.  In the past five weeks, it has undergone a tremendous transformation. 

Now referred to as the Hospitality Centre (HC), it functions primarily as a non-medical, temporary housing unit for pre-and-post-op patients and their caregivers. It consists of two air-conditioned wards with room for 76 beds, as well as bathroom facilities containing showers and flush-toilets.  read more »

The beginning of Spring marks new life for Justine and Parra - the first women healed from Vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) during the 2009 Field Service. 

Those with VVF leak urine constantly, and as a result, are shunned by their communities and often their families, living in hiding and suffering from overwhelming shame and trauma.  read more »

Mercy Ships has begun performing free operations and critical health care training to medical professionals in Benin.

At the Hospital of the Mother and Child in Cotonou, Mercy Ships doctors. Uroz Tristan and Keith Thomson performed two successful oesophageal atresia repairs, which correct malformations or small holes in the oesophagus. This complex procedure had never before been performed in Benin.

During the first operation, Dr Tristan operated while Dr Thomson anesthetised as a local surgeon and a local anaesthetist observed to learn the technique.  read more »