UK News

In the lead up to Easter 2010, Mercy Ships will once again be running its Easter Breakfast fundraising campaign to help improve the lives of the poor and needy.

The campaign to encourage schools, offices, churches and communities across the UK to hold Easter Breakfasts kicks off this month as the Africa Mercy hospital ship arrives in Togo to provide free medical care to thousands of people in need.  read more »

Mercy Ships UK has appointed its first Community Fundraiser in the South West region as part of its commitment to developing the charity across the UK. 

Christine Hartley, who lives in Ivybridge with her husband and two teenage children, joined Mercy Ships this month with more than six years experience in the fundraising sector.   Christine will help to raise the profile of Mercy Ships, working with volunteers across areas such as Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Bristol.  read more »

Mercy Ships has raised over £50,000 through its annual Grand Prize Draw, with the winner announced last week by Lord McColl of Dulwich, Chairman of Mercy Ships UK.

The first prize – a luxury trip for two at the award winning five star Fairmont St Andrews Hotel in Scotland was won by Mrs Foley from Northamptonshire. 

Speaking after announcing the winner, Lord McColl said, “It is wonderful that we have been able to raise this amount of money for Mercy Ships this year, especially as we are in the middle of a recession.   read more »

Last month, an ITV crew from the north-east of England went to Benin to catch up with British volunteers serving on board the Africa Mercy, many of whom they had filmed previously when the ship was being converted in Newcastle and again on its first field service in Liberia last year. 

Click the link below to see the first of the five films in the series.

http://www.itv.com/tynetees/africamercypart120301/

A 100–year–old lady is among a group of islanders on the tiny island of Sanday in Orkney that has knitted over 200 teddy bears for patients on board the world’s largest charity hospital ship, the Africa Mercy.

As part of her Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, Lena Alice (15) organised the knitting drive on behalf of Mercy Ships, the international charity that provides free medical and humanitarian care to some of the world poorest people.  read more »

Following a highly successful inaugural Ball in January of this year, Mercy Ships is set to hold its next Ball on 16th January 2010.

The Ball will have an African theme and will celebrate our work in Benin in 2009, as well as the charity’s return to Togo in February, where the previous ship has been a number of times.  read more »

Laurence Biggs, Vicar at St Giles Church in Codicote and his wife Alison, have raised over £3000, for Mercy Ships, by successfully reaching the summit of Mount Kenya at 17,057ft, on September 17th 2009.

Climbing Mount Kenya was an opportunity for keen adventures’ Laurence and Alison to both support Mercy Ships, and celebrate their Silver Wedding Anniversary in a truly memorial way.  read more »

Ann Gloag OBE, co-founder of the transport company Stagecoach, and Trustee of Mercy Ships UK, received a humanitarian award at a gala dinner held at the United Nations

The National Council of Women of the United States, a U.N. affiliate, chose Ann Gloag to receive its inaugural Susan B. Anthony Humanitarian Award, named after the only woman to appear on a U.S. coin and one of America’s most famous human rights pioneers.   read more »

Mercy Ships UK has launched its new range of Christmas cards for 2009 which can be purchased online to raise support and awareness for its work in Africa.  read more »

A British Anaesthetist who has volunteered in Africa more than 20 times in the last 18 years has received a top honour from The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland.

The ‘Pask Certificate’ has been awarded to Scottish-born Doctor Keith Thomson, a consultant anaesthetist at the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust, in recognition of his volunteer work with Mercy Ships.  read more »