For a child in a low-income country, an unmet medical need creates a ripple effect. Often, it means that child is unable to go to school. Without an education, the trajectory of their whole life will change. “That child might have amazing...
Alastair Edwards rose from able seaman to the third officer and then the second officer during ten months volunteering onboard the hospital ship the Africa Mercy. He looks back at his rewarding but demanding time in the second instalment of...
A determined former GP who suffers a number of health conditions ran the Manchester Marathon yesterday (April 3rd) to bring life-changing surgery to the world’s poorest nations. Ruth Stunell from Rawtenstall, Lancashire, says her own health issues have made her realise...
Nurse Rachel Greenland from Devon is preparing to volunteer for Mercy Ships for the 15th time. But what keeps her coming back? In the second instalment following what inspires her returns, Rachel tells us in her own words what makes...
Dr Michael Spence, President & Provost at UCL, is announced as Mercy Ships UK’s new Chair of the Board of Trustees. Dr Spence moved from Australia last year to lead UCL, a top ten university in the QS World University Rankings....
Kind-hearted Anna Gray did something very special on her tenth birthday – she helped bring life-changing surgery to the world’s poorest nations. Anna from Belfast asked her friends to donate to Mercy Ships as her late father often did before he...
Nurse Rachel Greenland has volunteered onboard Mercy Ships hospital ships for 20 years, using her expertise to help answer patients’ prayers: “Many people have prayed for someone to help them for years – being part of the answer to their...
Richard O’Shea has spent his life as a seafarer, but no ship impacted him the way the Global Mercy did, when he first stepped onboard: “I have been onboard thousands of ships, but it was amazing – a purpose-built hospital...
The sun shone brightly when the yellow ambulance of Stichting WensAmbulance Oost-Nederland arrived, right next to the Global Mercy, setting off bright white against the clear blue sky. It was a very special day for 87-year-old Mrs Teuna Damming. Her greatest wish...
HRH The Princess Royal became Patron of Mercy Ships International in 2021, and today commemorated the launch of the charity’s new hospital ship, the Global Mercy. She travelled to Rotterdam today to meet Medical & Maritime volunteers who are...
Volunteering for Mercy Ships has been a transformational experience for great-grandfather Alan Hitchborn. After the loss of his beloved wife, the veteran baker felt he needed to discover new purpose and meaning and he found that onboard the hospital ship,...
A grandmother of five who had a fear of public speaking is standing down from the lectern after raising £76,000 delivering more than 270 speeches about Mercy Ships. Retired nurse Frances King, 75, from Lancashire - who worked in the NHS...
Ruth Cooper believes teaching has always been her blood and, combined with a sense of adventure, the 45-year-old has found her perfect niche teaching onboard a hospital ship bound for west Africa. Since she was a little girl, Ruth Cooper’s favourite...
Matthieu Bhoyroo is about to head to Senegal, West Africa, to take on a role at an extremely exciting time for Mercy Ships – and for him personally. Here is his story. As the pandemic took hold in 2020, many found...
If you had a career break, how would you use it? Travel? Perhaps spend time on a new interest to develop yourself professionally? Learn about different cultures? Nurse Jenny Powell discovered it could be all these and more when she...
