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| Africa Mercy underway |
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| Crew member Sharon Walls
visiting a patient in the Mercy Ships ward while docked at Ghana |
Some crew
members, like Rotary Club of Takapuna North, NZ, Past President Larry Robbins,
are short term ‘repeat offenders’. The retired naval commander packed his bags
in March for a fourth tour-of-duty aboard the Africa Mercy. He will
spend two months donating his skills in Madagascar, as Second Officer. Aside
from his maritime duties, Larry intends to visit the local Rotary club, as he
did previously in the Canary Islands and Republic of Congo. “The
internationality of Rotary and my smattering of Spanish/French enabled me to
follow the meetings. It was a particular highlight in Pointe Noire to get to
know the club’s Executive Secretary, and I was able to enjoy some unique local
experiences because of our friendship.”
Like
Larry, Mercy Ships New Zealand Director Graeme Walls and Communications Manager
Sharon Walls are Paul Harris Fellows. These Mercy Ships ‘long termers’ rubbed
shoulders with others who held youthful dreams to better society through
service at Rotaract in Cashmere and Plimmerton in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
They joined Mercy Ships independently in 1983. Four ships, four land-based
international offices, and three children later, the Walls remain committed to
networking with established professionals and business-people with a passion to
make a difference in the world around them. They also are Madagascar-bound,
transferring from the New Zealand office to the Africa Mercy later this
year for a year.
Mercy Ships
last docked in Madagascar in 1996. At that time Sahondra was a patient whose cleft
lip and palate was repaired on board. She recently gave the ship’s crew a
surprise return visit. She was so excited to see the surgeon who performed her
free operation all those years ago, and changed her life forever. Sahondra
brought pictures of her experience to show everyone at her emotional reunion.
Even basic
healthcare is unavailable to most Madagascans. Treatable conditions like cleft
lip and palate abnormalities become life-long burdens. Sahondra said, “The care
that Mercy Ships gave me so many years ago changed my life. I could never say
thank you enough.”
Thanks also
to Rotary Clubs of Takapuna North and Browns Bay for their support of Larry and
the work of Mercy Ships.
Watch the
CBS News Hospital of Hope documentary on 60 Minutes http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/africa-mercy-hospital-of-hope/
Additional
side bar information:
Madagascar
is a far cry from Disney’s dancing penguins. The east African island is twice
the land mass of New Zealand, with a population of 23 million (3.6 million
children under five years), 90% of whom live on less than $2.25 per day. 12% of
the country’s roads are paved. There are around 5,000 nurses in the whole
country.
In the first
13 weeks of the Madagascar field service Mercy Ships provided:
- 531 surgeries
- Treated 2000 dental patients
- Mentored 19 nurses, surgeons and anaesthetists
- Provided ongoing education to 165 local healthcare professionals
