As a member of the international community living and working on board the Global Mercy™, volunteer assistant bosun Ishaka Sesay is conscious that he has become an ambassador for his home country of Sierra Leone.
“That is why… people never see me with a frowning face, always with a big smile,” he explained. “That will take you a long way, toward whatever you do.”
In 2015, in an operating room on board the floating hospital of the Africa Mercy®, the course of Vanya’s life changed.
Until then, the 11-year-old had spent her childhood challenged by windswept legs that curved sideways. The condition – often caused by a combination of genetic factors and malnutrition – kept her from walking effortlessly or wearing the skirts and leggings she longed to wear.
“Life is hard… Having a child who was born without the ability to eat,” said Ndeye.
Ndeye’s only son Cheikh was born with both a cleft lip and a cleft palate. Because of these conditions, Cheikh struggled to breastfeed. Ndeye fed him milk from a bottle instead, trying desperately to make sure her baby had the nutrition he needed.
Mercy Ships strives to make safe surgical care accessible for as many as possible on board its fleet of floating hospitals, providing more than 114,000 life-changing or lifesaving surgical procedures since 1978. However, the sad reality is that not every single patient Mercy Ships meets can benefit from surgery. This is where the palliative care team comes in, serving to bring hope and healing through compassionate care and companionship to those with terminal illnesses.
TOAMASINA, MADAGASCAR – International charity Mercy Ships yesterday [February 1st] returned to Madagascar to bring transformative surgical education and free, life- changing surgeries.
Freshly refitted hospital ship, the upgraded Africa Mercy® has arrived at the island nation to build on the charity’s longstanding collaboration and will provide specialized surgeries in various fields, including maxillofacial and ear nose and throat, general, pediatric specialized general, pediatric orthopedic, cataract surgery, and reconstructive plastics.
For Maria Kuo, an interest in Mercy Ships and the free surgical care it offers has always been a part of her life. At the age of nine, her parents took her to a Mercy Ships tour in Gisbon, New Zealand, where she learned about the urgent need for direct surgical care and medical resources in sub-Saharan Africa. Maria determined, right then and there, to become a part of Mercy Ships’ greater mission.
In 2024, Mercy Ships is excited to add the next chapter to our decades-long collaboration with Madagascar. During this coming field service, we plan to bring hope and healing anew by providing transformative surgical education as well as life-changing free surgeries to patients on board the Africa Mercy®. These operations will cover a range of specialties including maxillofacial and ENT, general, pediatric specialized general, pediatric orthopedic, and reconstructive plastics.
EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA 25 JANUARY 2024 – This week, following a recrewing effort, the hospital ship the Africa Mercy® departed from the Port of East London for service within the nation of Madagascar for the next 10 months.
During an eight-month refit in Durban’s Dormac Shipyard, the ship underwent extensive repairs and maintenance to prolong and improve the vessel’s service life and improve the quality of the ship’s medical services.
In the often male-dominated field of medicine, Professor Fanjandrainy Rasoaherinomejanahary is part of a legacy of female healers.
“I am the daughter of a nurse,” said the Malagasy surgeon and professor of visceral surgery, who goes by Prof. Fanja.
As a young girl, Prof. Fanja had a unique vantage point in the field of medicine, observing as her mother worked in a surgical ward. As she watched her mother help patients on their way to healing, a dream began to grow in Prof. Fanja’s heart.
Professor Fanja is on a mission to uplift surgeons and enhance the healthcare system in her home nation of Madagascar.
Having benefited from the guidance of skilled teachers during her own training, Prof. Fanja, whose full name is Professor Fanjandrainy Rasoaherinomejanahary, specializes in surgery of the abdominal organs and entire digestive tract, is determined to pass on her knowledge to the next generation of surgeons.
Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,
Appartement 3ème étage à droite,
Dakar, SENEGAL
Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,
Appartement 3ème étage à droite,
Dakar, SENEGAL
Tel: +221782967104 /776447017
© 2025 – Mercy Ships
Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,
Appartement 3ème étage à droite,
Dakar, SENEGAL
Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,
Appartement 3ème étage à droite,
Dakar, SENEGAL
Tel: +221782967104 /776447017
africa@mercyships.org
© 2023 – Mercy Ships