Mercy Ships Africa Blog

It takes hundreds of volunteers to power Mercy Ships’ mission of following the model of Jesus to deliver safe and free surgeries via hospital ships. Those volunteers need to be equipped with professional skills in medicine, seafaring, accounting, cooking, and many other fields. They hail from countries around the world, and they must navigate long journeys, language barriers, visa procurement, and more logistics before they board the ship and begin serving. Through it all, the Mercy Ships People & Culture (P&C) team is beside them, offering crewmembers the support and expertise they need to succeed.

Florence Bangura’s history with Mercy Ships spans 20 years, covering two countries, three ships, and four field services. At the age of 29, Florence worked as a welder on board the very first Mercy Ships hospital ship, the Anastasis, just a week after becoming officially certified in her trade. She later came on board the Africa Mercy® as a national day crewmember when it visited her home country of Sierra Leone in 2011, and in 2018 returned to the ship during its field service in the neighboring nation of Guinea.

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.”