Mercy Ships Africa Blog

Dr. Fabruce Ramaherimamonjy epitomizes the African Union’s theme of this year’s Africa Day: Educate an African fit for the 21st Century. He remains steadfast in his commitment to prioritizing medical education to elevate standards of healthcare for his fellow Malagasies. But it wasn’t always his life plan.

When 13-year-old Ibrahim arrived at the Global Mercy™ in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the left side of his face was tremendously swollen, protruding well beyond the teen’s jawline. He’d developed a simple toothache when he was 9 years old, but left untreated, the problem worsened, and a big part of his jawbone became infected.

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.