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Mercy Ships Celebrates Lasting Impact in 2023

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Mercy Ships provided 3,295 surgeries for patients like Malang in 2023. Of those surgeries, 1,437 took place on board the Global Mercy™ during field services in two ports – Freetown and Dakar. The ship served patients from three countries – Senegal, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone. This work was only possible thanks to more than 1,318 skilled volunteers from over 67 countries, including 660+ Senegalese, Gambian, and Sierra Leonean national crewmembers.

Africa

More volunteers than ever are needed to devote their time to international charity Mercy Ships as it prepares to start 2024 with two hospital ships in service as the momentum to deliver improved surgical care across Africa intensifies. The charity’s newest hospital ship, the Global Mercy®, continues to provide surgeries in Sierra Leone, where it has been since August 2023, while the Africa Mercy™ will start service in Madagascar.

From Crewmember to Caregiver: Ngordy’s Mercy Ships Story

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Ngordy Sow was working as a national interpreter with Mercy Ships in his home country of Senegal when he received his next assignment. He was asked to care for a new patient, a young boy named Mamadou, who was on board the Africa Mercy® to receive surgery for a painful hernia. When Ngordy arrived in the ward to start his shift, he was in for a surprise.

Senegalese health minister praises Mercy Ships’ partnership ‘considerable contribution’ on international stage

Gratitude for Mercy Ships’ work was publicly shared at the joint Third Congress of the Senegalese Society of Pediatric Surgery and the Ninth Congress of the African Society of Pediatric Surgery in Dakar last week. Secretary General of the Ministry of Health and Social Action Professor Habib Ndiaye acknowledged the lack of pediatric surgeons in the country and thanked Mercy Ships for helping to tackle the very high demand for child orthopedic surgeries.

Meet the “Faithful Servant” of the Mercy Ships Rehab Team

While the Africa Mercy® and Global Mercy™ were docked in Senegal, volunteer physical therapists from all around the world came on board for months at a time to offer their skills and expertise. More than 350 patients came across many different volunteers on the physical rehabilitation team – but there was one familiar face that almost every patient met: Mame Birame Sy.

Mother’s relief as daughter given life-saving surgery by charity Mercy Ships

A mother who lived in fear her daughter’s fast-growing tumor would suffocate her is rejoicing after a surgical charity gave her daughter life-saving surgery.  Without a single maxillofacial surgeon in her home country of Sierra Leone, Yei had no one who could treat her daughter.  While she was pregnant, Yei had no ultrasound, and no reason to think her baby would be born anything but healthy. When she first saw the lump on her baby’s face and neck at birth, she felt devastated. 

Finding Light in the Darkness: Umu’s Story

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Have you ever met someone whose eyes dance when they talk? That’s the very first thing everyone notices when they encounter 3-year-old Umu. Her aunt, Fatmata, has always been amazed by Umu's effortless ability to make friends, regardless of where she goes. “She’s a very brave girl,” Fatmata shared. “She's intelligent. She’s a fast learner.” But although this contagious joy is Umu’s trademark now, it wasn’t always this way. Her birth came with an unexpected twist as she entered the world with a benign tumor growing from the side of her face and neck. This was a shock to her mother, Yei, who’d had no reason to expect anything other than a healthy baby girl. Seeing her firstborn with the growth was utterly devastating.

Life-changing Healing for Samba

After 56 years with a cleft lip, it took just a two-hour surgery to change Samba’s life and unleash his God-given potential.   Samba, a widower with four children, worked as a cattle farmer in rural Senegal, where he faced discrimination due to his lifelong condition.  He had grown used to his cleft lip drawing unwanted attention. Physical attacks were so commonplace that Samba couldn’t guess how many times they had happened. 

Guinea’s only dental school expanding in pioneering educational project to transform access to quality care

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CONAKRY GUINEA – 6 November 2023 - The critical need to give the people of Guinea access to quality dental care is taking a major step forward with the expansion of the country’s only dental school.  

The Future Holds Great Promise: Diarra’s Story

For 25-year-old Diarra, stepping into the operating room of the Africa Mercy® was a moment more than a decade in the making. She had been looking for healing for a facial tumor for almost half her life.  “I feel so good inside my heart,” she exclaimed about her opportunity for surgery. “I have been to many different doctors, but they couldn't heal it.”  She couldn’t recall when the tumor began to grow. All she remembers is being a teenager and experiencing a toothache that led to a small growth. From there, “it just kept getting bigger.” Diarra’s parents took her to several hospitals. Each visit was a step in an uphill battle, made harder by their meager earnings as small-scale farmers. Medical costs loomed large, forcing them to choose between caring for their other children or seeking healing for their daughter. Eventually, they stopped looking. 
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Africa Service Center (ASC)

Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,

Appartement 3ème étage à droite,

Dakar, SENEGAL

Africa Service Center (ASC)

Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,

Appartement 3ème étage à droite,

Dakar, SENEGAL

Tel: +221782967104 /776447017

africa@mercyships.org

© 2025 – Mercy Ships

Terms and conditions

Contact Us
News
Press
Videos

Africa Service Center (ASC)

Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,

Appartement 3ème étage à droite,

Dakar, SENEGAL

Africa Service Center (ASC)

Rue Thann, Immeuble Sea View,

Appartement 3ème étage à droite,

Dakar, SENEGAL

Tel: +221782967104 /776447017
africa@mercyships.org

© 2023 – Mercy Ships

Terms and conditions