Without volunteers like Trent Yoder, Mercy Ships couldn’t provide surgeries for patients efficiently. As the team lead in the preoperative department, Trent coordinates the intake of patients seeking free surgical care on the Global Mercy™.

By the age of 10 years old, Fudia had grown accustomed to the daily struggles of walking with severe bowed legs, including the curious looks from people and the ridicule of children in her community. According to Joseph, Fudia’s uncle and guardian, she was born with the orthopedic condition. “We noticed it the very first day she was born; her legs were not normal,” he shared. In their hometown in Sierra Leone, it is believed that continuous massaging of the legs with warm water will straighten out the legs, but despite this care, Fudia’s legs only became more bowed as she grew.

Running a hospital isn’t an easy task — it takes leaders carefully orchestrating a sea of moving parts to keep operations running smoothly. Matron Betsy Deen is that person at Connaught Hospital’s surgical department in Freetown, Sierra Leone.  During Mercy Ships’ 2023-24 field service in Freetown, several training opportunities were offered through Education, Training, and Advocacy (ETA) programs, which helped strengthen the ties between Mercy Ships and Sierra Leone’s healthcare network.