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.

At a young age, Florence Bangura was barred from working and married off by her father. But the adversity may be the reason the 49-year-old from Sierra Leone is today the embodiment of what International Women’s Day is all about.

For the last 20 years, Ramatulai’s voice had been locked inside, as she was completely unable to open her mouth.  The rare condition, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis, affected Ramatulai from early infancy when she experienced trauma to her jaw as a newborn.