Operating a fleet of floating hospitals means managing a host of moving parts. From building relationships with other nations to staffing a crew of volunteer professionals – and, of course, serving our patients – you might say the work on board a Mercy Ship requires a...
Zakael grins from ear to ear. On a very hot summer day in Madagascar, the seven-year-old wears his shirt open, revealing a small surgical scar just above his left collarbone. He wears the scar proudly, a symbol of where he has been and where he is going. “I want to be...
William patiently waits as the bandages from his right eye are removed. The 29-year-old sits perfectly still as his eye is wiped clean. He slowly opens his eye as everyone in the room, including his wife and five-year-old son, wait with bated breath. Silently everyone...
It’s impossible to be angry with Vernel because he’s just too cute – and now he knows it! Vernel’s story begins in a fishing village eight hours from Congo’s port city of Pointe Noire. The cleft on the right side of his upper lip revealed his pink gums and front teeth...
Imagine carrying the weight of a four kilogram tumour on the side of your face for over 25 years. Living a life of ridicule and shame. This is what happened to Valerie, as she lived everyday as if it was her last. Her heart broke even more when she discovered that a...
Samory never imagined that neglecting a toothache would result in a facial tumour that threatened to take away his dreams and his life. Four years after the toothache began, the once healthy 25-year-old was a shell of who he once was, as his tumour grew and his...