Coffs Harbour nurse Margo Clerc has returned from serving as a volunteer with Mercy Ships in the West African nation, Benin, on the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship Africa Mercy.
"I have long had a strong desire to help others in need, and a heart for Africa and its people," she says. I heard about the work being done by volunteers serving with Mercy Ships through a Christian radio station and in a nursing journal and began the process of offering to serve using the skills I have gained through a long nursing career."
"Flying to Benin is not what I would call the easiest holiday I have booked. Flying to non-tourist destinations can involve negative encounters with officials, as well as providing opportunities to meet uplifting, inspiring and helpful people. It was a busy time preparing. Completing the necessary application forms to volunteer, obtaining holiday and long service leave, getting references, visas and immunisations, medical checks, booking flights and learning as much as I could about Benin prior to departure. My family was very supportive, and there were only a few negative responses from colleagues at work"
As with all Mercy Ships volunteers, Margo paid her own way to and from Benin, and while onboard paid crew fees for accommodation and food to offset ship's running costs, enabling the charity to provide all of its medical and community development services completely free of charge to the people of Benin, one of the world's poorest countries.
Margo says the people of Benin face many challenges. "There are no such things as Medicare or social security. People die from diseases that are fully preventable or curable simply because they can't afford to pay for the most basic of medical care or medicines. Many who have conditions that are curable or at least manageable in the developed world face a lifetime of being shunned by society, ostracised, utterly lonely, and totally dependent on charity. That is one of the reasons why it has been such a privilege to be involved. To see the joy on the faces of mothers when their children come out of successful surgery and now with hope of a future. The wonder in the eyes of the elderly when they can see again following simple cataract surgery. Such memories are absolutely priceless."
"While there were many wonderful experiences, there were also some that were heartbreaking. So many men needed surgery to correct hernias, but there were not enough beds. These are men who are so poor they cannot continue to do hard work to keep their families, and will not be able to do so until their hernias are repaired. There are many women with goiters resulting from a lack of iodine in the diet, but the surgery schedule is filled with life-threatening cases only. There are children with deformities like club feet. Corrective surgery is available in our country when such children are small. I remember a woman who came onboard with a two-year-old son who had broken his elbow two weeks previously and had not been able to obtain medical help. That arm will never be normal."
"Despite all of that, Mercy Ships is doing something very positive, giving so many people a hope for the future they would not otherwise have. There was real joy for women receiving corrective surgery for obstetric fistulas resulting from prolonged or obstructed labour in childbirth. These are women who had been rejected by their communities and even their families because of their incontinence. Some were not yet 20. Others had lived as total outcasts for 40 years. The joy on their faces when they were discharged following a special ceremony of song and dance as they received colourful new dresses to signify their new start to life was just amazing, and very moving to witness," Margo concludes.
Mercy Ships is a global charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978. Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide.
Mercy Ships offers a range of health and community development services free of charge. Highly skilled surgeons on board the ships perform thousands of operations each year to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness. Medical and dental teams travel the countries and establish clinics to provide vaccination programs, dental treatment and basic health care for those with no access to these facilities. Local community health workers receive training in hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.
Mercy Ships builds hospitals, clinics, training facilities and basic housing where none exist. Agricultural projects help replenish livestock in war-torn areas and boost food production. Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves. The result is a way out of poverty. The emphasis is on the needs of the world's poorest nations in West Africa, where the hospital ship Africa Mercy provides the platform for services extending up to ten months at a time. Mercy Ships works on land-based projects in Sierra Leone in partnership with other organisations, while teams also work in several nations of Central America and the Caribbean. Mercy Ships Australia, one of 14 international support offices is based on the Queensland Sunshine Coast. www.mercyships.org.au