Jenny Darvas of West Pennant Hills in Sydney is nearing the end of two months service as a volunteer onboard the world's largest charity hospital ship in Togo, West Africa, one of the world's poorest nations. She serves as an Intensive Care Unit nurse in the 78-bed hospital with six operating theatres and state-or-the-art facilities.
"I am privileged to be part of an amazing team of volunteers, more than 400 at any one time serving on the ship, seeking to bring hope and healing to the world's forgotten poor," she says. "The people of Togo have nothing when compared to what we in the developed world consider necessary for everyday life, but they are incredibly strong, resilient and grateful for the help they are receiving. They are an inspiration to me. Mercy Ships volunteers are making real changes in the lives of many people in the nations of West Africa where the Africa Mercy spend up to ten months each year in one of a number of poor nations."
"It is not only medical work being carried out. While free surgeries are provided onboard to correct disability, deformity and blindness, other volunteers are out in the country working with local organisations on a range of community health, educational, agricultural and development programs."
Jenny heard about the work of Mercy Ships through a missionary agency, and felt the call to offer herself for two months service as a volunteer, paying her own way there and back and paying crew fees onboard to help offset the ship's running costs. "I have a passionate heart for the poor of the developing world, and with a 25 year background in nursing felt I could play a part. I had been to Africa once before, but it was still very confronting to arrive in Togo after a 40-hour flight, and see the extent of poverty up close."
"It wasn't easy to leave home. I left at home my husband and family of three young adult children, all of whom fully supported my decision to serve in this way. I had to organize my family and take long-service leave. Being away from family and friends for eight weeks has probably been the most difficult aspect of this time."
"For the people of Togo there is always poverty, and lack of access to adequate medical care, even if they could afford it. It has been an enjoyable time from a nursing point of view, facing the challenges of nursing in a very different environment. There have been so many highlights it is impossible to start listing them. Probably the best thing was seeing the way lives are changed physically, socially and spiritually. Many came to the ship for surgery to correct gross deformity. Such people had been often rejected by family and community because of such things as huge benign tumours. Or there were women who had been incontinent for years as a result of obstetric fistulas. We saw such lives transformed, and self-worth restored."
"When people who don't know Christ see others working joyfully to serve Him, such as I see in crew members on the Africa Mercy, they cannot help but wonder why. The answer is always and simply because we love and serve a life-giving God. In Togo, I believe God has used my nursing skills to help show His love to others. It is my hope that I can continue to work towards further opportunities of serving in a health care role in the developing world," Jenny concludes.
Mercy Ships is a global charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978 providing free health care and community development services to the forgotten poor. Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor. 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 world's largest charity 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