Rachel Miller, a nurse from Redcliffe in Brisbane, has just finished nearly two months of service as a volunteer on the world's largest charity hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, in the West African nation of Togo, one of the world's poorest countries.
Now in her fourth year of nursing and currently working at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane, Rachel says she had previously done short term medical work in India. "I heard of the work of Mercy Ships at a church missions conference while in high school and kept the possibility of offering myself for voluntary service with the charity in the back of my mind for some future time. Members of my family and friends at church have been extremely encouraging and supportive of my decision to go to Togo, but some work colleagues could not understand why I was giving up my time and money to do such a thing."
"As with all volunteers serving with Mercy Ships, I had to pay my own way to and from Togo, and while onboard the ship paid weekly crew fees to help offset the running costs, thus ensuring that all health and community development services could be provided to the people of Togo completely free of charge. My time onboard was spent working as a general ward nurse, but because of my paediatric experience I was dealing mostly with younger patients who had come for a range of surgical procedures to correct deformity and disability."
Rachel says what is being done in the hospital and throughout the community is very worthwhile. "Many of those suffering from conditions like facial tumours, cleft lips and palates, bowed legs and women with childbirth injuries that have left them incontinent are quite broken in spirit. They are very often rejected by family and community, often ostracised and excluded from normal living because of their conditions. It is such a joy to see such lives transformed, knowing these people will again be accepted by their families and communities."
"There were many highlights during my time nursing such patients. There was a special moment when a patient who'd had a disfiguring facial tumour removed did a dance for joy in the ward after looking in a mirror and seeing his new face. That man had been an outcast for four years. He had lost his wife and family. Now his hope had been restored."
"I have made friends with people from around the world, my time in Togo has taught me new nursing skills and my passion for missions and serving God with my nursing skills in some way in the future has deepened," Rachel 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 Africa Mercy with six operating theatres, a 78-bed hospital and crew of more than 400 volunteers provides the platform for a range of 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