A new ship, Global Mercy, is ready to sail to Cameroon, where thousands of hopeful children are waiting to be rescued, while another is waiting to resume its work in Senegal, which was interrupted by the Covid pandemic.
Last Friday, March 3rd, in Rotterdam, a representative of the Grand Chancellery of the Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy had the great privilege and the wonderful opportunity to board the new hospital ship of Mercy Ships, an international charity based in Lausanne which since 1978 has saved thousands of children, giving hope to many families, bringing help and comfort to the most remote countries in the world and which, thanks to the generosity of the Dames and Knights of the Dynastic Orders of the House of Savoy, the Savoy Knightly Forces, through A. I.C.O.D.S., have already been supporting for three years.
Each year, Mercy Ships provides more than 1,500 surgeries and 8,000 dental treatments on board its vessels, supporting the health systems of the developing countries it visits by training local staff and upgrading medical infrastructure.
All crew members (medical and nursing staff, teachers and other volunteers) have given up their jobs and embarked on this self-financed humanitarian adventure, sometimes with their families in tow.
Don and Maryon Stevens, the founders of the organization, dreamed of giving “dreams of healing” to the poorest people on the planet by reaching inaccessible areas by sea.
Their dream has become reality with two hospital ships that are equipped with 7 operating theatres on board, 641 volunteers of 40 different nationalities including doctors, technicians and general staff, 1,000 meals served for a total of 3,000 meals every day.
This year, thanks to your generosity, we were able to support Mercy Ships with a donation of over 30,000 euros for a paediatric surgery project and a maxillofacial surgery project for children suffering from cancer, often due to tooth infections.
We visited some of the operating theatres on the ship, the crew’s cabins, the young patients’ rooms with their beds already prepared to accommodate a relative, decorated with soft toys, to make the young patients feel at home. During the visit, we had the opportunity to collect and share many moving testimonies.
Once they have recovered, the young patients return to their villages with new clothes and are greeted with great celebrations of life and dreams of recovery that, thanks to Mercy Ships, become reality.
To see the report of our day on the ship you can read the dedicated posts on the official social media pages of the Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy.
There is still a lot we can do to help the children assisted by Marcy Ships. Help us support them and share our stories and reports on your social media profiles.
