Living Life Aboard a Floating Hospital
The author, 14-year-old Caleb Biney, is one of 39 Kid Reporters in the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps. He reports “news for kids, by kids” from onboard Mercy Ships in Africa. My parents volunteer for Mercy Ships. Founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens of Lindale, Texas, the organization utilizes hospital ships to serve people in West Africa. Vessels provide clean water, electricity, and free surgical care to people living in poverty. I have lived on the Africa Mercy since I was six months old.
New Mercy Ship Funding by PIMCO Philanthropists
Mercy Ships, the charitable hospital ship foundation, is delighted to announce the leadership gift of $20 million from Laguna Beach philanthropists, Sue and Bill Gross. The funds are designated toward a new hospital ship, currently in the design phase, to join the current hospital ship, the Africa Mercy , in delivering hope and healing to the underserved poor. In honor of this generous donation, the hospital onboard the new ship will be named the Sue and Bill Gross Healing Hospital.
Seagull Donates Training Software to Mercy Ships
Norwegian seafarer training specialist, Seagull, has donated software to Mercy Ships, the operator of the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. Mercy Ships provides free health care, community development, health education and agriculture projects, mental health programmes and palliative care. “The donation from Seagull increases the skills of our crew, and the onboard training programmes will allow us to direct even more of our resources to the people of Africa,” said Arvid Solheim, National Director - Mercy Ships Norway.
Mercy Ships Arrives In War-Torn Liberia
The Mercy Ship Anastasis has arrived in Monrovia, Liberia for her first ever visit to the war torn West African nation. At the urging of United Nations officials, the Liberian Government and the National Council of Churches, Mercy Ships will provide a full slate of specialized medical services as well as community development assistance over the next four months. Mercy Ships will offer desperately needed operations and medical procedures unavailable in Liberia such as tumor removals and cleft lip/palate repair. According to US AID, the Liberian civil war (1989-1996, 1999-2003) claimed the lives of more than 150,000 Liberians and further displaced approximately 850,000 others into refugee camps.
