From Shame to Celebration: Mercy Ships Women’s Health Program
Welcoming a new baby into the family should be a time of pure joy and celebration. But for an estimated 100,000 women around the world each year, childbirth instead ended in a devastating injury. Obstetric fistula is a condition that often occurs during prolonged and...
Lasting Impact in Action: Ly Cheick’s Story
Ly Cheick, a 24-year-old Guinean student, was in the prime of life with plenty of dreams for the future. However, he had a problem — one that was only getting worse over time. He had noticed a bump growing in his mouth that was becoming more and more visible. In 2020,...
Tresor
When 4-year-old Tresor first opened his eyes after the surgery that removed his bilateral cataracts, his anxiety was soon replaced by a beaming smile. After months of slowly losing his eyesight - and facing a future of blindness - Tresor’s wide-eyed excitement at...
A Glimmer of Hope
When Diacko was about three years old, his legs began to bow. Other kids made fun of him, and soon, even his own friends called him "the bowlegged boy." It wasn't until the arrival of the #AfricaMercy in Senegal that Diacko's mom, Youma, began to feel a glimmer...
Fatou
Upon first glance, one might mistake two-year-old Fatou (right) and her four-month-old brother (left) for twins. Born with a cleft palate, Fatou has had difficulty feeding and has not received the proper nutrition a growing baby needs. "I worried about what her...
Meet Michelle White
South African Physical Therapist Michelle White says that working for Mercy Ships has been on her radar since graduation. Now a reoccurring volunteer, Michelle shares that, "on the ship we are able to offer high quality treatment to patients – it is probably the...
A New Life for Marie Madeleine
Marie Madeleine is incredibly smart. In addition to speaking Wolof and French, this 13-year-old is learning English on top of her studies. She loves school, but there is one class she cannot participate in—physical education. As her classmates run around the yard,...
Dr Odry Agbessi
“When I was 12, I saw a woman on TV … her suitor had burned her with acid. Her face had become fused to her neck, so she could never look a person in the eye.” Dr. Odry Agbessi mimics the condition, tucking her chin in close to her throat. “There was not one plastic...
Seny Gets Another Chance
Before her tumor, Seny was studying economics at the University of Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. With goals to graduate and get a job in finance, the future looked bright for this highly intelligent young woman. Then, suddenly, a small bump appeared on the inside of...
Isatu’s Healing
Sometimes the biggest change we see in our patients has nothing to do with the medical condition our volunteers treated. After free surgery onboard the Africa Mercy, Isatu is healing on the inside and the outside. No "thank you" could ever mean as much as the smile on...
Monique’s New World
At 3 years old, cataracts caused Monique’s world to fade. Now 10, she is shy & timid, staying at home with her grandmother instead of going to school. Monique, eye patient, at her home before surgery. At 6 years old, she had almost lost her sight completely. She...
Life Behind Closed Doors
Confort never imagined the morning she put on a pot of boiling water to make some rice for her hungry daughters would be the start of a mother’s nightmare. One-year-old Gamai, who had just started walking, toddled past the pot knocking it over as she fell. As the...