Mercy Ships runs the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world. They have provided surgeries and medical capacity building to third world countries for over 40 years.
Interested in a volunteer opportunity? What’s more amazing than an entire crew comprised of volunteers? From the Captain to the surgeons. A snapshot of a typical day includes over 400 crew members from 40 countries.
The way it works, is that an African host country invites the ship to their country for 10 months – August through June. (When not in field service, the ship undergoes maintenance usually in Spain or South Africa.) Note: The 2020 pandemic and the addition of a second ship to the fleet may change the previous schedule moving forward.
Not in the medical field? Actually, over half the crew are in non-medical positions. It takes a lot of support to make it all happen.
Take a look at the available job opportunities here. As a faith-based organization, long term positions are open only to Christians. However, those of other beliefs who are attracted to the mission are invited to apply for short-term positions.
If you love the mission, but aren’t in a position to volunteer — perhaps you’d like to consider an individual or corporate donation.
History and Mission
If you’d like to learn more about how Don Stephens founded Mercy Ships, he penned a book called Ships of Mercy.
This 4-minute clip is a quick overview of the history.
Here is a personal examination conducted by 60 minutes (13-minute video).
Have you served with Mercy Ships or another NGO in Africa? Please share in the comments!
