Plymouth couple return from volunteering on world's largest charity hospital ship
Husband and wife, Simon (55) and Liza (58) Crewe, from Plymouth, have recently returned from Guinea, West Africa, after volunteering on board the world’s largest charity hospital ship, the Africa Mercy.
Simon, a Dentist, and Liza, a Chemotherapy Nurse, arrived onboard in April and are frequent volunteers with Mercy Ships.
Run by the international charity Mercy Ships, the Africa Mercy offers free medical care and humanitarian aid to some of the world’s poorest people. The ship has just finished a 10 month outreach in Guinea and will arrive in the Republic of Congo on the 9th August where it will start its next mission.
Simon said: “I first heard that Mercy Ships was coming to Plymouth through my father, a maxillo-facial surgeon, and he was very excited.
"After I saw the ship and the work that they did, I knew I wanted to volunteer but at the time they didn’t have any more space on their dentistry team so I actually signed up to help in the shipyard.
"I’m quite good with plumbing and electrics so I ended up welding and cutting holes! When I came onboard they invited me to apply for the medical team and subsequently I have been volunteering as a Dentist ever since."
Liza said: “I have volunteered three times. Simon has been on board more times than he can remember - we think he has been away about 75 weeks in the last ten years.
“My contribution has been mostly supportive. Like many other people I know through Mercy Ships, I feel I take home more than I can ever give. When on board I have helped in a range of areas - palliative care (when I also had the privilege of visiting the patients in their own homes), the ship coffee shop, ward visitor, and the Hope Centre.
“The Hope Centre is a Mercy Ships funded project where they support local hospitals.
"This year part of the programme was to upgrade a wing of the Ignace Deen Hospital in Conakry which means the hospital was left with upgraded facilities when the ship left earlier this month. While the ship was in port, patients who needed a longer recovery period than the ship could provide, also stayed at the hospital.”
Simon said: “I have had so many amazing experiences volunteering for Mercy Ships.
"One that always stands out in my mind is this one patient in Liberia in 2005. He had a huge bone infection and there was an extensive operation in order to remove it.
"I was onboard the ship for 7 weeks that time. He was discharged after a month and when he heard I was leaving he came back to the ship to have his photo taken with me.
"The year after, when we went back to Liberia, he came all the way back to the clinic to have his picture taken with me again. His gratitude was overwhelming and very humbling.
"It’s very hard to pick a favourite trip or experience though, that’s like choosing which child you love the most!
“Back in the UK I work as a Forensic Odontologist which involves me assisting the police with their investigations through the use of dental records.
"However I regularly help charities scout new locations for dental practices in countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh. In the past, dental equipment has been donated to an area in need but there has been no one who can actually practice dentistry.
"I try and source dentists who can come to an area and once this is secured I can advise the charities to donate the equipment.
“I have chosen to volunteer with Mercy Ships because they focus on long term continuity. They do not just go somewhere, help a few people and then leave.
"Mercy Ships focuses on training the people who can continue the good work when they have left. They are usually based in a country for about 10 months so this means they have time to do the training and to help educate people, Mercy Ships is about sustainability and making change happen for good.”
Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK, said, “Volunteers are the lifeline of the charity and without them we simply would not exist. We are extremely grateful to people around the UK, like Simon and Liza, who continue to support us.”
The Africa Mercy is staffed by up to 400 volunteers from 40 nations that give up their time to help others. Volunteers range from surgeons and nurses, to cooks and engineers.
The Africa Mercy was converted from a Danish rail ferry into a state-of-the-art hospital ship, with six operating theatres, X-ray facilities and CT scanner, a pharmacy and a laboratory. There is capacity for 78 in-patients with four wards and a small intensive care unit, as well as accommodation for 450 volunteers.
Founded in 1978, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at more than £630million, helping in excess of two million people.
The international charity has treated more than 520,000 people in village medical and dental clinics, performed more than 56,000 surgeries and completed more than 1,000 community development projects focusing on water and sanitation, education, infrastructure development and agriculture.
