An infirmary on a ship is nothing extraordinary. But what if we told you that there is an entire hospital on board? This is the extraordinary story of the humanitarian organization Mercy Ships. Founded by generous American and Swiss donors, it owns two hospital ships. Currently on the African coast, every day, they save lives thanks to on-board personnel, who are always volunteers. A third hospital ship is under construction. Florine Perri, the French director of Mercy Ships, is looking for applications. (Rebroadcast from May 11, 2024)
RFI : Your hospital ships are incredible, huge decks and floors, what do you find on board? ?
Florine Perri : Already the operating theatre and the hospital occupying two decks out of twelve, with the hospital cabins on two floors. Enough to rest the sick and sometimes some members of their family. On board, we have all types of surgery (but especially facial operations or malformations that cause discrimination), we also find the training school available for new arrivals. All the comfort for our staff is there. A gigantic restaurant, a bar, a sports field, a rest room.
You invite listeners to go and see the images of the boats on your website. : mercyships.fr.
Really, yes. You will understand why we have so many volunteer candidates. Comfort, team spirit, good humor and safety are assured.
How many volunteers for which jobs? ?
The vast majority of these 3,000 volunteers are medical personnel. Nurses, doctors, surgeons. But we obviously need maritime professionals. Captains, mechanics as well as merchandise inventory managers or human resources managers.
In 45 years, you have sailed the seas of the entire world. Do you have a future in store for African countries, particularly with this third hospital ship planned for 2029?
Yes, we are currently operating in the countries of the West African coast. We are also in Sierra Leone, the boat will stay there all next year. Our boats also operate in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin up to Madagascar, where we are at the moment. For the English-speaking African countries, we are going to Tanzania, Liberia.
You say you need French-speaking staff ?
Yes. On board, nurses must speak French and English. Even if it is only a conversational level, it is important to be able to master both languages.
How do you position yourself to decide on destinations? ?
So, let me be clear. Our hospital ships do not replace the health systems of countries. Governments have to call on us, they apply and we sign an agreement.
Patients are selected by medical authorities, the government ?
These are the countries, depending on their needs and patients, who have specific surgical requests. Here again, we do not replace, we help.
Also readIn Senegal, the “Global Mercy”, the largest civilian hospital ship in the world, inaugurated in Dakar
