HRH The Princess Royal attended a 45th anniversary dinner with Mercy Ships on 26th September, where she celebrated the role of volunteers in delivering the charity’s work on its two hospital ships.
The charity launched a new Volunteer Support Fund during the evening, to enable more volunteers from developing nations to consider being involved in the life-saving work of bringing surgical care to those who need it most.
The Princess Royal, who became the Patron of Mercy Ships International in 2020, is a long-term supporter of the charity. She spoke of how it would remove the barriers for a new generation of volunteers, those from developing nations and anywhere in the world, giving the opportunity to learn alongside international colleagues and bring those skills back to their own countries.
International charity Mercy Ships operates hospital ships that deliver free, safe surgeries and life-changing healthcare to people in sub-Saharan Africa where 9 out of 10 people cannot access safe surgery.
In 2011, HRH The Princess Royal visited the Africa Mercy hospital ship in Sierra Leone. Last year, she visited Mercy Ships’ newest ship, the Global Mercy, in Rotterdam before it sailed to Senegal.
Each year, more than 3,000 volunteers from over 60 countries serve on board the world’s two largest civilian hospital ships, the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy. Professionals from a variety of professions dedicate their time and skills to accelerate access to safe surgical, obstetric, and anaesthetic care.
Many volunteers from the UK and around the world will be volunteering onboard the Global Mercy, which has now docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone for the next 10 months. These include nurses, surgeons, teachers, physical therapists, radiologists, anaesthetists, admin staff, and even a captain of the ship.
Mrs Rachel Buckingham, Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Oxford University Trust, also spoke at the anniversary dinner. She explained why she gives up her annual leave to volunteer on board and what a privilege and joy it is for her to see the lasting legacy left to both patients and in-country professionals she mentors and trains.
Mercy Ships UK CEO Joanne Balaam said: “We are delighted that our patron HRH The Princess Royal was here to celebrate our 45th anniversary and while we launch our Volunteer Support Fund. Her Royal Highness’ continuing support and recognition of all our volunteers’ efforts is more important than ever as we need more than 3,000 a year to volunteer on our two-ship fleet.”
Mercy Ships was started in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens. Since then, it has worked in more than 55 countries, helped more than 1.2 million people and performed more than 110,000 life-changing surgeries.