Mercy Ships Launches Strategic Partnership with Rotary

Posted by Mercy Ships staff on Oct 05, 2011 at 08:54 am

Mercy Ships is proud to announce a three-year strategic partnership with Rotary International beginning in Fall 2011. The two organizations have a history of working together on an international scale to positively impact health care in developing nations.  

Through the partnership, The Rotary Foundation will offer packaged global grants to assist their Rotary clubs in assembling vocational training teams of medical professionals. These teams will travel to the hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, and perform or assist in surgeries onboard.  

“This strategic partnership with Mercy Ships enables Rotary to work with a globally recognized leader in the delivery of vital medical and surgical care to the world’s most vulnerable populations,” says Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair William B. Boyd. “It allows Rotary club members to directly contribute their valuable expertise and skills within the framework of a proven and highly successful health care program.”

Rotarians have a record of working with Mercy Ships, carrying out projects in several countries. The Rotary clubs of Jacksonville, Florida, USA, and Tema, Accra, Ghana, helped equip the Africa Mercy in 2007 to provide medical aid in Ghana. Jacksonville Rotarians also partnered with the Rotary Club of Monrovia, Liberia, to support eye and facial surgeries for more than 1,200 patients in Monrovia from 2008 to 2011.

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland named Mercy Ships as its Charity of Choice in 2005-06.

Rotary Foundation Global Grants support large, international projects with sustainable, high-impact outcomes in Rotary’s areas of focus. Packaged global grants developed by the Foundation and Mercy Ships will directly support the area of focus encompassing disease prevention and treatment. Because the administrative work of designing the project and finding a partnering organization has already been done, Rotary clubs and districts can focus on identifying beneficiaries, providing technical expertise or direct service, and publicizing the effort.

“Mercy Ships is honored to be chosen by The Rotary Foundation as a strategic partner for disease prevention and treatment," says Don Stephens, president and founder of the charity. "The scope of Rotary’s service to humanity is truly monumental, and it is my belief that the synergy of our organizations working together will be an even greater force to increase health care delivery systems in West Africa.”

Information on how pilot clubs and districts can apply for packaged global grants with Mercy Ships will be available soon at www.rotary.org.

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