Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal Visits the Africa Mercy

Garden Valley, Texas October 28, 2011 -- Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the world’s largest charity hospital ship in Sierra Leone on Wednesday, October 26 as part of her tour of the West African country. The Princess Royal is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh of the British Monarchy.

Accompanied by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, The Princess visited the 16,000 ton Africa Mercy which is run by the international Christian charity Mercy Ships.  The charity provides free medical care and humanitarian aid to some of the world’s poorest people.

The Africa Mercy, a former Danish rail ferry which was converted into a hospital ship, is in its eighth month of a 10-month field service in Sierra Leone, a country that Mercy Ships has visited seven times over the last 19 years.

The Royal couple toured the ship’s hospital deck visiting the operating theatres and the ward where they met some of the patients currently being treated on board, as well as the medical volunteers who serve on the ship.

The Africa Mercy is staffed by more than 1000 volunteers from 40 nations annually, with about 400 onboard at any one time.  Her Royal Highness and the Vice Admiral met many volunteers from the United States, including Rachel Bethke, a galley team leader from Minnesota.

The Royal couple were also shown the non-medical areas of the ship including the bridge and the on board school, which educates the children of the volunteer crew.  They also met some of the non-medical volunteers who ensure the day-to-day running of the ship, which is best described as a ‘small town’.

The volunteer crew who pay their own airfare and crew fees to cover the cost of their time onboard, range from the Captain, surgeons and nurses, to cooks, cleaners and engineers.

Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK who is currently on the ship in Sierra Leone, said, “It is a tremendous honor for Mercy Ships that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence took time out of their busy schedule to visit the Africa Mercy. 

“It was a real treat for the patients in the ward and it meant a great deal to all the volunteers onboard, especially those from the United Kingdom who were thrilled that The Princess chose to spend time visiting the ship and learning about the work of the charity.

“This is the Mercy Ships seventh visit to Sierra Leone and the team this year has worked extensively with the Ministry of Health and local hospitals to focus on capacity building and the training of local doctors, anesthetists, nurses and other health professionals.”

Since February, Mercy Ships volunteer medical teams in Sierra Leone have performed more than 2,700 surgeries and 28,700 dental procedures and over the last 30 years, the charity has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at $834 million and impacting about 2.9 million people.

The international charity has treated more than 520,000 patients in village medical and dental clinics, performed more than 56,000 surgeries and completed over 1,000 community development projects focusing on water and sanitation, education, infrastructure development and agriculture.

For more information on Mercy Ships please visit www.mercyships.org.