The Mission
Capacity Building
Medical Training & Mentoring
Mercy Ships builds local capacity through the training of national surgeons and nurses in new techniques and procedures appropriate for their work environments. Health care workers also receive WHO training in disease management to increase effectiveness of local health care efforts. Local health care workers include medical specialists and generalists, dentists, ophthalmologists, surgeons, doctors, nurses, midwives and traditional birth attendants, community health workers, and medical students.
Medical Tools & Resources
Health care workers in the developing world often lack resources such as medicines, equipment, and specific tools necessary to deliver basic medical care. In addition to providing training and support, Mercy Ships helps meet these practical challenges through the distribution of appropriate medical equipment and resources, along with biomedical training in equipment maintenance and operation.
Medical Infrastructure/Construction
Health care workers in the developing world often lack adequate facilities to provide health care to their communities. Medical administrators with limited financial resources are often choosing between infrastructure development/ maintenance and paying their workers. Collaborating with local health care partners, Mercy Ships provides construction and renovation services that increase access to local health care while maximizing the impact of local health care resources.
Community Health Education
Lack of knowledge about basic health care leads to thousands of preventable deaths each day in the developing world. Mercy Ships works with local partners to break the cycle of disease through training in basic health and hygiene, first aid and HIV/AIDS prevention, and community advocacy.
Agriculture
Mercy Ships partners with local agencies to help families and communities learn practical and natural food-producing skills, thereby directly reducing malnutrition and increasing food security. Improved crops and land stewardship result in more income and bring better health to the farmer, his family, and his community. Agriculturalists address topics such as crop rotations and garden planning, seed sowing and saving, natural disease and pest controls, and water conservation and irrigation practices.
To learn more about Mercy Ships agricultural program and how it benefits the local farmers and community, watch this brief video:
Clean Water & Sanitation
Mercy Ships helps to address drinking water problems – the source of most disease in the developing world – by partnering with local agencies and communities to provide training and assistance for digging new wells and repairing existing water systems. Trainees receive basic education in maintenance and care of the wells and pumps. Development teams work with villagers to build latrines, a basic component of a healthy community, and to teach about waterborne diseases and sanitation options.
Leadership Training
As a faith-based charity, Mercy Ships emphasizes a relevant message of lasting societal change based on biblical principles. Local leaders, teachers, and churches are encouraged to see themselves and their communities as agents of change with the abilities necessary for development. Conferences and workshops offer practical insights and ideas on issues like HIV/AIDS, micro-finance, and community cooperation.
For a look at Mercy Ships Surgeries & Health Care programs, click here.
For a look at Program Proposals please contact Resource Development.
