BIRKENHEAD GRADUATE VOLUNTEERS ON WORLD'S LARGEST CHARITY HOSPITAL SHIP

BIRKENHEAD local and Biological Sciences graduate Lizzie Clegg (21) has recently returned from volunteering onboard the world's largest hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, in Guinea.  Lizzie's dedication to the patients and volunteering onboard the Africa Mercy is particularly significant during Student Volunteering Week that started on 11 February and runs until 16 February 2013.

Managed by the National Union of Students, Student Volunteering Week gives organisations like Mercy Ships the opportunity to thank young volunteers like Lizzie, as well as encourage students to sign up and help make a difference.  Run by international charity Mercy Ships, the Africa Mercy offers free medical care and humanitarian aid to some of the world's poorest people and is currently on a 10 month outreach in Guinea.  Although Guinea's mineral wealth makes it potentially one of Africa's richest countries, its people are among the poorest in West Africa.

Lizzie has been onboard the Africa Mercy for over three months and has been volunteering in the ship's galley cooking for around 400 people every day, as well as assisting the eye team in her spare time.  Lizzie said:- "I want to be a doctor and as the applications are so competitive it is really important to have some experience working with patients. I wanted to do something where I could actually help people. Mercy Ships provided a perfect opportunity to do that. I worked in the galley feeding the other volunteers and then, on my days off, helped with the patients.  I had so many amazing experiences on board. I really enjoyed going to the Hope Centre and playing with the children. The Hope Centre is a Mercy Ships funded project where they support local hospitals. This year part of the programme was to upgrade a wing of the Ignace Deen Hospital in Conakry which means the hospital will be left with upgraded facilities when the ship leaves in the summer. People who need a longer recovery period than the ship can provide can stay at the hospital.  The kids are so beautiful, when we drive up they come running up to play, which is extraordinary as most of them have both legs in casts from their feet to their thighs!  I also really loved working with the eye team. It's so rewarding to see people's lives literally transformed in front of your eyes. People who have been unable to see for years have their sight restored. They are so happy it makes everything worthwhile!  Mercy Ships really is an amazing organisation. It works with local communities, governments and NGOs helping to build sustainable development such as the Hope Centre; the money invested will be put to use by the hospital when Mercy Ships leaves.  Each person is loved and cared for as an individual. It is so powerful and has reinforced my decision to study medicine."

Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK, said:- "Volunteers are the lifeline of the charity and without them we simply would not exist. We are extremely grateful to people around the UK, like Lizzie, who continue to support us."

The Africa Mercy is staffed by up to 400 volunteers from 40 nations that give up their time to help others. Volunteers range from surgeons and nurses, to cooks and engineers.  The Africa Mercy was converted from a Danish rail ferry into a state-of-the-art hospital ship, with 6 operating theatres, X-ray facilities and CT scanner, a pharmacy and a laboratory. There is capacity for 78 in-patients with four wards and a small intensive care unit, as well as accommodation for 450 volunteers.  Founded in 1978, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at more than £630million, helping in excess of two million people.