Kilhorne’s Jane White joins Mercy Ship off Madagascar
A nurse from Kilhorne Parish, Annalong, has just joined a ‘floating hospital’ off the coast of Madagascar. For the next 2 years Jane White will be in charge of a general ward aboard Africa Mercy as part of a team providing healthcare to local people. Bishop Harold commissioned her at a service before she left.
This is Jane’s second tour with the Mercy Ships having spent 4 years sailing off the coast of West Africa from 2008–2012.
Speaking to the Mourne Observer, she said of being a volunteer: “It’s very very rewarding. There are crew members from around 30 countries on board. It’s like a really big community.”
The ship has 5 state–of–the–art operating theatres, beds for over 80 patients and can accommodate a crew of almost 500. The medical staff will perform a huge range of procedures including life–changing orthopaedic and reconstructive surgery for the Malagasy, some of whom live on less than a dollar a day.
Medically, however, there are challenges. “There are some situations that are difficult. With cancer–type tumours we can remove them but we can’t offer chemo or aftercare, so with some cases we can only do so much,” she explains.
And of course, Jane will miss home from time to time but there is good internet access aboard and the chance to Skype.
‘There’s always a link home, she says, “and you do make good friends. The accommodation is good and we get free time, which we can spend on shore.”
Ultimately it’s Jane’s Christian faith which leads and sustains her and she counts it a privilege to work with a Christian organisation nursing people who may not otherwise have access to healthcare.
To make a donation to Mercy Ships or find out more please visit www.mercyships.org.uk.