Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to partici- pate in my first pediatric surgery mission aboard the Africa Mercy, reportedly the largest nongovernmental hospital ship in the world. During my two
weeks aboard the ship, which at the time was docked
in Tamatave, Madagascar, I wrote a blog for the Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University
Health Centre, QC, called Dispatches from the Africa
Mercy. 1, 2 The following is an edited version of these
blog entries.
Dispatch 1: The end of the earth
February 27
If there is such a place as the end of the earth, it is
likely Madagascar. Leaving Montreal, QC, February
24 on a night of freezing rain, I arrive in Paris, France,
a few minutes too late to catch my connecting flight
to Madagascar. Air France gives me a choice of stay-
ing three days in Paris or connecting through three
different airlines and two African cities to reach Anta-
nanarivo [the capital of Madagascar] almost two days
later. Neither option is feasible. I settle on paying an
extra fare to reach Tamatave, the port of the Africa
Mercy, through a new route, Saint-Denis de la Réunion,
a small French territory in the southern Indian Ocean.
I arrive in Tamatave 36 hours after leaving Montreal,
tired, sleepless, and jetlagged, only to find my lug-
gage missing.
However, my fatigue immediately starts to dissipate
upon first glimpse of the ship. As I climb the gangway,
I think of the thousands of patients who have climbed
these same steps to find hope and healing. I board
to find a genuinely warm and welcoming environ-
ment. Everyone from the receptionist to the managing
director approaches me with warmth and compassion,
expressing their gratitude for my decision to join them.
All of the staff and health care professionals I meet in
my first few hours are resident volunteers on the ship
and have been part of this venture for months and
years. And they are thanking me for coming for two
weeks, which is a truly humbling experience.
Within a few hours, I settle into my cabin, take
a tour of the vessel, and complete the embarkation
paperwork and emergency training. I already feel like
Dispatches from
the Africa Mercy:
A ship of hope and healing
by Sherif Emil, MD, CM, FACS, FRCSC, FAAP
SEP 2016 BULLETIN American College of Surgeons
| 35
DISPATCHES FROM THE AFRICA MERCY
