Mercy Ship Presentation – Hosted by the MNA Diversity Committee

On April 14, 2004 the MNA Diversity Committee hosted an educational program on Mercy Ships. The classroom was full of interested attendees who learned about nursing in third world countries. Our speaker, Kendra Polefka, was a nurse who recently spent eight years serving as a surgical nurse on board the Anastasia, a 522 foot floating hospital ship that cruises Africa, providing medical care for impoverished people. She described that the main mission and purpose of the Mercy Ships was to provide sustainable change in the places they travel to. They not only provide medical care and surgical treatments, they have land-based operations that build latrines and dig wells. Mercy Ships, which has been in operation since 1978, works with the Ministry of Social Service and Ministry of Health in the various areas and they work together in determining the needs of a particular area. They also work with local doctors and nurses to assist in training and provide a great deal of health education in conjunction with local health officials and providers. According to annual reports, the Mercy Ship organization has performed more than 12,000 surgical procedures, treated 220,000 people in village clinics, performed 110,000 dental treatments and donated more that $30 million worth of medicine.

The Mercy Ships needs volunteers who are willing to give as little as two weeks to work on a project or assist the efforts onboard a ship. After hearing Kendra recall her experiences and the mission of Mercy Ships, the MNA Diversity Committee is exploring the opportunities of hosting a short-term (10 day – two week) missions outreach. If you are interested in hearing more about this event and the missions outreach, please call or email Carol Mallia at 781.830.5744 or cmallia@mnarn.org. For more information on Mercy Ships, please visit their web site at www.mercyships.org.

By Carol Mallia RN, MSN
Associate Director MNA
Staff Liaison to the MNA Diversity Committee