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Help Maz volunteer on the Mercy Ships!

  • Home sweet home

      28 April 2025

    Hi all, I am now home and can hardly believe I have been away at all but I very much treasure the time I had on Mercy Africa in Madagascar. I really feel that being there I was able to contribute to better nutrition and better surgical outcomes for the patients and people there. I have been touched by the people who are incredibly brave and resilient and I am so grateful for the health service and the amazing health workers we have in New Zealand and the opportunity we have to better our own lives. Thank you to you all for the support to allow me to go and volunteer my time and use my skills with the Malagasy people.

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  • Final week

      14 April 2025
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    Wow the last seven weeks has flown by. I am starting my last week this week. I am not ready to go yet, I want to see my patients through their whole journey and there are so many still to come through for surgery but for those on the plastic ward that I have seen, I can truely see the difference that nutrition has made for their surgical journey and their healing and to be a part of that has been amazing. The surgeries that these patients have had are life changing. From releasing burn contractures that has prevented movement for many years to having a nose rebuilt after an infection has left them with just a hole in their face to having extra digits and large tumours removed, I believe these patients can return to their communities more accepted and more able. Madagascar is a beautiful place, the nature, the attitudes, and the people.

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  • Life on the Africa Mercy

      16 March 2025
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    The hospital is now up & running, many of the patients I saw in the dockside in the pre-op tents are coming for surgery. I am on the plastics ward where there are a lot of burn contractures, these are common due the population cooking over fire or charcoal making the likelihood of severe burns much higher. Some of the children are so used to the burns restricting their movement it takes a lot of encouragement for them to try move again. The wards are a very strange place for the Malagasy people; enclosed, no windows, cold from the constant AC, so they relish the hour in the day where they can go up to deck seven and feel the sun on their faces and play in the playground. There is regular enforced singing and dancing sessions to get everyone up and moving. There are lots of cheeky waves & smiles & the kids certainly haven’t lost their spark in the hospital setting. I am in awe of the bravery and determination these people have. My day involves the ward round in the morning with the surgeons and greater team, discussing with my day crew the amount of mana (a fortified peanut paste) smoothies required and discharge educations before heading over to the Dietitians tent to see pre-operative patients with the aim of nourishing them before surgery. In the afternoon I am back in the ward following up patients there. Soon there will also be post operative outpatients to fit in. They are busy long days but very rewarding and spending time with the Malagasy people is a lot of fun.

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  • Week one

      3 March 2025
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    So it has now been over a week since I left NZ for Madagascar. I had a night in Antananarivo before flying over to Tomasina (Tamatave) on the east coast where the Mercy Africa is in port. The first week has been about adjusting, adjusting to the heat and humidity, adjusting to living in very close quarters with five (soon to be six) other people, adjusting to the food and ship life as well as adjusting to the new work environment. My role will mean that I see patients right at the start of their journey prior to surgery to ensure we are doing all we can to nourish them whilst they stay at the Hope Centre (a home away from home for many patients), providing nutrition whilst they stay in the hospital post surgery to aid with healing and recovery and then again as they return to the Hope Centre until fully healed. The patients start arriving tomorrow morning and I will start seeing patients in clinic tomorrow afternoon. I am really excited to start the work. So far I have been setting up my clinic space and reviewing the protocols and regulations available. I have also met my fantastic nutrition day crew (see photo) who will be acting as Dietetic assistants as well as translators for me. There is also another Dietitian arriving in two weeks, she is also a kiwi so I am looking forward to working with her and having a complete team.

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  • Arrived finally

      23 February 2025

    After three days of travelling, I have finally made it on board the Mercy Africa in Madagascar. So far it has been getting orientated and meeting new people. In a few weeks there will be around 450 people on board, this doesn’t include the local day staff that help the ship function and the patients in the hospital so there will be a lot of people to meet.

    There is a bit of set up to be done before the surgeries start for the year which I believe will be in March but I will learn more on Monday.

    So far I have only done a small amount of exploring Madagascar. Antananarivo (the capital) has 4.5million people so compared to New Zealand felt very busy, the city is dotted with rice paddies and watercress fields, traffic on the potholed and flooded roads moves in a sporadic but somehow organised fashion. Overtaking and pushing in but somehow there is no road rage. I am now in Tomasina (Tamatave), what I have seen of the town, driving in the dark and from the ship is it looks like a place with lots to explore. The people have all been very friendly and welcoming.

    I am looking forward to seeing and learning more.

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    • 23/02/2025 by Joanna Bishop

      What an amazing adventure, looking forward to hearing more!

  • Two weeks to go

      31 January 2025

    Two weeks to go…

    Wow that time had gone quickly. It is all feeling very real and exciting now. I have been asked a bit about what I will actually be doing on the ship as a Dietitian so I thought I would share what I think I will be doing for the next eight weeks.

    A Dietitian on the Mercy Ships might have many roles including helping to make sure the patients who are scheduled for surgery are nourished enough to undergo surgery. With nearly one in every two children in Madagascar suffering from chronic malnutrition, my role will be helping to improve the nutrition of these children and babies so they can withstand surgery and to remain nourished during their period of healing. This can be quite challenging when the reason they require surgery such as a cleft palate or facial tumour may impact their ability to eat in the first instance. I hope to work closely with the team as well as the patients and their families to come up with strategies and meal plans that will make this possible. I anticipate learning a lot about Malagasy food and culture and hopefully getting to try all the delicacies along the way.

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  • Flights booked!

      9 January 2025

    Just to update you all, my flights are finally booked! It will be a bit of a journey to get there via Sydney, Dubai, Seychelles and then on to Madagascar but I am starting to get excited (and nervous... and a tiny bit sad as I will miss my kids and Dan a lot). Thanks again to all of you for supporting me on this journey, only six weeks till it starts.

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  • Vaccinations begin…

      27 November 2024

    Thank you to everyone who has donated and offered support to my family and I so far. I am so grateful and appreciate all of your support. Offers of school pick up, checking in on Dan and the kids, and kind words of support all mean a lot as well as all the very generous donations which make this journey possible.

    Today I started the first of many vaccinations to make sure I am well and safe to travel to Madagascar in February. Hopefully the dead arms pass quickly 😅.

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