Volunteer Crew
Like past Mercy Ships vessels, the Africa Mercy is staffed entirely by volunteer crewmembers. Mercy Ships volunteers assume responsibility for all the costs of their trip to the Africa Mercy, including round-trip airfare and other travel costs, immunizations, passports, insurance and fees for room and board.
Approximately 450 people live and work aboard the Africa Mercy. In addition to surgical and medical services, volunteers handle every task in the daily life of the ship, including crew operations, maintenance and repairs, cooking, housekeeping, childcare, teaching, and the Mercy Ships health education and infrastructure development projects that take place on land. Volunteer postings for a wide range of jobs generally range from two weeks to two years in length. In addition, some crewmembers serve as permanent staff on board the ship for the entire 10 months of each field service. The total number of Mercy Ships volunteers in all locations is about 1,200 people who hail from more than 40 nations. About 200 Africans also serve as day-workers on the ship.
Volunteer crewmembers also serve as blood donors for the ship's surgical procedures. When they arrive at the ship, their blood types are tested and recorded. They are paged when surgeries requiring their blood types are scheduled, and they donate blood immediately before the procedure.
Read more about this topic: MV Africa Mercy
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