Helene was walking home alone through the Malagasy forest. Suddenly a ferocious dog appeared. Barking and snapping, it chased her. She fell into a hole and passed out.

Rosette lives in Madagascar. She earns a modest living washing clothes by hand and is the sole provider for a family of seven. They barely have enough food to eat. But that didn’t stop Rosette from opening her home to Florine.

One morning, a barber named Henry McHenry was taking his first customer – a former military policeman named Michael Cade. A woman who worked next door stopped by to say hello. She had once told him about her abusive husband, saying, “If you ever see a guy pull up in an F-150 pickup, he’s coming for me.”

Molly Gacetta has volunteered as a nurse onboard our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy – in Togo, in Congo, and in Madagascar. She explained what attracted her to Mercy Ships.

Their homes are made of palm trees, and the floors are hard-packed earth. Electricity and running water are far-fetched dreams. This typical Madagascan village is swept and tidy – and it’s crammed full of life! But there’s a problem: the children are eager to learn, but their parents can’t afford to send them to school.

Our Mercy Ships HOPE Center is a great place for patients to recover and learn new things. Just ask twelve year-old Windy! He received a free surgery onboard the Africa Mercy to treat burns he suffered as a young child. The communications team often visited him while he was rehabilitating his arm. They fell in love with his sweet spirit and bright smile.

The impact of the Ebola virus on West Africa was devastating. People were paralyzed by fear as the unseen killer moved relentlessly from house to house.

Harmen Valk and his wife Andrea serve as nurses onboard our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. Harmen describes an unusual way one patient expressed his gratitude

MaryBeth wanted to try a new recipe for Easter – ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, and spinach – wrapped in pastry dough. She planned to buy groceries early Saturday morning.

Many Mercy Ships patients bring along a caregiver – a family member or friend. If a patient has a complex surgery, the caregiver may stay onboard our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, for several weeks.