Volunteer stories

“We provide for people who have lost hope in a very direct and purposeful way, so it just works!”

“When I signed up, I had come for two weeks before but then I signed up for a year… and it will certainly be a lot more!”

I remember I did the whole application, wondering, ‘Am I ever going to be on this ship? Is it actually real?’” remembers Lukas, a vehicle mechanic from Switzerland. “Then, one day, you stand on the gangway, and you can’t believe that you are really there.

Ten years ago, whilst training as a nurse, I travelled across Africa and fell in love with the continent. Mercy Ships gave me the opportunity to return there and to help where the needs are great.

After a first experience in 2018, Larissa did not want to stop there. Having become a nurse in the meantime, she hoped to return to the Africa Mercy as soon as possible. Finally, in September 2020, the opportunity presented itself… but in a completely different context because of Covid-19! Newly back on solid ground, Larissa shares her impressions of this second mission with us, certainly very different from the first one!

Some of our volunteers hold positions that may be out of sight but are nonetheless essential. Alphonse, originally from Singapore, is clearly one of them. After 10 years spent in the depths of the Anastasis (1991-1997) and the Africa Mercy (2001-2006), he joined our Lausanne offices in April as technical support for our maritime department.

In charge of finding new volunteers for the Africa Mercy in German-speaking Switzerland, Janina Tobler took the opportunity to join our volunteers in Senegal for three weeks and thus get her fill of new, enriching experiences.

Dr. Guy Chevalley, ophthalmologist in Yverdon-les-Bains, is almost a veteran of our organization. After nine missions aboard the Africa Mercy, his enthusiasm has not faded.

Early in his surgical career, Dr. Gary joined a Mercy Ships team in Mexico in 1986 and has served with Mercy Ships ever since. He met his wife Susan onboard the hospital ship, and the couple has raised their two children, Carys and Wes, onboard.