Why?

I have just resigned as a consultant anaesthetist……..why?  

Many people ask that.

I have resigned so I can volunteer for a few years as a ‘long term’ anaesthetist on board the Africa Mercy. The Africa Mercy is the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship and is run by Mercy Ships. This amazing ship is based in West Africa with a mandate to bring hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor. They specialise in treating diseases and injuries due to poverty and war.

I have already worked for Mercy Ships twice this year as a ‘short termer’ ie for a few weeks, while the Africa Mercy has been in Sierra Leone. War destroys a country rapidly, rebuilding takes time. A long time. In Sierra Leone, poverty is rife. War-time injuries, burns, as well as disfiguring diseases of poverty all need treating but there are scarce and inadequate facilities to do so. Without hope of a surgical cure, nothing happens. Actually it is worse than nothing. Disfigurement is often considered a ‘curse’ or something that someone else could ‘catch’. Therefore the victim becomes a victim again. Socially isolated; children banned from school, fathers excluded from work. Outcasts. Further poverty ensues, trapped in a downward spiral. Mercy Ships makes a difference. I’ve seen it.  And not just in Sierra Leone, but when I have worked with Mercy Ships in Liberia, in Togo and in Benin.

That’s why I resigned. I want to help Mercy Ships make a difference. Why me? Because I can. Because I have the medical skills that are needed; and people say I have the spiritual and emotional capacity to cope with what I see and help others do the same. That's why.