Unsung Heroes



Here is our home-the M/V Africa Mercy docked proudly in Freetown, Sierra Leone amoungst a shipping container graveyard. We use shipping contianers to create a secure wall with only one exit and entrance at each port we go to. Our cabin is right above the gangway and we take up five portholes. We get to see all the comings and goings and spend a lot of time people watching. The Africa Mercy may well be the largest non-governmental hosptial ship in the world but it takes a whole lot more than medical staff to run her and to keep the crew happy. This post is dedicated to the unsung heroes of the ship, those who quietly go about their business and without their hard work and dedication, many of the ship's functions would come to a grinding halt.



Since arriving in Freetown the air conditioning filters have been continually blocking up with debris, in particular plastic bags, that clog the waterways. As well as the engineers and day workers who clean the filters inside the ship every half an hour night and day, we also have a team of divers who clean the filters in the ocean on the outside of the ship. This is not their day job, they go to use their skills at risk to their own health and safety, in order to keep us comfortable. As you can see from the photo below (Olly Peet-Andrew's boss in Transportation in Togo) it's a dirty job! Big cheers for the Dive Team!!
                 



Then there are the windows! Yuck! Who wants to clean all those windows-hot, dirty and dangerous and soon enough they are filthy again. Big shout out for the window cleaners especially as we have we have ten windows in our cabin!

This is Zara from Accounts Payable. Most of the departments on the ship need money to function and someone needs to keep account of all the money being spent and all the squillions of receipts-enter Zara. Hats off to you!

Here is Trish, one of my favourite ladies on the ship maybe because she's a proud Aussie but maybe just because she has come all this way without her husband for several months to serve us very well in the dining room! Could you imagine a 500 strong crew hungry? The galley and dining room staff are heroes for sure. They save food when we are late, they always try to come up with new ideas and are able to make the most of what is available to us. They are courteous and servant hearted! 
                     

Hi Suzanne in Sales, in the Ship Shop to be exact. Our sales staff make our lives more pleasant, no doubt about it! The Ship Shop is vital for all our personal items, snacks, stationary, baking items and little treats all of which can be very difficult and expensive to obtain in a country such as Sierra Loene. How would your life be with no loo paper or toothpaste? Then there is the snack bar and Starbucks, a great place where friendships are made and people are ministered too. Starbucks is a real gift to the crew. So what if they only have decafe right now-they always have a smile and they are always for free!

Maybe I'm biased here but this is Nikki, my first friend goodbye (Friday-boo hoo! Life will be full of continual goodbyes here) and she worked in my department-Crew Services-YAY! These guys and gals, including many local day workers keep the inside of the ship sparkling-they are always polishing, vaccuuming, mopping, sweeping, scrubbing and during the sail, had the dubious task of stripping and waxing the floors. One of them is on duty out of hours for any messes and spills around the ship AND they take turns working wekends too! I know how hard they work. Our motto is "Whatever it Takes" and I believe we do! Good on you also to Robin our industrious librarian and Cindy the hairdresser who also fall under Crew Srevices (oh and me too in the Boutique-lol).
                                       

Well done to Derek the diesel fitter, still going strong at 72!! Here he is posing proudly with one of the new generators. Andrew works with Derek and I know he has a lot of respect for him. Derek is not afraid of hard work. Hope we can all be such an inspiration at 72!

Hi Miriam in pharamacy! Miriam keeps all the patients in the hospital and the crew stocked with pharmacy supplies. She is from New Zealand but we don't hold that against her-lol. She does a wonderful job and works long hours. It was a pleasure to work alongside her at the second screening day. Her job is stressful and demanding and vitally important. I know that without her it would be difficult for us personally as she is able to access our medications and provide them to us. Miriam you rock!

Here are the biggest heroes of the ship, maybe because Andrew is one of them! It is the Engineering Department. This department encompasses engineers, motorman, welders, refrigeration technicians, air conditiong technicians, plumbers, electricans, diesel fitters, electronics technician and Andrew as the storeman. Need I say more-the whole ship would fall apart without them. I know that Andrew works very hard on everything from repairing the resuce boat motors to checking the speedo in the Bridge. Today he finished repairing one of the fire pumps. Andrew is in charge of all the ships spare parts from a bread slicer for the galley to an unusual tool for the carpenters. He takes care of the engineering day wokers and spends hours in the engine room getting dirty and sweaty. Last week he helped to repair a burst pipe flange that supplies water to the fire pumps, into the late hours of Friday evening after working all day. My husband, my hero!