Trish is working for two months in the dining room onboard the world's largest charity hospital ship Africa Mercy.
"But since I arrived and started work among more than 400 volunteers from around the world, I have realised that we all need each other, no matter what our position is on the ship. Each is very important to ensure that we can reach out and bring hope and healing to the people of the nation, one of the world's poorest," she says.
Trish heard about the work of Mercy Ships at the Seratoga Putt Putt Regatta several years ago. "Since then a recent close family critical illness made me think about my time ahead and explore opportunities of doing something for others while I can. So I made the decision to offer myself as a volunteer with Mercy Ships. My husband stayed home to continue the running of the home and to care for close family and pets."
"There were some questions among friends and those at work. Some asked why go so far away to help others? But all my family and friends were very supportive of the decision I had made."
Trish says working in the dining room has been a good experience, enabling her to keep in contact with all aspects of the work being carried out in Sierra Leone during the ten-month field service. "Onboard I am sharing this journey with some wonderful people. Life on the ship runs so smoothly. I did have some fears being on my own for the trip to Africa, but God was at work. At Heathrow Airport in London waiting for my flight to Freetown I met up with three other people also on their way to join the Africa Mercy crew."
"As I joined the crew at the start of this assignment, I was privileged to be a part of two of the mass screenings of people who come in their thousands hoping for free surgery onboard. That experience will live with me forever, seeing the really great needs of others. These are people who have either no access to health services or who cannot afford such services. These experiences have convinced me of the need to become more involved in helping others when I return home."
"My time in Sierra Leone, seeing what I have seen, doing what I have been doing, has changed my perspective on the way I see this world and the needs that are out there. I always knew I lived in a lucky country. But to actually live in an environment that is exactly the opposite to that in which we live and to see at first hand the poverty and all that is associated with that is something that has opened my eyes to the world outside my bubble," Trish concludes.
Mercy Ships is a global charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978 providing free health care and community development services to the forgotten poor. Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor. Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves. The result is a way out of poverty.
The emphasis is on the needs of the world's poorest nations in West Africa, where the world's largest charity hospital ship Africa Mercy provides the platform for services extending up to ten months at a time. Mercy Ships works on land-based projects in Sierra Leone in partnership with other organisations, while teams also work in several nations of Central America and the Caribbean. Mercy Ships Australia, one of 15 international support offices is based on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.
For more information, or to contact Mercy Ships, visit CTindex