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Erin Wilson ’13 was onboard the Africa Mercy, the world’s largest private hospital ship, from Oct. 22, 2017 to Jan. 13, 2018. She used her nursing experience to help treat conditions such as craniofacial tumors, cleft lip and cleft palate and ear-nose-throat diseases in Douala, Cameroon.
BY: SARA WARD
Erin Wilson ‘13 recently served as a volunteer nurse on the world’s largest private hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. She was onboard from Oct. 22, 2017 through Jan. 13, 2018, according to Pauline Rick, public relations coordinator for Mercy Ships. Erin lived and worked with 400 other volunteers from over 40 nations.
She found out about the program when she was working as a nursing assistant during her college days. “One of my coworkers was telling me about it, and ever since then I have wanted to volunteer,” Erin says. “At that time I didn’t have enough experience, so once I started working as a nurse and found a time to fit it in, I applied online.”
During Erin’s trip, the Africa Mercy was docked in Douala, Cameroon. After the program, she also traveled through South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. “It was amazing,” Erin says. “There aren’t words to describe the feeling I had while having the privilege to take care of the Cameroonians. They were so appreciative of everything.”
Erin worked in the maxillofacial surgery ward, helping to treat conditions such as craniofacial tumors, cleft lip and cleft palate and ear-nose-throat diseases. “One of the best parts was handing them the mirror so that they could see what they looked like after surgery,” Erin says. “It wasn’t like working in your average hospital. On a daily basis, the wards were full of singing, dancing and laughter.”
The Africa Mercy delivers help to remote areas and has an onboard surgical capacity of about 7,000 interventions a year. Ship-based teams serve in local villages, providing dental clinics, medical clinics, community health education, and construction and agricultural training, according to the Mercy Ships website.
The ship is equipped with CT scan, X-Ray, laboratory services and a Nikon Coolscope for remote diagnosis, and has a greater capacity than all prior hospital ships combined.
Mercy Ships is a global charity founded by Don and Deyon Stephens in 1978. Since that time, Mercy Ships has performed services valued at more than $1 billion, impacting more than 2.48 million of the world’s desperate people, according to its website.
More than 581 port visits in 57 nations have been completed through the charity. The ships make it possible to deliver a state-of-the-art hospital to regions where clean water, electricity, medical facilities and skilled personnel are limited or nonexistent.
Since returning to the United States, Erin has found transitioning back to life here tougher than she expected. She enjoyed being in a country where materialistic things weren’t the center of daily life.
“We are so fortunate for what we have here, and sometimes overlook the fact that a roof over our heads and food on our plate is a privilege,” Erin says. “It was hard for me to hear the things we complain about here in America on a daily basis. My time spent in Africa changed my perspective and made me realize what is actually important to me.”
Erin plans to continue travel nursing because it allows her to see and work in any city in the United States. She also likes that it gives her the freedom to volunteer in other countries. “I would love to find more international nursing opportunities which allow me to an opportunity to help bring healthcare to remote areas,” Erin says.
(Photo by Saul Loubassa, Copyright of Mercy Ships)
You can support nursing students at Salem State and help them make a difference in the world just like Erin.