The Africa Mercy (AFM) recently finished its 2nd consecutive field service in Madagascar, returning to dry dock in South Africa for a couple months of R&R. After it's all shined up and ready for action again, it will be travelling up the west coast of Africa, to the small, West African nation of Benin, for another 10 month field service. The ship had been slated to visit Benin back in 2014, but the Ebola outbreak very close by led to the difficult but necessary decision to go elsewhere. The AFM is really not equipped to deal with highly infectious diseases, beyond the occasional case of chicken pox or flu. While there were never any cases of the virus in Benin itself, the rate at which it was spreading in neighbouring countries, plus the sheer number of cases (which had never been seen before), meant the risk was just too great. There are many other incredible organizations who stepped up to help during this crisis, ones who are much better equipped for and trained in dealing with infectious outbreaks. The surgical interventions Mercy Ships specializes in just aren't much help in that situation.
So, despite having already made some preparations in Benin, the ship was routed to Madagascar, on the other side of the continent, where it stayed for the next 2 years.
The WHO announced on March 29, 2016 that the "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" was ended, as the outbreak has been nearly entirely eradicated. Only two or three new cases have appeared in the last 3 months. Although the cost was tremendous, the death toll rising to 5 digits, the sheer amount of new data and resources the outbreak afforded has finally led to a vaccine being produced and trialled, which will hopefully prevent anything like this from happening again. Thousands of incredibly dedicated healthcare workers risked their safety to fight this horrific virus.
Over 500 lost their lives.
Thanks to this profound sacrifice, the region is now quite safe again, and Mercy Ships can continue their work of transforming lives; freeing them from debilitating, painful, and degrading afflictions.
I am excited and honored once again to have the opportunity to be a part of this amazing service! I will be joining the AFM for 3 months in Cotonou, Benin at the end of February, 2017. And I CAN'T WAIT!
I am so grateful for all the support and encouragement I received last year during my time on the ship, and I'm looking forward to yet another incredible journey with all of you.
Last time around, I spent the last month before my departure trying to do 1 blog post a day about Madagascar. And, well, if you were reading, you saw how well that turned out. *cough* 3-posts-in-1-day-to-catch-up *cough* So this time I've decided to space things out a wee bit more, and do 1 post a week for 35 weeks. I will try again to provide some interesting tidbits about the country of Benin, as well as updates about my preparations and planning.
So, to wrap things up for update #1:
- I've received my official acceptance letter, digitally signed a pile of conduct & confidentiality forms, and am working on a few more.
- I'm saving up for the biggest initial expense: the plane tickets (hmm...layover in Turkey or Morocco?).
- I'm adding 100 things to my to-do list.
And for anyone that wants to skip 34 more blog posts but still learn a bunch of interesting stuff about Benin, here's a video:
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