Nearly 6 years ago, when I first set foot on the Africa Mercy in Madagascar, I saw this model in a display case outside the crew bank:
The name on the bow was 'Atlantic Mercy;' she was to be the largest civilian hospital ship in the world, and the first purpose-built by Mercy Ships to better serve our host nations.
Since that day, when all that existed of her were draft blueprints and scale models, much has changed.
The organization has been steadily evolving towards more capacity building & training-focused programs.
The entire world has gone through a drastic reset.
The ship's name even changed. She's now the soon-to-be-commissioned, 'Global Mercy.'
The GLM showing off her maneuverability during recent sea trials.
It has taken a tremendous amount of effort to get to this point, and it has always been a highlight for me seeing the behind-the-scenes sneak peaks of the construction process. It's so exciting to see the final delivery quickly approaching! Having passed her sea trials (to certify her sea-worthiness), she will soon be on her way to Europe for the final 'equipping' stage, before her service will begin in Africa.
Here's a look into what went on during the sea trials:
In the meantime...COVID-19 has continued to throw wrenches into our expectations and plans. The good ol' AFM has been delayed again in returning to Africa, and instead will be going into drydock in Las Palmas for a partial refit that will extend its operational lifetime by ~15 years. That means that I will be 'drydocked' in Canada for a little while longer. This lovely, warm, spring weather will hopefully add a few years to my lifetime, too!
I think it's important to mention that, while the ship has not yet returned to Africa, we do have crew on the ground working in various capacities and countries to help deliver training, PPE and other supplies, and strengthen healthcare systems. Here's a little example of that from head Anesthesiologist, Dr. Sarah:
I am still in discussion with my manager regarding exactly when I'll be heading over again, but it will be...sometime in the next 2-6 months. I think.
'Redeeming the time' has become my mantra in this unexpected intermission. I expected to be, right now, right in the middle of another field service on the AFM in Liberia. Instead, I feel like I've been playing a game of 'wait and see' for the last 12 months. Waiting, hoping, praying for the right timing to safely return to Africa. Piecing together a plan to bide me over, a few months or weeks at a time.
I had been working for a while at a small community hospital, but more recently joined the Canadian Red Cross to support the domestic COVID-19 response. This is only an intermittent, reservist position, but has been a perfect stop gap to fill more stretches of time if and when they arise. With the CRC, I had the great privilege to participate in Operation Remote Immunity - the outstanding effort (spearheaded by Ornge) to vaccinate all eligible residents of remote, indigenous northern Ontario communities.
A great team of physicians, nurses, NPs and coordinators (all fully vaxxed - I should add)
I had a little break from the Red Cross to attend On Boarding - a Mercy Ships training program at the International Support Centre in Texas! But again, thanks to COVID, my attendance was purely virtual. On Boarding helps prepare long-term crew for the pressures of close-quarters living, a cross-cultural work environment, and a multi-denominational faith community. It was a great experience, and although I haven't yet been able to meet most of them in person, I definitely feel like I have a whole new group of friends - or rather - a new 'ship family.'
Onboarding Class of Covid April 2021
Immediately following this time of learning, reflecting & re-focusing, I was deployed to a border crossing site in Sarnia, where I am now facilitating the COVID self-testing process for land travellers.
The Bluewater Bridge Dream Team
I'm looking forward to a little bit of a break at the end of the month when this deployment wraps up, but also working out decisions for some other training I may need to complete before getting back to my floating home.
Until then, as we anticipate a return to global travel, and the deployment of the Global Mercy, I'll leave you with some words on the concept of 'ubuntu' - something which came up repeatedly during On Boarding.
