It was still dark when 14 vehicles filled with doctors, nurses, servers, escorts and other volunteers left the Africa Mercy on the way to a sports complex in Monrovia for the 2008 Liberian screening of possible patients for surgery during the current assignment by Mercy Ships to the war-ravaged West African nation.
As the vehicles pulled up at 7 am, hundreds of people were already waiting for their opportunity to experience hope and healing. People were patient as they waited under supervision of the United Nations and the Mercy Ships Security Team, knowing they would be seen by a Mercy Ships doctor or nurse. There was a sense of expectation and hope in people’s eyes.
As patients were accepted through the stadium gates, truckload after truckload of new people arrived. The line seemingly never ended. By 8 am the number of people outside the gates had swollen to more than 1500. Many of the people had overcome obstacles just to make it to the screening site.
74-year-old Alfred Ztelue heard about Mercy Ships on the radio and used a hand-pedalled bike to get to the stadium. His left leg had been amputated after a rocket exploded under him in 1991. Joe Davis, 28, had a rocket hit his house 15 years ago during the civil war. The house collapsed, killing everyone but him. Joe’s arm was broken and never properly healed. He came to seek help from Mercy Ships. The joy on his face was evident as he talked to volunteers and thanked them for what they are doing for Liberia.
But his story is just one of many outlining the horror and atrocity of war. Richie Tokbah, with a shriveled hand, took one week to get to the screening from a distant county. Some came from as far away as neighbouring Sierra Leone.
White the people waited patiently, volunteers entertained the patients with lively music, and there was a party atmosphere at the stadium as the crowds sang beautiful songs together. Children coloured pictures and played skipping games in the shade. Crew members also kept the children entertained by making balloon animals. Servers handed out water to the thirsty and local entrepreneurs sold bananas and doughnuts to the crowd while patients were being screened by the highly trained Mercy Ships medical team.
The screening focussed on three primary areas: maxillo-facial (including tumour removal and repair of cleft lip and palate), plastic surgery (such as burns) and orthopaedic (including club feet and mobility ailments. Sadly, many people who could not be helped had to be turned away. About 500 were referred to eye clinics being held in various locations during the coming weeks.
In the coming months highly skilled volunteers will not only be performing specialised surgeries, but will also help by providing access to clean drinking water, sanitation, education, construction and development and the many other services so desperately needed in Liberia.
It is a country where an estimated 80% of the population is illiterate and living below the poverty line; there is 70% unemployment, 35% of the population is malnourished, 28% only immunized; 25% per cent of the population has access to safe drinking water, with 36% per cent having access to sanitation facilities. Almost an entire generation has missed out on primary education and an estimated 48,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS.
Since 1978, Mercy Ships volunteers have sought to bring hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor.
Missions
An expectation of hope
It was still dark when 14 vehicles filled with doctors, nurses, servers, escorts and other volunteers left the Africa Mercy on the way to a sports complex in Monrovia for the 2008 Liberian screening of possible patients for surgery during the current assignment by Mercy Ships to the war-ravaged West African nation.
Tuesday, 26 February 2008, 9:52 (EST)
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