LOCAL clinical nurse, Jenna Peters, has fulfilled her long-term dream of volunteering on an aid ship in Africa, returning from her adventure in November with a new lease on life.
Ms Peters, who works in operating theatres in anaesthetics recovery at the local hospital, volunteered on a Mercy Ship based in Madagascar for three weeks this year from October and November.
Mercy Ships work with African governments to offer free surgical care and medical treatment to communities in need, requiring hundreds of volunteers from around the globe to work in a multitude of roles, from nurses and doctors to cleaners and writers.
There are two Mercy Ships, the African Mercy, which Ms Peters worked on, and the Global Mercy, a larger newer vessel.
The ships are funded and staffed through donations and volunteers, and are a faith-based enterprise associated with the Christian faith.
Volunteers do not have to be religious to volunteer, but are asked to show respect for the Christian faith while onboard.
Ms Peter first heard about Mercy Ships five years ago and was immediately interested.
“Instantly I was hooked and really wanted to go and experience it as a volunteer, but at the time my daughter was about five years old so it wasn’t a good time to leave her, and then COVID hit,” Ms Peters said.
“So, this year I just decided to give it a go.
“I fundraised all the money I needed to travel there and spent three weeks on the Africa Mercy Ship in Madagascar as an anesthetic assistant.
“It was absolutely unreal the surgeries that I was a part of and the people that I helped.
“I really want to go back next year as well so I’m really wanting to raise awareness and hopefully some funds as well that allows me to go back next year.
“It’s quite a Christian-based ship but they don’t force it (their religion) upon you, they accept everybody as they are.
“They just ask for a little bit of respect with regards to their faith and how they do things, for example they’ll do devotions before we start theatre.”
Ms Peters said the highlight of her trip was the people she met along the way.
Alongside fellow volunteers, the boat also needs a day-crew, who are local workers that run day-to-day operations and help to translate the local language of Malagasy to English for volunteers onboard.
“For us in theatre, our day crew consisted of translators because none of our patients spoke English,” she said.
“The translators would also help us clean the theatre and transfer patients.
“They would have to be the best bunch of people I met in my time there, I just couldn’t survive without them. The language barrier is real.”
Ms Peters said the fellow volunteers were mostly from Sweden, Denmark, UK, New Zealand and America, with volunteer placements varying from two weeks to multiple years.
“Everybody is just so happy, everybody wants to be there and treats everyone else with kindness,” she said.
Staff are also free to explore the local community off-board and bond outside of work.
“I met three of the most amazing women I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Ms Peters said.
“They really brought me out of my shell, we all experienced everything together because we’re all in the same boat.”
Ms Peters is already looking to lock-in her next volunteer position for 2025.
