Mission Focus for June 2026
"I always feel alone because people don't want to be around me."
That's how Joseph described life with a cleft lip. He was born in Madagascar, where around 80% of people live in poverty and access to specialist surgeons is extremely limited. As a result, he spent 22 years living with a condition that would typically be treated in infancy in the UK.
MERCY SHIPS- bringing Hope and Healing
Mercy Ships is a faith-based international development organisation that deploys hospital ships to some of the poorest countries in the world, delivering vital, free healthcare to people in desperate need. By improving healthcare delivery in every country it visits, Mercy Ships is working to eradicate the diseases of poverty and effectively do itself out of a job. Mercy Ships follows the model of Jesus by “bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor”, helping people of all faiths and none.
The first ship started the vision in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephen. This was The Anastasia. Today there are 2 huge ships, the Africa Mercy and Global Mercy, fitted out just like a modern fully functional hospital.
The aim is to tackle the root causes of the problems rather than just the consequences.
There is a 3-step process
1. Offering direct medical care and surgery to local people
2. Training and mentoring local health professionals
3. Improving healthcare infrastructure
In 2016 Joseph’s aunt heard the African Mercy was in Madagascar. Joseph was afraid to go, afraid he would be laughed at or in fact turned away. In 2024, weary of the isolation he was feeling due to his deformity, he walked for 12 hours to reach the hospital ship Africa Mercy which had again come to Madagascar. He wasn’t laughed at, he wasn’t turned away, he was welcomed and had the free surgery. A week later, Joseph stood in front of a mirror, seeing himself in a new way for the first time. The burden he had carried for so long was lifted.
Joseph is just one of thousands whose lives can be transformed by surgery and by the touching grace of God. The donations given this year from GSFC will mean this wonderful work can continue. Thank you!
To learn more about Mercy Ships, click here to go their website.