It has not gone unnoticed by many people in the Netherlands: Mercy Ships has a brand-new hospital ship and it is on its way to Senegal! They are coming to finish their work that began upon arrival in Senegal in 2019. Tabitha has been working closely with Mercy Ships in order for their work to have long-term medical mission impact. Particularly through training in the network of Christian clinics and a partnership with the only mission hospital. In Senegal many people do not have access to surgery and the operations they perform are life changing. Tabitha was able to experience this up close when the ship had to leave unexpectedly two years ago because of Corona, and some of their patients were transferred to her clinic.
The clinic in North Senegal where Tabitha works had moved to a new building with two large patient halls: one for men and one for women. At the beginning of the corona crisis these were suddenly full of patients from the departed Mercy Ships. Sheick, 9 years old, was one of them: because of burns as a small child that were not treated properly, his arm had become fixed in a way that he could no longer move his arm and hand. Thanks to the operation, he was able to use his arm again. For six weeks he stayed with us for wound care and physical therapy. Aisha had a totally deformed face because of a skin bacteria, a disease called noma. After the operation, her face was back in better shape, and she dared to be around people for the first time!
Our colleagues at Mercy Ships have also supported our network of Christian clinics through medical training, for example at the annual conference, involvement in the nursing school and a meeting for clinic directors from all over the country. (This was the beginning of a nationwide cooperation of these clinics.) In the past period, when the ship was not in Senegal, the staff kept in touch with patients, and also established an intensive cooperation with Senegal’s only mission hospital: Barthimee. On a weekly basis, they forwarded patients for surgery there, which gave quite a boost to the hospital, which was short of patients and resources because of the Corona. We are grateful for Mercy Ships’ visit. It is a great example of how short, project-based mission can support and boost the long-term mission we are involved in. We look forward to the coming months, how physical and spiritual healing will come through Mercy Ships’ operations and projects.
