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Mercy Ships is an international charity that was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens. Mercy Ships currently operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, providing free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs, agriculture projects, and palliative care for terminally ill patients. Mercy Ships has operated in more than 57 developing nations and 18 developed nations around the world, with a current focus on the countries of Africa. The organization has its International Operations Center (IOC) in Garden Valley, Texas. Mercy Ships also has 16 national resource offices in countries that include Spain, Britain, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Australia. A major inspiration for Mercy Ships president and founder Don Stephens was the work of the international hospital ship ''SS Hope.'' Stephens' research showed that 95 of the 100 largest cities in the world were port cities. Therefore, a hospital ship could deliver healthcare very efficiently to large numbers of people. The birth of Stephens' profoundly disabled son, John Paul, also inspired him to move forward with his vision of a floating hospital. A visit with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, further deepened his commitment to serving the world's neediest people.〔Robert R. Selle, "Angel of Mercy," Article, ''The World & I,'' 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2011.〕 ==Mercy Ships== Mercy Ships has outfitted and operated a total of four hospital ships to serve developing nations since 1978. The organization uses retired ocean liners and ferries that have been transformed into floating hospitals. The first ocean liner acquired was the ''Victoria'', which was purchased for its scrap value of US$1 million. The nine-deck vessel was transformed into the hospital ship ''MV Anastasis'' over a four-year period. The 522-foot ship was equipped with three operating rooms, a dental clinic, an x-ray machine, a laboratory〔Robert R. Selle, "Angel of Mercy," ''The World & I,'' 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2011.〕 and 40 patient beds. The ship's 350-member crew included Mercy Ships founders Don and Deyon Stephens, who lived on board the ship with their four young children for ten years. In 1983, the ''Anastasis'' (the Greek word for "resurrection") began operations in the South Pacific, then moved to Central America and the Caribbean Sea in the mid-80’s. The ship moved on to Africa in 1991 and remained in service there until 2007. The final port of call for the ''Anastasis'' was Monrovia, Liberia. Mercy Ships purchased the Norwegian coastal ferry ''Polarlys'' in 1994 and transformed it into the ''MV Caribbean Mercy,'' a hospital ship serving Central American and Caribbean ports. The ship offered berths for 150 crew and was equipped initially for field medical clinics. Over the course of several years, the ship was equipped with modern eye-surgery capabilities. The first eye surgery was performed on board ''The Caribbean Mercy'' in early 1997, while the ship was docked in Guatemala. On land, volunteers from the ''Caribbean Mercy'' also provided dental, orthopedic and healthcare services. The ''Caribbean Mercy'' visited 138 ports of call and remained in service until May 2005.〔 In 1983, the Canadian ferry ''Petite Forte'' was donated to Mercy Ships to provide relief operations in the Caribbean. Initially christened the ''Good Samaritan,''〔 the ship was re-christened the ''MV Island Mercy'' in 1994. The 60-berth vessel remained in service until spring of 2001. The countries it served included Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Haiti. The ship also reached beyond the Caribbean with relief and medical operations in Guinea-Bissau, Western Samoa, the Tokelau Islands and New Zealand. Since 2000 Mercy Ships has the 16,500-ton flagship ''Africa Mercy'',〔 which measures almost 500 feet long.〔 The ''Africa Mercy'' has greater capacity than all three previous Mercy Ships combined.〔"Mercy Ships Launching the ''Africa Mercy''," article, 21 March 2006, http://www.ywam.org/News-Stories/sources/news/mercy_ships_launching_the_africa_mercy. Retrieved 14 September 2011〕 A second, purpose-built hospital ship is currently in design. In May 2007, the ''Africa Mercy'' sailed into the port in Monrovia to meet up with the ''Anastasis,'' enabling crew, equipment and supplies to be transferred from the oldest Mercy Ship to the newest one. The ''Africa Mercy'', the only current Mercy Ship, in 2007 made its official maiden voyage to Monrovia, Liberia, from the shipyard in England.〔 In 2008, the ''Africa Mercy'' continued its service to Liberia—offering free surgeries, assistance in healthcare infrastructure development, and community-based preventive health care programs that benefited thousands of individuals and many communities. More than 1,200 surgical procedures and 10,000 dental procedures were completed, along with community health projects such as HIV/AIDS prevention and construction of wells and latrines. Early in 2010, the ship was docked in Lomé, Togo for the 2010 field service. In August 2010, the ''Africa Mercy'' went into shipyard in South Africa, where it was equipped with new, more efficient generators. In 2009, the ship was docked in Cotonou, Benin from February to December, providing free surgeries and medical care. Mercy Ships also worked with Beninese citizens on agriculture and water development projects on the ground in Benin. Before the ''Africa Mercy'' arrives in port, flyers are distributed to alert the public to the ship's upcoming visit. An advance team begins a massive screening of thousands of prospective patients, to see which men, women and children qualify for a surgery. It is common for people to walk for days (and even from neighboring countries) to find out whether they may be eligible for surgical treatment.〔 ''Africa Mercy'' is currently completing dry dock and annual maintenance in Durban, South Africa. The ship will soon return to the port of Toamasina, Madagascar, where its field service will last from August 2015 to the summer of 2016. The ship was previously docked in Toamasina, Madagascar from October, 2014 through June, 2015. Before that, the ship served in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo from August 2013 till May 2014. Before The Republic of Congo the vessel was docked in Conakry, Guinea and Lomé, Togo. The ''Africa Mercy'' docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone for its 2011 field service, which lasted for 10 months. At the conclusion of each field service, the ''Africa Mercy'' goes into dry dock, where it is resupplied and receives any needed repairs or upgrades before heading to its next port of call. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mercy Ships」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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