Recent Africa Mercy Visit (Plus Photos!)

SummerRosenbalm · October 2019

Happy October, everyone!

My name is Summer Rosenbalm and I'm the Medical Staffing Manager at Mercy Ships! I work at the International Support Center in Texas, but recently visited the Africa Mercy in Dakar, Senegal with Medical Recruiter, @AlyssaRowe. I thought I would share about my experience and some photos with you so you would get a better idea of what things look like on the ship. If you'd like to see photos of the Dental Clinic and Team House, click here.

Here's a photo of the front desk reception area. This is the first thing you see after walking up the gangway. Upon your arrival, you will be greeted by the Receptionist, who will request your yellow fever card and passport, take your photo, and will then give you an official Mercy Ships badge. Then, the Hospitality Hostess will greet you to go over some basic ship information and give you your room key.

On your first Monday morning, you'll attend New Crew Orientation as well, which is about an hour and a half long. Here, you will receive helpful information that you will need to know during your stay.

If you take a left at reception, you'll see the cafeteria:

If you take a right at reception, you'll find the Starbucks cafe and the very popular Activities Sign Up Desk (pictured below and located under the stairway). This is where you can sign up for off-ship group activities. I actually went to a baby orphanage and the HOPE Center, which were great experiences. Tip: These trips fill up fast, so I suggest checking them frequently and signing up as soon as possible!

Here are some photos of the ship library, gym, crew galley, and playground. (There's a pool and Ship Shop on board as well, but I forgot to snap pictures of them. Sorry!) :

Here are a few photos of different areas of the hospital, including radiology and the lab:

Outside, there are several tents next to the ship for the Screening Team, Admissions, Outpatients, and Rehab. Here's a photo of what they look like from the outside. The white pavilion at the far right of the photo is where patients wait before going on board for surgery!

Rehab, Admissions, Outpatients, Screening.jpg

Feel free to post any questions you may have in the comment section below and I'll be happy to answer!

Summer Rosenbalm

Medical Staffing Manager

SaraDeppen · October 2019

It's great to see pictures of where I'll be in a month! As an outpatient nurse, do you know if I will be staying on the ship, or elsewhere?

HannahMulvihill · October 2019

Hi @SaraDeppen , you would be housed onboard as an outpatient nurse :) Thanks so much for volunteering with us.

Hannah - UK crew Coordinator

CynthiaHarris · October 2019

Summer,

I feel sure these pictures are very beneficial to those considering or already in process of volunteering with Mercy Ships. It always helps to "see" the details before you go. Thanks for posting! I look forward to viewing other items you remember that you'd like to share.

Cynthia