Nursing graduate Hannah serves on world's largest private hospital ship
Published on 08 November, 2012
"Seeing kids in the hospital recovering after surgery, seeing them smiling and playing, I know they have a chance at a better future," says CQUniversity Nursing graduate Hannah Strawson, who is back in Brisbane after serving as a volunteer with Mercy Ships in Guinea, West Africa...
In a break from her role as a recovery nurse with the Wesley Hospital, Hannah spent three weeks as a Post Anaesthesia Care nurse on board the Africa Mercy, operated by Mercy Ships.
CQUni graduate Hannah Strawson on board Africa Mercy
The ship has six operating theatres, 78 hospital beds, state-of-the-art equipment and a crew of more than 400. Free surgery is given to correct deformity, disability and blindness, while a range of health and community development programs are also carried out.
Hannah's interest in mission work began early in life.
"I was at school one day when I was about seven, and I was reading a book about Hudson Taylor. I was at a section where he was just about to set sail for China and a voice, clear as day and one I had not heard before, said, ‘One day this is what you will do'. Since then I have always had it in the back of my mind and have believed since then that this is what I am supposed to do."
"I knew nothing about Guinea until I volunteered, but have always had an interest in Africa," she says. "But it is a little more confronting when you arrive and see the poverty, deformities people live with, and all the things we fix in Australia. I visited a paediatric hospital in town and there was a boy about 12 years old. He looked incredibly sick and we found from his doctor he had AIDS. When you see that, it makes everything back home seem less important. I have a good job, great family, good friends, a lovely partner, nice unit, new car and more than enough food. Yet some people in our world have to live like this. I don't know. I does break your heart."
Hannah Strawson on board the hospital ship
"My expectations when volunteering were varied. I expected the experience would be sometimes hard, fun, interesting, upsetting, uplifting, challenging and much more. Long-term I expect that I will alter the outlook on my own life and hopefully grow as a person. I know I will continue to do volunteer work. I am going to Vietnam next year with Habitat for Humanity (a Christian organisation providing community housing solutions), and hopefully will be back with Mercy Ships later," Hannah says.
Mercy Ships is a global charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978, providing free health care and community development services to the forgotten poor. Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor. Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves. The result is a way out of poverty.
The emphasis is on the needs of the world's poorest nations in West Africa, where the Africa Mercy provides the platform for services extending up to 10 months at a time. Mercy Ships works on land-based projects in Sierra Leone in partnership with other organisations, while teams also work in several nations of Central America and the Caribbean. Mercy Ships Australia, one of 15 international support offices, is based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. www.mercyships.org.au
