Connecting Communities By Jack Dunne

When I think about Connecting Communities, it makes me think about Mercy Ships. The role of Mercy ships is to bring hope and healing to the poorest countries in Africa. Mercy Ships is a Christian Charity involving a hospital ship named the MV Africa Mercy. The ship travels to poor countries like Togo and Benin and becomes a temporary hospital.

Inside the ship there are 90 nurses, 15 Doctors, 6 operating theatres and 78 beds.  When people come to the AFRICA MERCY, they are greeted by some of the volunteers and taken into the ship. Then they are operated on in one of the theatres.  In some of these countries there is only one doctor per 20,000 people meaning that most poor people will not get any medical care.

What do you think makes a good community?  I think you create a great sense of community when you get involved or volunteer for something big. This ship is a ship of volunteers with a common purpose – something bigger than individual people.

In Newington Public School our P&C helps improve the school by fundraising.  Whilst it makes money, it also connects people together. The school benefits but so do the volunteers by making new friends and connecting with different people within our area.

Externally, the AFRICA MERCY attempts to improve their host country’s health services and infrastructure where possible.  An example of this is when Mercy Teams go and work alongside the local community to renovate buildings or repair wells.

The ship provides free medical care and it also trains doctors, nurses and medical staff in local hospitals. This means when the ship leaves there are better services in place. This is another way of connecting with the local communities.

The reason I chose to speak about Mercy Ships is because we are leaving for active service onboard in the Republic of Congo in June this year.

Whilst I am sad to leave Newington school community, I am looking forward to being an active participant in the AFRICA MERCY tribe and the local communities ashore in Pointe Noire, Congo.

In conclusion, through our upcoming trip, we are about to connect 3 communities together: Our school in Newington, the AFRICA MERCY crew, and the Congolese I hope to meet. By keeping in touch with me, you can be a part of this too.

Jack wrote this for a speech at school, and also presented a modified version at our Church Commissioning Service. He gave me the okay to post it on the Blog. We are very proud of him.