Mercy Ships celebrates International Children's Day

Mercy Ships is celebrating International Children’s Day today.

The international charity provides free medical and humanitarian care to some of the world’s poorest people, including many children born into poverty.

One such child is Kossi who was born with clubfoot, a condition that causes the foot to grow inward leaving you crippled. In many African cultures this is viewed as a curse and makes a child an outcast.

Kossi’s mother took action and brought 10-month old Kossi to the Africa Mercy, the world’s largest charity hospital ship, currently serving a seven month outreach in Togo.

Kossi became the first patient in West Africa to take part in the Ponseti Management Programme which has been used elsewhere in the world for decades. It is now used to treat Clubfoot on the Africa Mercy.

Volunteer surgeons on board the Africa Mercy have taught the process to local practitioners so the technique can be used and continued once the ship has left. The entire process takes 20 visits and uses a series of casts that manipulate the foot gently into a more normal position.

Rhiannon King, 29, a physiotherapist from Guildford worked with clubfoot patients when she volunteered with Mercy Ships in Liberia in 2008.

She said: “Working with patients onboard the Africa Mercy is a truly rewarding experience. I remember working with a boy called Benedict who was born with bi-lateral clubfoot. Benedict was given free corrective surgery and I spent time helping him walk after surgery. He was so shy and quiet when I first met him but the more confident he got his true personality shone through.

“It was a privilege to volunteer with Mercy Ships. It is a remarkable charity that really does change lives like Benedict’s and Kossi’s.”

Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK, said: “Kossi’s future would have been bleak had he not received the vital corrective surgery on his legs. He will now grow up and be able to go to school, kick a football and live a normal life. It is important that we recognise International Children’s Day.

"So many children with conditions such as Kossi’s or with other curable and treatable conditions are left to fend for themselves. Mercy Ships helps children and adults who simply would not be able to afford or have the access to health care. The dedicated volunteer surgeons, nurses and engineers that give up their time every year make it possible.”

Over the last 30 years, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at £530 million and impacting about 2.5million people.

The international charity has treated more than 485,000 people in village medical and dental clinics, performed more than 47,000 surgeries and completed more than 1,000 community development projects focusing on water and sanitation, education, infrastructure development and agriculture.