Rotary Club of Rochdale hears about Mercy Ships

Robert Heywood

At their latest meeting Rochdale Rotary Club heard at first hand about the medical relief work to the third world being carried out by Mercy Ships.

Robert Heywood, a general dental practitioner in Edinburgh, and brother to a member of the Club, gave an account of his short visit to Benin to carry out emergency dental work on some of the poorest people in the world. None of them had ever received any dental care, and some of the conditions they presented were appalling. Most of the work consisted of extractions, but the object in every case was to restore as much functionality as possible together with the relief of pain.

The Mercy Ships organisation, established in 1978 with a Christian ethos, delivers emergency medical care to those in greatest need, mainly in Africa and the Carribean. All the resources are carried aboard specially adapted ships. They visit only the poorest countries, and only at the invitation of the government. Their minimum requirements are an adequate port and provision of clean water for the operating theatres. Much of their work is surgery of the most basic kind, such as removing benign tumours and cataract operations.

The charity is staffed by volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses and other professional and technical staff. They must all give a minimum of two weeks’ service, but many stay much longer. They all pay for their own upkeep and travel.

Mr Heywood said, “It was wonderful to see what a huge difference could be made to people’s lives by even the most basic kind of dental care such as we take for granted.”