Mercy ship represents last hope for many

Between 5,000 and 6,000 people flocked to the Kegue Stadium in the Togolese capital, Lome, on 6 March, hoping to be selected for treatment by the doctors of the Anastasis, the “mercy ship” that arrived at Lome port on 28 February. Some had huge tumours, others were blinded by cataracts. There were elderly women hiding their goitres with scarfs, and people with harelips, just to mention a few of the ailments. At the end of two days, 653 patients had been chosen for treatment over the four months that the ship was scheduled to stay in Togo. The Anastasis’s 400 volunteers include doctors, nurses who specialise in rural projects and other health professionals. Their main priorities are eye disorders such as cataracts, facial conditions like harelips, cleft palates and tumours, and burns requiring plastic surgery. Orthopaedic surgeons and gynaecologists are also among the specialists on board the 159-metre long ship which has three operating theatres and 40 beds for patients. A mobile dispensary enables members of the Anastasis team to visit patients, including in rural areas, where the volunteers also carry out community development activities such as the construction of health centres and even assist in the creation of micro-enterprises. Treating each patient would cost between 200,000 and 300,000 CFA francs, according to Lorraine MacDonald, the Anastasis’ information officer. (US $1 = 600 FCFA). "The programme’s doctors are motivated by a desire to satisfy the hopes of these patients who either cannot be treated in Togo or whose treatment would be very expensive," she told IRIN. In other cases, patients had had surgery but it hadn’t worked. One man who gave his name as Kodjo had just had a cataract removed from one of his eyes. "I am very happy to be able to see well again," he said. Another had a large tumour on the left side of his face. He simply wanted to have "a normal face like everybody else", he said. The Anastasis team’s brief also includes providing dental care to patients and teaching dental hygiene to school children and adults in rural areas. Other components of its programme are training community chiefs and village representatives in public health and HIV awareness. Women in one village, Ando-Agbadzanake, are scheduled to benefit from projects initiating them to the creation of micro-enterprises, as well as information on malaria and HIV. Other initiatives involving the volunteers include training in water hygiene, latrine building and the rehabilitation of a health clinic. The activities of the Anastasis are sponsored by a Christian organisation called “Mercy Ships” [www.mercyships.org/home.shtml] that is present in 15 countries, with offices on land and some 700 people at sea. Each year it receives donations to the sum of about US $5 million. While in Togo, volunteers, in collaboration with local churches and missionaries, will teach new converts the Bible, donate school supplies and participate along with local schools in children’s development through an artistic development programme. The Anastasis first visited Togo in 1990-1991, when it spent three months. A second visit was made from 13 November 1995 to 3 March 1996, when the team conducted 467 eye operations, treated 7300 other people for various ailments and gave dental health classes to another 6,500.