Truly rewarding experience, says volunteer on hospital ship

Thursday 28th July 2011, 2:29PM BST.

Ophthalmic nurse Suli Henderson in one of the theatres on board Mercy Ships hospital ship Africa Mercy.

A LOCAL nurse practitioner has just returned after three weeks as a volunteer on the world’s largest charity hospital ship.

Ophthalmic nurse Suli Henderson worked on board the Africa Mercy providing free medical care and humanitarian aid to people in Sierra Leone.

Run by the international charity Mercy Ships, Ms Henderson volunteered as part of the specialist eye surgery team.

‘I volunteered with Mercy Ships as the vision and values of the charity were in line with my own,’ she said. ‘Working with Mercy Ships is truly rewarding and what I got out of the experience was more than I expected. I was so pleased to be able to help make a difference in peoples’ lives.’