Founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, MercyShips.org is a humanitarian organization headquartered in Garden Valley (near Tyler), Texas. Its mission is as bold as it is simple: bring world-class surgical care directly to nations where access to safe surgery remains a luxury.
Operating entirely on donations and volunteer service, Mercy Ships deploys fully equipped hospital ships to African ports, transforming harbors into floating medical centers.
Each ship is a self-sustaining community. The Africa Mercy, a converted ferry launched in 2007, houses five operating rooms, an 82-bed recovery ward, laboratories, and accommodations for more than 400 crew members. The Global Mercy, commissioned in 2021, is the organization’s first purpose-built hospital ship. With six operating rooms and capacity for nearly a thousand people, it stands as the world’s largest civilian hospital ship.
Life aboard these vessels is as challenging as it is purposeful. Volunteers—surgeons, nurses, engineers, teachers, cooks, and deckhands—sign on for months at a time. They share compact cabins, work long shifts, and take meals together in common dining halls. Many bring their families; schools on board ensure children continue their education while their parents serve. The environment is communal, international, and deeply mission-driven.
Mercy Ships deployments, known as “field services,” typically last eight to ten months and occur only after an official invitation from a host nation. Advance teams work with local ministries of health to prepare for arrival. Once docked, surgeries begin immediately. Tumor removals, cleft palate repairs, orthopedic corrections, and cataract procedures are performed on board, while dental and eye clinics operate onshore.
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| Deck officers aboard the Mercy Ship “Global Mercy” take a brief pause on duty. These maritime professionals help keep the hospital ship safely crewed and seaworthy as it delivers free surgical care along the African coast. |
Equally important are the training programs—local surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses learn techniques that strengthen their national health systems long after the ship departs.
In 2024 alone, Mercy Ships completed 4,746 surgical operations and more than 13,000 dental treatments. With Global Mercy now fully operational, the fleet is expected to serve more than 1,500 surgical patients annually, expanding both reach and impact.
The World Health Organization estimates that five billion people lack access to safe, affordable surgical care. In some African nations, nine out of ten who need an operation cannot obtain one.
Mercy Ships does not claim to solve this crisis—but it bridges an immense gap, one patient and one surgery at a time.
For the volunteers, it is a voyage of skill and spirit.
For the patients, it is often a passage from despair to recovery.
And for those who watch these ships sail, emblazoned with the promise of healing, it is proof that compassion can still chart a course across any sea.
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