| Hospital Ship, Caribbean Mercy, docked in Cozumel. |
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| Thursday, 20 January 2005 | |
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Hospital ship in Cozumel after helping thousands in Honduras The hospital ship Caribbean Mercy stopped in Cozumel this week, after performing medical operations and helping with community development in Honduras. The Caribbean Mercy is one of 3 hospital ships operated by the Christian charity Mercy Ships.
The ship was in Honduras since the 30th of September. The volunteer crew treated and assisted several thousand people in and around Puerto Castilla in the province of Colón. They performed cataract operations, orthopedic surgery, dental treatment and tended to wounds, infections and parasites. One touching example was eight-year-old Dilcia who was born both blind and deaf. When Dilcia’s mother heard about the ship, she and her daughter bussed 60 miles for treatment. The ship’s doctors performed two surgeries on the girl’s eyes, removing both of her life-long cataracts. Just two weeks after her surgeries, this once blind child could see clearly. Governor Juan Gomez of the province of Colón honored the Mercy Ship crew, stating, “You gave us a fish and you taught us to fish. There is no doubt that these are the kind of people that the world needs to bring peace in the world.” Since 1978, Mercy Ships has performed more than 2 million services, with a value of 250 million dollars, and impacted over 5.5 million people. They have 850 career staff and crew from more than 40 nations serving today. For more information about Mercy Ships visit: http://www.mercyships.org/ About the author: Ian F. Campbell is a freelance journalist based in Cozumel. See: yourcontactintheamericas.com. Comments (0)
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By Ian Campbell
Pauline Rick, spokesperson for Mercy Ships in Garden Valley, Texas, said “Cozumel has become an important transition port while we are en route from our field service locations in Central America and the Caribbean.” The Caribbean Mercy hopes to make more short “rest and relaxation” stops at Cozumel in the future too.
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