Graeme Walls, 40 years of service

Rafael, Mexico 1987 Graeme with Rafael’s photo after surgery Rafael’s transformation Surgeon Dr Gary Parker and Rafael Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Rafael Rafael was a man completely transformed. It wasn’t just his appearance that changed after his cleft lip surgery, his whole demeanour was altered, He was viewing…

Yasawa, Fiji 1998 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Yasawa One evening in 1994, the Island Mercy was anchored off Atafu Island in the Tokelau group of islands in the Pacific. The crew enjoyed the tropical tranquility as they sat on the ship’s deck singing songs and talking…

Sahondra, Madagascar 1996 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Sahondra Since birth, a cleft lip and palate had limited Sahondra’s ability to eat, speak and even breathe normally. It was nearly impossible to take short controlled breaths through her mouth to ease her asthma attacks. Her cleft lip…

Mercy Ships – a legacy of hope and healing Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: How it all began A devastating hurricane, meeting Mother Teresa and the birth of a special needs son drove a God-given dream that would inspire bringing hope and healing to the world’s poorest people. Since…

Señora Camacho, Mexico 1987 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Señora Camacho The elderly woman struggled to see as she slowly made her way up the Anastasis gangway. The ship’s crew were full of anticipation, hoping to catch a glimpse of the FIRST PATIENT to ever have surgery on a…

Aminata, Sierra Leone 1993 Sandy and Aminata on board the Anastasis © Mercy Ships A life-long friendship had been forged Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Aminata People found Aminata terrifying and yelled curses at her. They called the teenager The Witch of Freetown because of the large…

Benigno, Guatemala 2001 © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Benigno ‘Children seemed to enjoy tripping and hitting me because I couldn’t see,’ Benigno explained. Bilateral cataracts had so reduced his sight that he could hardly see the children coming…

Paul Pascal, Cameroon 2018 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Paul Pascal Paul Pascal was born with a cleft lip that disfigured his face and a cleft palate that made it impossible to breastfeed properly. His mother watched helplessly as he grew thinner and weaker. People around her…

Mama H, Guinea 2013 Tender touch was an important part of Mama H’s healing Hasanatu quickly bacame known on the wards as Mama H Mama H meets the crew members who donated blood for her surgery Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Mama H Where she comes from,…

Felisia, Benin 2000 Felicia had a lot of hope 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Felisia She arrived to the Mercy Ship Anastasis with a definite air of expectation; for over 50 years Felisia had lived without a nose. When she was just a teenager, a painful wound appeared on Felisia’s arm.…

Grace, Congo 2013 Grace before and after surgery Life hung in the balance for the 17-year-old Grace’s sass is back! Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Grace Grace was one of the first patients up the Africa Mercy gangway in the Republic of the Congo in 2013. It…

LORETTE, PHILIPPINES 1999 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Lorette Prayer has always played a key role in the hope and healing that Mercy Ships offers. Sometimes God’s answer to these prayers is something that surprises everyone. Lorette knew she had glaucoma and the vision in her right…

MARIA, EL SALVADOR 1999 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Maria Maria was doing chores in her garden in El Salvador, while her granddaughter played by her side. Suddenly she noticed the toddler had wandered over to the newly dug well – and toppled into it! Maria ran…

Niki, Cote d’Ivoire 1991 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Niki In a remote fishing village in the Ivory Coast, a midwife was tending a premature baby that had been abaondoned by her family.  The Anastasis team visiting the village included a huge-hearted couple who made a life-transforming…

Yaya, Guinea 2012 Yaya before and after orthopaedic surgery © Mercy Ships The resilient, courageous Yaya © Mercy Ships Yaya and his friend nurse Dan.© Mercy Ships Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Yaya Yaya didn’t dare to hope his terribly twisted legs could ever be restored, even…

Isabelle, El Salvador 1999 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Isabelle Isabelle had a dream that one day she would walk like other children. She had been born with both feet severely deformed and curled under, so she learned to walk on the tops of her club feet. The object of cruel…

Monique, Cameroon 2008 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Monique Shy little Monique never let on her vision was fading, leading everyone to believe she simply wasn’t trying. But one day, as Monique fumbled around, Grandma realised all was not all as it seemed. Monique waited in darkness,…

Sidiatu, Sierra Leone 2011 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Sidiatu Born with cataracts in both eyes, Sidiatu’s blindness required her Mum’s undivided attention. It broke her heart. Fatmata had been searching for hope for over a year – hope that her baby daughter might have a normal…

Jatu, Sierra Leone 2010 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Jatu Jatu didn’t know exactly how old she was. She thought she might be 15, but her playful grin and bright pink polka dot nail polish suggested she was a lot younger. Whatever her age, Jatu has already…

Fifalina, Madagascar 2015 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Fifalina Fifalina knows setbacks. She was born with a condition that caused her legs to become twisted and turned severely in multiple directions. The day Kristi met her, Fifalina was chasing a balloon- barely able to walk but laughing anyway. ‘There…

Hurricane Mitch, Nicaragua 1998 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Hurricane Mitch It was the most devastating hurricane in the Caribbean region for more than 200 years. As winds reached 180 mph, thousands of people living in poverty were killed, injured or left homeless. Families were torn apart Operation Mercy…

Kaltoumi, Cameroon 2017 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Kaltoumi Kaltoumi had 3 months to live when she was helped up the Africa Mercy gangway in Cameroon in 2016. The massive facial tumour she’d carried for almost half her life threatened to slowly suffocate the 12-year-old. Early death from starvation…

Blessing, Liberia 2005 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Blessing One day Blessing was walking home from school in Liberia, when she fell into a ditch, and her wounded leg rapidly became infected. The local hospital delivered a shocking diagnosis – it was the horrific flesh-eating bacteria noma. A small…

Serah, Madagascar 2016 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Serah Sandrine’s elation turned to shock when her longed-for daughter was born. The baby’s tiny feet were twisted at severe right-angles, facing inward. Her father feared for their daughter’s future. Sandrine tearfully wrapped Serah’s disfigured feet and could not find the…

Bintu, Sierra Leone 2002 © Mercy Ships 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Bintu Bintu was only 9 when rebels overran her village during the Sierra Leone civil War. There was no warning and no chance to flee. During the raid, Bintu was abducted by a rebel leader. Bintu was only 9…

Edoh, Togo 1995 © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Edoh Her parents had all but given her up for dead. The grapefruit-sized tumour on Edoh’s face was relentlessly expanding into her airway when her parents journeyed 500km – to their last…

Haingo, Madagascar 2016 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Haingo Haingo was born in a tropical downpour. In the hut’s dim light, it was clear Haingo ’s tiny mouth was slashed by a bilateral cleft lip. Her father immediately rejected the newborn. Viviaby immediately loved her baby girl and was…

Laurence, Ghana 2006 © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Laurence A piece of a broken knife was hidden in Laurence’s cheek for 19 years. Despite frequent pain, the blade wasn’t discovered until he headed to the Mercy Ships dental clinic to…

Cavilla, Benin 2001 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Cavilla Cavilla was from a stilt village in one of Benin’s rivers. The 3-year-old’s tragic journey made a life-long impact on Sonja Dawson, a nurse who recounts how she reunited with Cavilla’s family 15 years later. ‘Cavilla received free surgery on board in…

Sambany, Madagascar 2014 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Sambany When he was still a young man, the tumour on his face began to consume Sambany’s life. For 36 years it grew, and grew, and grew – until it became a monstrous burden weighing 7.46 kg. ‘I could not do…

Kumbuna, Gambia 2002 © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Kumbuna The two and a half year old with twelve tiny braids pointing in all directions certainly isn’t the typical patient in the women’s health ward – thankfully. In many parts of…

REGINA, SIERRA LEONE 1993 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Day 10 Like any new parents, Catherine and Augustine excitedly awaited the birth of their first child. But as Catherine’s labour continued for a number of days, the family’s apprehension grew. After four days of labour without medical care, the…

JIMMY, MADAGASCAR 2015 Jimmy was excited to be mobile Physio Hannah from Napier , preparing Jimmy’s prosthetic © Mercy Ships Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Jimmy Jimmy was homeless, and his severe wounds from childhood burns had never been properly treated. He was suffering terribly as toxins…

Paula, Honduras 2003 Paula outside her home with her grand daughters Palua having her hair cut by Helen Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Paula An honest farmer, Antonio had nothing to hide from the police banging on his door. So he opened it. That was a fatal…

Gisele, Congo 2014 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Gisele She was 28 years old and expecting a baby. Gisele was elated with the anticipation of motherhood – until she lost her baby during a prolonged, obstructed labour in her Congolese village.  Added to the physical pain of the traumatic…

Ebenezer, Ghana 2006 © Mercy Ships © Mercy Ships Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Ebenezer When Jason Walls was 13, there was only one thing on his mind – soccer. ‘I played at school, after school, after dinner and, sometimes, even before breakfast. That was not uncommon for boys…

PATRICK, SIERRA LEONE 1992 Previous image Next image 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Patrick The enormous tumour began as a small lump on his chin when Patrick was a child. He endured ridicule and rejection as it increased in size until, as a young man, he made his way to the…

Dreige & Eddy, Congo 2014 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Dreige and Eddy Imagine a childhood without soccer matches, games of hide and seek, or clouds to watch. Dreige & Eddy were robbed of these simple delights by sight-stealing cataracts. From the moment the 14-year-old boys met at the…

Hawa, Sierra Leone 2005 Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Hawa The benign tumour in Hawa’s mouth had grown so large in the 2 years after the swelling started, she could barely eat. Their neighbours said she was cursed. But Hawa found hope – on a Mercy Ship. Hawa was…

Tellez children, Mexico 1987 The family in the Anastasis ward after their cataract surgeries Volunteer ophthalmic surgeon, Dr Bob Dyer Ready to head home Previous Next 40 STORIES OF HEALING: Tellez children When Señor Tellez heard there was a chance for his four blind children to receive free eye surgeries,…