Reflections on mercy

Mercy Ships has been selected as the official charity partner of the British Dental Health Foundation’s ‘National Smile Month’, the UK’s largest and longest running oral health campaign, which takes place between May 18 and June 18.

The aim of National Smile Month is to ultimately improve oral health through education and awareness raising. This corresponds closely with the work of Mercy Ships, an international charity which uses a hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, currently docked in Madagascar, to deliver free health care and education to the world’s forgotten poor.

Paul Hellyer and all those who have volunteered as part of the Mercy Ships dental team know that a smile goes a long way; however, dental services are almost non-existent in many of the countries the charity visits. A major part of Mercy Ships work therefore focuses on oral health, treating around 100 patients a day, in addition to working to improve oral health in every country it visits through provision of dental hygiene education and the training of local personnel.