2015 - Mercy Ships photo gallery

Dr. Alan Budd, accompanied by his wife Margaret, gave an engaging talk about the work that Mercy Ships performs for the communities of Africa that have no other access to medical services. As Mercy Ships volunteers for over 20 years Dr. Budd received an MBE in 1999 for his services to medicine in Berkshire. The ship is 450 feet long, has 8 operating theatres, a ward with 82 beds and a multicultural crew from 40 countries. 480 people live on board at any one time and some have been volunteers for over 23 years, although some people go for shorter periods of 2 weeks. They perform eye and dental surgery, surgery on cleft lips and palate, vaginal and orthopaedic surgery and on tumours of the face and ears.