SARAH Sim has two big loves: travelling and helping people.
So it was an easy decision for the Fremantle nurse to combine these passions, volunteering for a stint on a mercy ship in Africa.
The Africa Mercy has been in Cameroon since August, with more than 400 volunteers on board giving free surgery, health care and development aid to the country’s poor.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWMs Sim said it was not until she saw a documentary on TV that she decided she wanted to help out aboard one of the world’s biggest hospital ships.
“Experiencing new cultures has influenced me to see a lot of the world, especially developing countries, which has given me some invaluable insight into the health disparities throughout the world,” she said.
“I have always felt very lucky and grateful for the lifestyle, health care and living conditions we have in Australia and feel that it’s vital that we don’t become immune to the global health inequities and poverty.
“Many patients coming to Mercy ships have extremely challenging lives and lack of access to appropriate medical care and treatment is one of the main pressing issues.
“We have had a few presentations where they have been found to have underlying medical conditions which exclude them from being able to have surgery, or conditions which delay their surgery, such as testing positive to HIV or malaria.”
Visit www.mercyships.org.au.
MORE: Local councillors and CEOs omitted from State Government wage freeze
