Minor Job - Mercy Ministries

On the ship we have a minor job program that allows crew staying longer than 3 months to be allowed off work for either half a day or a day a week to participate in a different job.  The idea is that this gives people the opportunity to see a different area of the ministry of the ship, to work off-ship, to engage with local people or to work down in the hospital. 

It is very easy to live in a western bubble on the ship.  Whilst there are some real challenges to living here (such as living in such a close community, having no personal space and the constant change of people), these challenges are very different to those experienced by a traditional missionary or aid worker in the developing world.  We are very privileged to have reliable power, clean running water, and good varied food, among many other things.  Because of this it is easy to forget that you are actually in Africa and difficult to have any idea of what life is like here.  My job also requires that I work with equipment, and on the whole I like that, however, equipment doesn't have much personality and with such a small team (just two) I sometimes miss doing work that engages with people. 

As a result I decided that I would apply for a minor job with Mercy Ministries.  Mercy Ministries provides off-ship ministry opportunities for crew working alongside existing ministries demonstrating hope and healing to those who can't be reached and helped through our onboard services.  The Mercy Ministries program, run by Ines Kronester, is made up of visits to a number of different local partners in the country.  We partner with existing ministries to support and encourage them, and to ensure that the work continues after we leave the country.  The opportunities are varied and include homework clubs, orphanages, youth detention centres, the local hospital paediatric wards, HIV/AIDS women's hostels.  Anyone on the ship can sign up for a session to come out with a Mercy Ministries team.  As a team leader I am responsible for briefing the team (some of whom may have no previous experience with Mercy Ministries and may not have been on the ship long) to ensure we are respectful to the organisation we partner with, liaising with the leaders of the partner organisation, planning what the group does during the sessions and coordinating the session whilst we are at the place.  This is challenging me greatly as I need to ensure that we as a team are respectful of the people we partner with and maintain a wider picture outlook on what we do (to achieve long term goals rather than short term), which isn't always understood or shared by the participants.  My hope is that I can help them to understand more about how to facilitate long term development, and to develop deeper relationships with the people I work with through Mercy Ministries.