Two longtime Prince George citizens have been volunteering in Africa since November of 2015.
Larry and Sandra Hewitt, eleven-year residents of PG, left home in September 2015 to begin training in Texas in order to board the Africa Mercy in November of that same year.
The charity organization Mercy Ships proclaims The Africa Mercy is “the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world,”.
While on-board, Larry Hewitt explained that works as a biomedical technician, responsible for “all the equipment that they use on the patients in the wards, the OR, labs, and even the dental equipment,”.
His wife, Sandra, works as a senior pharmacist. Sandra Hewitt’s primary responsibilities involve extensive planning, as Sandra said that it takes “about three or four months to order and receive medicine”.
The pair have worked in Madagascar as well as numerous countries in West Africa including Benin, Cameroon, Guinea and Senegal.
While the couple has committed to another two years abroad, they do return to PG to visit during the summer months when the Africa Mercy undergoes care and maintenance.
More information about Mercy Ships can be found on their website.