Mercy Ships Volunteers Screen 2,500 People During Benin Screening Day
Mercy Ships held its general screening day on Thursday, February 19, in Cotonou, Benin. At the Hall des Arts, Mercy Ships volunteer nurses, doctors, and support staff screened 1,952 patients. The number was so large a second day of screening took place on Friday, and over 500 more patients were screened.
Over two hundred people were already waiting when Mercy Ships security arrived at 3:30 am on Thursday, and they continued to flow though the afternoon. Seeing that many patients in one day is challenging, even for Dr. Gary Parker, Chief Medical Officer and maxillo-facial surgeon with Mercy Ships, who has worked at nearly fifty screening days.
“We see these thousands of people,” Dr. Parker said. “Each one of these people is a fellow human being, and they all have their story, and they all have their hopes and dreams. We have to see them in such a way that respects them and their dignity as a fellow human being.”
