Community Involvement

Update from Africa: 4,700 Instruments Repaired.
"Not a bad week."

Cotonou, Benin - Sept. 30, 2009
In his first week onboard the floating hospital the Africa Mercy, IMS Red Technician Willie Miles (aka "Miles") serviced, modified, or inspected 4,700 instruments. Yes, 4,700. "Not a bad week," Miles quipped in an e-mail to friends and colleagues back home, Not bad, indeed. Some 7,000 surgeries are performed each year on the Mercy Ships vessel, dedicated to providing health care where it is not otherwise available. IMS sent Miles there in support of Instruments of Mercy, a charity that has stepped up to care for the ship's inventory of surgical instruments.

"The staff here are very grateful for all the work we have done and for the work day-and-night to improve the service they provide," wrote Miles, who normally repairs instruments in a Boston-based Red van. In the first week, Miles modified some 50 microinsertion forceps, he reported. "Also, anything that was broken and could be modified to be used as something else - it's been done. There are some things that I couldn't do that they're going to send out," he added. "But not much - maybe 20 items."

This weekend, Miles planned to take some time to explore Cotonou, Benin, a vibrant but impoverished city where the ship is docked. "This has really been an eye-opening experience for me," he wrote. "Thanks for getting involved in this and allowing me to help. There is so much needed here. I just wonder what else I can do."

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Update From Africa: IMS Red Technician Willie Miles
Repairs Instruments Onboard Hospital Ship

Cotonou, Benin - Sept. 24, 2009
Intrepid IMS Red Technician Willie (aka "Miles") Miles landed in Cotonou, Benin, last weekend and began a life-changing stay in Africa. Miles is there to set up an instrument repair lab and refurbish surgical equipment on the Africa Mercy, the largest non-government-owned floating hospital. On Sunday, Miles set up the lab using equipment donated by IMS and other companies. And on Monday, he was ready to get to work repairing instruments; instruments that will allow surgeons to perform life-changing procedures for people in one of the poorest parts of the world. "Guys, everything is going great here," Miles wrote. "On my first day of work, I started at 7 a.m. and I stopped working at 9 p.m. I got a lot done today - 22 sets. The condition [of the instruments] was less than acceptable, but they are in good shape now. I also repaired a big box of broken micro instruments - done and done!"

Last week, Miles said goodbye to his wife and four children in New Hampshire, as well as his brother Keith, an IMS Red Technician who is covering his territory while Miles is away. He set forth on a mission he's been eagerly awaiting since he learned IMS would be supporting Instruments of Mercy in its partnership with Mercy Ships. Miles was inspired by the more than 7,000 surgeries per year that are performed in the six operating rooms on the Africa Mercy and at other facilities supported by Mercy Ships. He knew that those surgeries - for disabling conditions that often isolate patients from their communities – profoundly change lives. And he'd already seen the power volunteers can have in a community; his own life was changed by helpful strangers when his family's Gulf Coast home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The next week and a half will be busy and meaningful for Miles as he repairs instruments and helps people in the underserved country of Benin. While on the ship, Miles will be working alongside Tommy Robinson, an IMS employee who is spending two months volunteering aboard the ship. Keep up the good work, guys!

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