Lack of mobility in a developing nation can be more than disabling. For the battered and broken, Mercy Ships orthopaedic teams make a lasting difference by helping one hurting person at a time.

“Orthopaedics” literally means “the straight child”. Surgeons perform procedures on children to correct congenital conditions such as clubfeet and bowed legs. The surgical procedure is only the beginning of the process. Follow-up, splintage, re-casting and physical therapy can take months to allow for complete healing.

War injuries, gunshot and machete wounds, automobile and motorcycle accidents, falls from mango trees and other injuries comprise a never-ending stream of patients. Orthopaedic surgeons perform a wide range of operations to generate mobility.

Since 1978, Mercy Ships crew has:

• performed more than 61,000 life-changing operations such as cleft lip and palate repair, cataract removal, orthopaedic procedures, facial reconstruction and obstetric fistula repair.