A former Eastport resident has just returned from an uplifting, humanitarian experience in Africa and has plans to take part in the endeavor again. Matthew Bakis, a 1997 graduate of Shead High School, served aboard the Global Mercy, a hospital ship that delivers free surgeries and other healthcare services, shadowing the ship's captain to learn the job so he can return to be the commander of the 570-foot vessel on another trip. Bakis arrived back at his home in Cape Elizabeth on February 21 after a three-week field service tour in Sierra Leone.
      After graduating from Shead, Bakis went to Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) and has since been a merchant mariner for over 20 years. He says he had learned about Mercy Ships, the international charity that operates hospital ships serving nations in Africa, while he was attending MMA and was intrigued by the organization and its mission. Later he got in touch with the charity, "and it all came together. It's pretty awesome to be able to do this."
      Since Mercy Ships is a faith-based organization, they "want the right person for that job," he notes, so he first went on the short-term trip. The full trips are often for 10 months of field service.
      Bakis says the experience changed him. "I wanted to do this for so long, and it was rewarding to finally be able to do so and to see the good that people are doing in this world. To be able to witness the good that people are capable of is a great thing to see."
      The three weeks gave Bakis the chance to learn about the organization and to meet the crew and healthcare providers. He eventually plans to take a longer trip as the ship's captain with his wife Julie and their three children. "You can come as a family, as they have a school on board," he notes. The fully-accredited international academy provides schooling from Kindergarten through high school. "It's like a whole village there, centered around the hospital."
      Mercy Ships currently has two ships, the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy, with a third one being built. The Global Mercy has six operating rooms and other healthcare resources, and surgeons on the ship provide orthopedic, pediatric, head and neck, eye and other general surgery. Dental and women's health services are also offered, and care is specialized based on the patient's condition and specific needs. All surgeries are free.
      Each year more than 2,500 volunteer professionals from over 60 countries -- from doctors and nurses to teachers, cooks and engineers -- serve on the two ships. Since the organization was founded in 1978 nearly 120,000 life-saving procedures have been performed. At the invitation of the government, the Global Mercy came to the Port of Freetown, Sierra Leone, in August 2023, and during a 10-month stay over 1,700 life-changing surgeries were performed. Following a short maintenance period, the ship returned to Freetown in August 2024.
      For some surgeries such as orthopedic ones, a child may come aboard and then stay on the ship for rehabilitation, so that when the ship leaves port the "kid is out of his cast and done with rehab," Bakis notes. Eye surgery for conditions such as glaucoma can be done in a day. "People walk in nearly blind from glaucoma, and a 10-minute surgery completely changes their life," Bakis points out. Children who are bow-legged are shunned for being physically deformed in some cultures, and the orthopedic surgeries "completely change them." Goiter is another significant issue, with the growth on the face or neck able to be removed through surgery. Mercy Ships has a center on shore as a place where patients and their families can stay and that provides nutrition and rehab services.
      The organization partners with local government agencies and the local medical community so that before a ship comes to a country a coordinator has been working for perhaps two years to identify patients and make the preparations for having them ready for surgery when the ship arrives.
      Mercy Ships serves countries in Africa, because "there's such a great need and so few resources," Bakis notes. "The surgeons that are needed aren't there. It's amazing how much need there is." According to the organization, throughout sub-Saharan Africa at least 90% of the people lack access to surgical care.
      The organization also aims to improve local healthcare infrastructure and access. Mercy Ships partners with doctors who live in the country the ship is visiting to train them in surgical techniques so that their work can continue once the ship leaves, Bakis points out. The goal is to increase the number of fully-trained providers in the countries to further enhance the future of surgical care. While the ships depart after a 10-month stay, the organization "is leaving behind trained surgeons, which magnifies the impact." He says that Mercy Ships "leaves a lasting impression wherever they go. It's a pretty amazing organization."
      In addition, the organization implements Food for Life programs that train people how to sustainably produce nutritional food and crops.
      Almost all of both the ship's crew and all of the healthcare team members are volunteers. "The surgeons are top-notch from around the world. They're all there volunteering," Bakis observes. While some orthopedic surgeons may be on board for only two weeks, others stay for two to four years. "One guy raised his family there over a decade."
      "It restores my faith in humanity, with so many people volunteering their time - to see people dropping everything and just volunteer," says Bakis. "You can't change the world, but when you're helping that one person you're changing their entire world. To see the transformation is pretty amazing."