A vibrant celebration as Mercy Ships marked a “record year”

“2025 has been characterised by the most beautiful thing one can imagine. People’s lives have been transformed thanks to your gifts and commitment. More than 4,500 specialised surgical operations have been carried out – as well as over 32,000 dental treatments.” 

This was how Randi Mondorf opened her chair’s report at Mercy Ships Denmark’s annual general meeting on Monday 27 April 2026, held in the beautiful premises generously made available free of charge by the law firm Gorrissen Federspiel on the 9th floor in central Copenhagen.

Mercy Ships operates two large hospital ships along Africa’s coasts: Global Mercy in Sierra Leone and Africa Mercy in Madagascar. The latter is the former Danish Great Belt ferry Dronning Ingrid, whose railway deck has been converted into five operating theatres, two dental clinics and a ward with 80 beds.

Randi Mondorf told the 125 attendees that volunteer doctors and nurses from all over the world operate across seven surgical specialties – ranging from cataract surgery and cleft lip and palate procedures to tumours and physical deformities. These are operations that local populations would otherwise have no chance of receiving.

A “record year” despite challenges

Running such a large humanitarian operation is costly, so it was met with great joy when Secretary General Charlotte Nørholm Dyhr was able to present a “record year” for fundraising by Mercy Ships in Denmark.

In 2025, 23 million kroner were raised for Mercy Ships by 15,000 donors, churches, foundations and companies.

Mercy Ships Denmark’s support base has never been larger – even though 2025 was described by Chair Randi Mondorf as a “year of consolidation”, featuring a new Secretary General, new office facilities provided by the maritime company Synergy Denmark, and an expanded team of dedicated staff. “The entire office has delivered an outstanding effort in 2025,” she concluded.

“Our record year represents a provisional culmination of a positive trend showing increased engagement since 2021. The funds come, among others, from foundations, associations, churches and private individuals. In 2025 alone, 6,409 new donors chose to support Mercy Ships. In addition, several companies contributed equipment or pro bono services. A huge thank you to everyone – without you, this work would simply not be possible!” Charlotte Nørholm Dyhr, Secretary General

She also reported that Mercy Ships Denmark in 2025 sent out 23 assignments involving 21 Danish volunteers to work on the two hospital ships for shorter or longer periods.

Meeting volunteers live online

A particularly festive moment came when Operations Manager Vibeke Hauge Førrisdahl connected live to the hospital ship Global Mercy in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where three Danish volunteers spoke online about their daily lives on board.

Helle Larsen is a wound-care nurse who arrived a week ago and will remain on the ship for another four weeks: “I’ve been introduced to all the safety rules and procedures in the operating department. Everyone is so kind and very good at explaining how everything works on the ship,” she said.

Lone Martensen is an operating theatre nurse and has been working on board for 14 days: “It’s incredibly exciting to be here. The learning curve is steep, and there’s a lot to take in. Everyone is so kind and understanding if you make mistakes. There’s a really positive atmosphere on the ship!”

Henriette Johansen is a schoolteacher who has committed to a two-year engagement to ensure a degree of continuity for the children of the ship’s many volunteers: “I heard about Mercy Ships from a friend 12 years ago and have dreamed of working here ever since. And when I later became a schoolteacher and gained experience in teaching, I was ready to go abroad,” she explained.

Fundraising, recruitment and visibility

Money, Manpower and Media (fundraising, recruitment and visibility) are the three key elements of the strategy for how Mercy Ships Denmark raises funds, recruits volunteers and builds awareness so the hospital ships can treat even more patients.

In terms of fundraising, Mercy Ships Denmark transferred more than 16 million kroner – 70 per cent of total funds raised – in 2025. Administrative costs were kept at 9.4 per cent, while fundraising and information costs accounted for 18.5 per cent.

As for visibility, awareness was generated in 2025 through, among other things, TV advertising to encourage even more people to donate from 2026 onwards. In 2025, brand awareness in Denmark increased from 4 to 8 per cent. In addition to adverts on TV 2, articles were published in magazines such as HELSE, LægeLiv and Ude & Hjemme, as well as in maritime and church media.

Expanding a highly competent board

New board members were also elected at the annual meeting. Up for re‑election were Milan Falsing, Chief Officer (Synergy Denmark A/S), Anna Holst Pahus, Nurse Anaesthetist (Hvidovre Hospital), and Michael Weis, Director (Source2Sea). All were re‑elected.

In addition, the board nominated three further members to ensure a strong and effective composition. As Chair Randi Mondorf explained: “We have a competent board, but we can clearly feel that fundraising and raising awareness for the cause is increasingly challenging. This places demands on us as management and staff to become more visible and to demonstrate that we are both relevant and credible – especially now, as the organisation is growing and, at our 50th anniversary in 2028, we will also be inaugurating a new hospital ship, Africa Mercy II.”

The newly elected board members are Marguerite Ellekvist, Nurse Anaesthetist (Rigshospitalet), Mette Ingemann, Business Advisor, and Gitte Stausholm, Investor.

Other board members – all up for election in 2027 – are Randi Mondorf, municipal and regional councillor; Lisbet Rose Zoe Annan, Director (Mensa Leadership Consult); Lone Veng, Director (Precision Pharma); and Søren Würtz, Head of Department (Andel Energi).

Source: Mercy Ships Danmark