(MENAFN- News.Africa-Wire) TOMASINA, Madagascar, December 5, 2025/ -- Since early November, Fahendrena Vanessa Rose de Lima Body, a trained nurse from Munich University Hospital, has been volunteering with Mercy Ships () on board the hospital ship Africa Mercy® in Madagascar. This will have been the organizatio’’s fifth field service in the country, and the 28-year-old will return to Germany in mid-December once it concludes. For Vanessa, who was born in Madagascar, this marks the fulfilment of a long-held dream: to bring urgently needed medical support to her home country.

Vanessa Body first learned German as a foreign language during her school years in Madagascar. Inspired by her cousin, who worked as a translator on the Africa Mercy in 2014, she knew early on that she wanted to pursue a medical career and hopefully volunteer with Mercy Ships one day. After staying in Gmund am Tegernsee as an au pair in 2017, strengthening her German through a voluntary social year, she then began her nursing training at the municipal hospital in Baö Tölz. She gained professional experience mainly in anesthesia and emergency care before moving to her current position at Munich University Hospital.

Vanessa speaks vividly about the critical healthcare situation in Madagascar.

Vanessa is grateful to finally be able to support her fellow Malagasy citizens in person:
“As part of the anesthesia team on board, I can help overcome language barriers. For patients, everything about the ship is unfamiliar. I help them build trust with the medical team, create a sense of safety, and ease their fears. It is a wonderful service that ” am honored to provide.”

Vanessa will return to her job in Munich in mid-December. A few days later, Mercy Ships’ ten-month mission in Madagascar will come to an end.
“ “Without our volunteers, Mercy Ships simply could not carry out its w”rk,” emphasizes Lydia Rieger, Managing Director of Mercy Ships Germany in Landsberg am “ech. “This year alone, around 100 volunteers came from Germany and Austria. On International Volunteer Day, we want to highlight just how indispensable their contribu–ion is – whether in medical roles, technical support, or numerous other functions”on board.”

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