ROSYTH waved a fond farewell to MV Forth Hope yesterday – a brand new medical vessel sent to the remote Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru to provide a “lifeline” for local communities.
Launched from Babcock’s Rosyth site by Vine Trust – an Edinburgh-based international development and volunteering charity – the ship is expected to deliver more than two million consultations over the next 20 years to communities who would otherwise be without access to the most basic medical care.
Equipped with a dental surgery, operating theatre, consultation rooms and a pharmacy, MV Forth Hope will act as a floating healthcare centre. Medical and dental volunteers, in conjunction with local clinicians, will provide consultations, treatment and health education free of charge.
The ship is the fourth commissioned by Vine Trust but its first brand new one. Named by HRH The Princess Royal at Babcock’s Rosyth site in May, the state-of-the art medical centre was outfitted with the support of Babcock and 30 private businesses.
Put simply, the vessel “will enable Vine Trust to significantly increase and enhance much-needed primary healthcare services”, according to medical programme manager Kenny Holt.
Willie McPherson, the trust’s chief executive, said: “Vine Trust has always sought to make a significant and lasting impact on the people we support, offering effective help to vulnerable and isolated communities living in poverty.”
MV Forth Hope will complement the work already under way by Amazon Hope 2, the Vine Trust’s other vessel in the area. Together, the ships are expected to provide consultations to more than 160 communities on the Amazon and its tributaries.
The sustainable programme is mirrored by the trust’s Jubilee Hope project on Lake Victoria, Tanzania.
Marilyn Ure, a retired midwife from Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, spent a fortnight as a volunteer aboard the Amazon Hope last March, having previously worked on the Jubilee Hope on Lake Victoria.
She said: “These remote communities have no fresh running water and little access to electricity, let alone medical services. The Jubilee Hope and the medical team on board really are a lifeline. It was a tremendous opportunity to be able to help the local people.”
Vine Trust is not ready to rest on its laurels, however, and McPherson believes the latest launch is a significant step in the right direction.
He said: “The delivery of MV Forth Hope to the Amazon will double the current capacity of our Peru Medical Programme, enabling the provision of 100,000 consultations per annum, and provide invaluable primary healthcare services to remote riverine villages.”
The ship and its selfless volunteers have set out on a six-week, 6600-mile delivery voyage. Currently en route to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, the MV Hope Forth will soon cross the Atlantic Ocean towards Macapa, Brazil, before venturing up the Amazon River.
Considering the ship was originally destined to be a shuttle ferry on a five-minute crossing, the transatlantic mission is a testament both to humanitarianism and engineering.
Ian Donnelly, managing director of Babcock Rosyth site, said: “It was a real honour for Babcock to be involved in such a worthwhile project. Our team worked really hard to transform MV Forth Hope and everyone involved in the project should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”
Vine Trust’s model of short-term volunteering projects has proved immensely successful in both Peru and Tanzania, providing sustainable, life-altering benefits for communities crippled by poverty.
By the end of this year, more than 3217 volunteers will have helped to build 95 family homes, while delivering 1.4 million healthcare consultations and treatments, through its medical, homebuilding and school expeditions.
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