Dana Perino Finds Mercy Ships Mission Propels Faith, Service, and Hope
Dana Perino reached the pinnacle of career success as press secretary for former President George W. Bush and then as host of a cable news program. But she found true meaning, she says, when helping those in need through the Mercy Ships, a global nonprofit that operates the world’s largest civilian hospital ships to deliver free, life-changing surgeries and medical care to the world’s forgotten poor.
Mercy Ships is a surgical hospital ship started by Don and Deyon Stephens, a couple from Texas. “They had this goal of helping the people who feel hopeless and the forgotten poor. This was a Jesus-based mission” she recently stated.
Launched in 1978 after being inspired by the success of the SS Hope, the world’s first peacetime hospital ship the vision of the organization has brought together thousands of volunteers around the world. Each mission serves some of the globe’s poorest nations.
READ: Mercy Ships Streaming Series
Perino confirmed her absence from Fox News was because of volunteer work and reporting on the medical mission work. But her work with the organization goes back a bit. She began after she received a request years ago from Bush and former first lady Laura Bush to interview them for an event arranged by the organization. “It was a kickoff to the capital campaign that raised the money to build this new ship,” Perino told CBN News this week. Today, Mercy Ships is filled with volunteers. Some surgeons come for a week or two, and others stay longer. Other medical professionals stay for months.
Perino said the founders wanted to bring surgeons to parts of Africa, where there are fewer physicians available to serve medical needs. In West and Central Africa, some countries have as few as one surgeon per two million people, compared to the United States, where there is approximately one surgeon per 10,000 people.
Tragically, some suffer without medical intervention or surgical care, something Mercy Ships remedies. The Africa Mercy and Global Mercy, the flagship vessels, are equipped with state-of-the-art operating rooms and recovery wards, all staffed by volunteers who pay their own way and donate their expertise. Perino is among those who help out; but even more powerfully, she uses her position at Fox News to tell the stories of people aboard these ships — moving stories of medical assistance, love and compassion.
“They don’t waste a dollar, ever,” she said. “I’ve been several times. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. They’re very good stewards of the donations that they get.” The organization reports that 93% of all donations go directly to program services (Mercy Ships).
The experience of serving with Mercy Ships has inspired and reinforced Perino’s faith. “I grew up in a Lutheran church,” she said. “My parents were very strong supporters of the refugee program in Denver. So we spent our weekends when we were kids helping resettle refugees either from Vietnam or from the former Soviet Union.” This experience, she said, instilled an understanding of what it looks like to help others.
“It reconnects me to my early years, my formative years,” Perino said, noting she’s grateful to work at a place where she can openly talk about her faith. “In a small way, if I can add to people’s confidence to feel that they can talk about how they feel and to profess God’s love, then I mean, that’s the good stuff of being able to work at Fox.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
