My name is Romeo Urikeraka. I am a photographer, filmmaker, and communications volunteer from Namibia, serving full-time aboard the Global Mercy the world's largest civilian hospital ship, operated by Mercy Ships.

Every day on this ship, surgeons restore sight, straighten limbs, and rebuild the faces of patients who have waited years for care they could never afford. My role is to document those moments. I photograph the patients. I film the transformations. I tell the stories that move donors to give, inspire volunteers to come, and remind the world that the poorest communities in West Africa are worth showing up for.

I am not in the operating theatre but the stories I tell fund the surgeries that happen there.

Mercy Ships volunteers are unpaid. We cover our own personal expenses travel, daily costs, and everything outside of meals and accommodation on the ship out of pocket or through the support of people who believe in the mission. I have been drawing from my own savings for too long, and I need a community of supporters to stand with me so I can stay focused on the work.

I have close to a decade of experience in humanitarian media, documentary filmmaking, and communications. I bring that entire skillset to this ship every single day, freely, because I believe this work matters.

Your gift whether once or monthly directly sustains my ability to remain on the field. When you give to me, you are investing in every story I will tell, every patient whose dignity I will protect through how I photograph them, every film that will reach someone across the world and move them to act.

You may never set foot on this ship. But your name is in this work.

I would be honoured to have you in my corner.