For change to be sustainable, it must be grounded in a change in community thinking. As an extension of our medical health care work, Mercy Ships conducts development activities that encourage good health and improved quality of life in whole communities.

Community Health Education
Lack of knowledge about basic health care leads to tens of thousands of deaths each day in the developing world. Mercy Ships is committed to breaking the cycle of disease through prevention and knowledge. Community health education teams train students in basic health and hygiene, first aid and HIV/AIDS prevention. These students then go on to teach others in their own communities.

Clean Water & Sanitation
Mercy Ships helps to alleviate drinking water problems by drilling wells and repairing existing water systems in villages without access to safe water. Trainees receive basic education in how to maintain and take care of the wells and pumps.

Development teams work with villagers to build latrines, a basic component of a healthy community, and teach them about waterborne diseases and sanitation options. Mercy Ships seeks to establish a core group of people in each location who are able to teach and motivate others in creating and maintaininga healthy environment.

Agriculture
Agricultural programmes help families and communities learn practical food-producing skills, thereby directly reducing malnutrition. Improved crops and income bring better health to the farmer, his family and his community. Teams address agricultural topics such as crop and garden planning, seed sowing and saving, natural disease and pest controls, and water conservation and irrigation practices. These principles are foundational for sustainable community development.

Construction
In communities lacking resources and destroyed by disaster, Mercy Ships helps turn vision into reality. Together with local leaders, development teams assess community needs and then provide manpower, skills and materials for a variety of building projects. Projects include building schools, clinics, orphanages and other public facilities.

During the construction, teams train local community members in useful building skills. The fact that residents are actively involved in Mercy Ships projects gives the local community a stronger sense of ownership.

Skills Training
For the poor or disabled in developing nations, the opportunity to learn a trade or skill often comes second to survival. Many adults who cannot read and write are often unemployable and unable to provide for even the most basic needs for their families. Mercy Ships invests in individuals through adult literacy courses, on-the-job training, classroom teaching and capacity building, empowering them to improve their futures.

Women’s Projects
In many developing countries, women in villages spend their lives fetching water and working in the fields, with little or no education. Mercy Ships empowers women in rural areas to embrace the possibility of transformation and to recognise their undeniably important role in society, mobilising them to find solutions to improve the quality of life for their families and communities through trade and commerce as well as emotional and spiritual development.