Angie Reinoehl/MDN First Lutheran Church of Rugby is holding a fundraiser for Allison Leer, a local resident who will be embarking in late April to volunteer on a Mercy Ship docked in Madagascar.

Allison Leer, of Rugby, will be leaving in late April to serve on a Mercy Ship docked in Madagascar. Mercy Ships is a charity organization that provides free medical care to citizens of developing and poor countries.

Mercy Ships was founded in 1978 and has served more than 70 countries and more than 600,000 patients. In addition to providing treatment for ailments such as cleft palates, cataracts, facial reconstruction and dental work, the organization is involved with community development and provides medical education and develops local physicians’ and nurses’ medical skills and knowledge.

While in field services, ships are docked in one spot for 8-10 months at a time. Leer said the ships are like floating communities and have almost everything a small town would have including a school for volunteers’ children, a store, a gym, a bank and worship services.

Leer is a radiologic technologist at the Heart of America Medical Center and will be using her education and training to provide imaging services on the ship.

Upon arriving at the Madagascar airport, she will have an eight-hour bus ride to the ship.

All volunteers are required to cover all of their own expenses, including room and board on the ship. Leer was initially going to cover all of her own expenses, but the quilting ladies at First Lutheran Church in Rugby donated several quilts to auction off to help defray the cost of volunteering.

Leer said she was amazed at the amount of community support she’s received, “It feels pretty amazing,” she said.

She said she first heard about the Mercy Ships charity while in high school. At the time she said she was already considering a career in the medical field.

“I’ve always felt a greater need to want to do more with my life than to just exist. Serving with Mercy Ships is something I’ve been wanting to do for many years. The timing is just right for it and everything is falling into place,” she said.

Leer stressed that the medical attention the patients receive on the ship is completely free. She said nine out of 10 people in Madagascar live off a dollar a day and that most don’t have access to healthcare so conditions or abnormalities can go untreated for years before a Mercy Ship docks.

Leer said she has had many people tell her that they want to serve on a Mercy Ship but they didn’t have medical training.

Her response is to tell people they don’t have to work in healthcare to serve, “The ship is its own community – there are all sorts of jobs just like there are all sorts of jobs in the town of Rugby.”

She said the ships look for teachers for the children of volunteers, IT personnel, engineers, ship crew and volunteers who are willing to cook and clean.

Though she said she will miss her family while she is abroad, she said it’s worth it to serve another community.

“You’re doing something without expecting something in return and there’s something about that makes me feel good – that I can offer my gifts and talents without needing something in return for it. It’s just something I like to do, helping others.” Leer said.

Leer is expected to return to Rugby at the end of August.