USNS Mercy with A-PAD SL on a Mission to Make a Difference “PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 2018”

The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command-operated hospital ship USNS Mercy arrived in the
US 7 th Fleet area of operations to serve as a platform for exercise Pacific Partnership 2018
(PP18). The vessel arrived to Sri Lanka on the 25 th of April and was operation until the 8 th
of May. MERCY, a.k.a “floating hospital” is the world’s largest hospital ship in the world,
carried out a series of community clinics, surgeries, symposiums and training programs
with the support of local medical entities.
40 volunteers from A-PAD SL participated during the two-week event as translators,
assisting foreign doctors to communicate with the local communities and vice-versa. This
was an enriching experiencing and a significant partnership that A-PAD Sri Lanka forged in
harnessing localized resources, whilst also providing international exposure to our
volunteers.