Work Experience - by Grace Koontz

     In April I got to do a work experience. That means that for three days I spent time working on board the ship instead of going to school. All the kids from sixth to eighth grade get this experience. The high schoolers spend a whole week working. For my work experience I helped out the Deck department. The Deck department is in charge of keeping the crew safe. They make sure that life saving equipment such as the life boats, life jackets, fire extinguishers, fire dampers, sprinklers, and EEBDs (Emergency Escape, Breathing Devices) are in good condition and ready to use. They also make sure that the ship's courses for voyages are plotted correctly, steer the ship, and man the mooring lines (the ropes that tie the ship to the dock). The other main responsibilities of the Deck department are to keep the Africa Mercy's decks clean, painted, and free of rust. Another important aspect and very time consuming one is loading all the food and other cargo sent by container. I learned a little bit about how all these things are done and got to try some of them myself. I enjoyed  needle gunning  and hammering the decks and going to areas of the ship that I would not normally get to go. This has been a very interesting and educational experience and I am looking forward to learning about another department next year.