Next year, I will be spending three months volunteering on a hospital ship in Guinea in West Africa. I aim to raise £2,750, which will cover the cost of my crew fees ($650/month), flights and travel insurance. Anything I raise over that will go towards the charity.

Follow me on Instagram: @swimalong_Guineathon

Who are Mercy Ships?

Mercy Ships is an international organisation which deploys hospital ships to some of the poorest countries in the world to deliver free healthcare. Africa Mercy is the largest hospital ship in the world and spends months docked in one country at a time around the coast of Africa and performs millions of life-saving surgical operations every year. Conditions requiring surgical treatment kill more people in low-income countries than HIV, TB and malaria combined. Globally, five billion people have no access to safe, affordable surgery when they need it. The charity has been running since 1978 and has been in more than 70 countries. It is staff by volunteers from around the world. You can read more here: https://www.mercyships.org.uk.

What will I be doing?

I will be one of two ‘hospital physicians’ on the ship. I won't be doing the surgery (thank goodness!), but I will be working alongside the surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses to assess patients pre-operatively, look after them on the ward, and sort out any medical problems or complications that may arise. I am sure there will be other elements to my role, which I will discover on board! My service runs from 30 December 2018 until 23 March 2019.

Where on earth is Guinea?

It's not Papua New Guinea, Guinea-Bisaau or Equatorial Guinea... Guinea sits on the West coast of Africa, nuzzled next to Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. It borders six different countries and has a population of just over 12 million people. It gained its independence from France in 1958, and the main language is French.

What is the 'Swimalong Guinea-thon' challenge?

I intend to swim the length of the coastline of Guinea before I leave at the end of December. Wikipedia tells me the distance is 320 kilometres or 200 nautical miles. Not in one go of course, I will be doing sessions in a pool!

It is the equivalent distance of eight marathons, or swimming the English Channel nine and a half times, or nearly twice round the M25, or close to five times around the island of Jersey. It is 12,800 lengths in a 25 metre-long pool. I expect it to take me around 100 hours in total.

Want to track how I am doing?

Follow my progress here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17t_-teT0GO7IFxh43vEsbmixIqepNxNG123qODQqGBo/edit?usp=sharing

How does JustGiving work?

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.