Mercy Ships began with a dream. In 1978 while living in Lausanne, Switzerland, Don and Deyon Stephens had a vision of ships that would carry medical personnel and relief cargo to help the poor.
 
Quite a number of Spaniards were involved in the transformation of the first ship M/V Anastasis into the worlds largest non-military hospital ship. This Spanish involvement continued throughout the early years of Mercy Ships but later faded out.

In the year 2000, Mercy Ships Spain (Naves de Esperanza) was registered as an NGO in Spain to involve the Spanish people once again in this great endeavour.

Today, various ships in the Mercy Ships fleet have served in more than 50 developing nations. Seventeen national offices around the world support the work of the ships and land bases.

Mercy Ships Spain aims to raise awareness, recruit volunteers, obtain gifts of goods a services from companies and raise the finances needed to continue this valuable work.
 
Mercy Ships Spain currently has an all volunteer staff with it's national office situated in Barcelona.

 
Fundraising and Procurement
Mercy Ships Spain is dedicated to raising financial resources for the operation of the ships and the land-based projects. One of the great ways that Mercy Ships reduces it's costs is by seeking donations of good and services from companies which save the organization millions of euros annually.

 
Raising Awareness
Mercy Ships Spain seeks to educate the general public as well as political and civic leaders about the desperate plight of many people in developing nations and the ways in which we can help.

Recruitment
Mercy Ships welcomes those who have the time to devote to the work of bringing hope and healing to the world's poorest peoples. Mercy Ships Spain assists the recruitment process of those interested in serving with Mercy Ships.