‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
That’s been literally true for Mark Kitzman.
Since the pandemic hit, he has taken up a new hobby – picking up old wooden pallet boxes, left at the roadside, and transforming the wood into rustic furniture, planters, trays and other décor items.
He also uses new wood to make some of his pieces, but he’s happiest when he can reclaim and “redeem” what others consider trash.
“Some people see junk. I see furniture. I see a tray,” Kitzman said. “I love the whole concept of redemption.”
Kitzman works in communications and marketing. The woodworking is “just a side hobby I picked up during the virus – something I enjoy doing,” he said. “I actually work for Mercy Ships Canada.”
Mercy Ships is an international humanitarian organization that sends floating hospital ships, equipped with operating theatres, to some of the poorest nations in the world, providing life-altering surgeries and world-class health care at no charge.
In particular, Mercy Ships focuses on West Africa, where “93 percent of the population has no access to safe and timely surgery,” Kitzman said.
Each ship, staffed entirely by volunteers - from the crew to the medical staff - will dock in an African city for months at a time, to assess and address the medical needs of the local population.
“It’s like a floating city,” he said, with up to 400 volunteers from over 50 nations on board at any one time.
The free procedures provided are the kinds of things that North Americans take for granted: Repair of cleft lips and palates; Orthopedic surgery to correct bowed legs; Cataract surgery; Fistula repair, for women who have suffered a childbirth injury that leaves them with incontinence; the removal of disfiguring tumours.
These are often conditions that lead to ridicule, and shame for the sufferers. Children with cleft palates not only have trouble eating, they are often treated as outcasts. Women with obstetric fistulas can be rejected by their families.
“We’re trying to bring hope and healing to the forgotten people of the world,” Kitzman said, and transform lives. Cataract surgery can take only 20 minutes, but that “20 minutes changes a life forever,” giving the gift of sight, he said.
Since it was founded in 1978, Mercy Ships has provided direct services to over 2.71 million people.
The Canadian office of Mercy Ships is located in Victoria, British Columbia, but Kitzman has been able to work remotely from home, in Ontario.
The Mercy Ships are currently “out of the field,” pulled away from service since the pandemic hit in March. The hope is to return to field service in 2021 - augmented by a new ship, the Global Mercy, which will be the first purpose-built hospital ship, with six operating theatres and state-of-the-art training facilities.
That highlights another aspect of Mercy Ships, Kitzman noted: in addition to providing free surgical procedures, the organization also trains local health care workers, to build a more sustainable health care system in the nations served.
In the meantime, Mercy Ships is still active playing a co-ordinating role during the COVID -19 pandemic, arranging for Personal Protective Equipment, and offering online learning.
“It’s an amazing organization. I continue to be in awe of what we do,” Kitzman said – which is why, on Saturday, he was at his sister’s store, Halliday House & Co. in Cookstown, selling his rustic wood furnishings and décor items, and donating 10 percent of sales to Mercy Ships.
It was a one-day sale only. After Saturday, Kitzman returned to his “day job,” but his furniture, trays and other items can be custom ordered through Halliday House & Co., 9 Queen St. in Cookstown, 705-458-4436 or click here.
For more information on Mercy Ships, and to donate directly, click here.
