AN apprentice chef, who has been taught at River Cottage HQ for the last two years, will be joining the world’s largest hospital ship in Cameroon for eight months.

Rob Hester, 18, from Gillingham, has volunteered to live and work on board the Africa Mercy ship, which is docked in Cameroon for 10 months, where its volunteer crew are providing more than 3,000 free, safe surgeries to people in need. He will only return home when the ship finishes its service and sails out from the country in late June 2018.

His River Cottage placement was at country hotel restaurant The Coppleridge Inn, Motcombe - and his colleagues, friends and family are all behind him as he heads to Cameroon.

Rob, who hopes to run his own restaurant one day, will join the team of volunteer cooks in the ship’s kitchen where they produce three meals a day for a crew of more than 400 people from across the world.

“I am so excited about going, plus fine about leaving home and living with strangers,” he said.

“I have never travelled to Africa before so this is a real adventure - I have never even been on a plane on my own before.

“Having known about Mercy Ships, it felt like a good fit, and I’ve also seen my mum, who’s a hygienist, serve with Mercy Ships in 2016 in the dental team, so I felt this was a great opportunity to do something different, bring my love and skill of cooking to help others and hopefully some River Cottage dishes and experience too.

“I have no idea of what to expect, as I know some people live with really serious challenges including large facial tumours and children who have bowed legs or cleft lips, but what’s really important is that they are now getting the chance to get help and change their lives, as Mercy Ships provides free, safe surgery and healthcare to people who don’t normally have access to it.”

Mercy Ships’ ‘floating hospital’ contains five operating theatres, a radiography suite with a scanner and X-ray machines, a laboratory, and a hospital ward with 82 beds and accommodation for the 400-strong volunteer crew.

Globally, five billion people have no access to safe and affordable surgery when they need it. Mercy Ships provides a range of free surgeries including correcting leg deformities, restoring sight, repairing fire burns and cleft palates, and removing disfiguring facial tumours. Medical professionals often take leave from their careers to volunteer on the ship, such as consultant surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, radiographers, laboratory technicians, and dentists. Other volunteer crew members serve in logistics, medical supply chain, catering, cleaning, navigation and security.