Our New Managing Director

At the end of January when the Africa Mercy left Tenerife, Spain we left behind our managing director Ken Barry and his wife Ann, who are going back to the IOC (International Operations Centre) to help with the generator project and will meet us in South Africa in about six months. Then we were left without a permanent managing director.

In the last week of December to the beginning of January Donovan Palmer with his wife Mae and their children Lara (ninth grade), Hannah (eighth grade), and Jordan (fifth grade) came for a visit.

After finishing high school Donovan Palmer got degrees in Business Management and Computer Science. In 1991 Donovan moved to Amsterdam where he and Mae were married. In April of 1999 Donovan became the managing director of the Africa Mercy for five years when the ship was in Newcastle. In 2005 Donovan moved to be the national director YWAM England and YWAM International.

In late December of 2009 Donovan and his family came to the Africa Mercy while it was docked in Tenerife, Spain to work on getting his family settled on the ship while he and Ken Barry worked on the handover. Then at the beginning of January his family left to go home to England to start packing up their house while Donovan would continue the handover for a few days longer.

Now Donovan and his family will be joining us in Togo late on the 16th of February to relieve Mark Thomson who is our acting managing director, and they will begin their new life on the ship. We are all excited to have you coming Donovan and Family!