Africa Partnership Station (APS) construction personnel made repairs at the Bai Bureh Memorial Community Hospital in Lungi, Sierra Leone, October 15, 2009.



This event is just one in a series of ongoing humanitarian efforts by the APS platform HNLMS Johan de Witt (L 801) during the first European-led APS deployment.



Five Seabees and more than 30 Royal Dutch Navy Sailors and Marines went to work in Lungi to fix the hospital's roof, generator and electrical systems and install plumbing. The team also trained the hospital staff on proper maintenance and emergency repair procedures to deal with similar problems in the future. Additionally, the ship's crew presented more than 100 boxes full of school supplies and toys that were donated by Dutch school children to students at the Eslembe Mayal elementary school.



"We were invited here today by the hospital's doctor in order to make as many repairs to the facility as possible in the short time we have in Sierra Leone," said Chief Builder (SCW) Dirk Wehking. "The ship volunteers really put forth a great effort and we were able to accomplish quite a bit."



APS Johan de Witt is also delivering medical equipment, furniture, vehicles and relief supplies; including medical beds, toys, plumbing, construction equipment and vehicles.



The donations will be divided between three hospitals in Sierra Leone; Bai Burch Hospital in Lungi, Tunguma Hospital, and the government hospital in Port Loko.



"The donations today will make a huge impact for the hospitals in Sierra Leone," said Ruurd Van Rooijen, a retired Dutch Navy captain and general manager of the Magbenteh Community Hospital. "We are very grateful for the donations as they will directly benefit the people of Sierra Leone."



APS focuses on building cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services in order to achieve common international goals such as stability and security. APS brings an international team of maritime experts including elements from Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United States to offer assistance in addressing maritime safety and security challenges such as unlawful, unregulated and illegal fishing, piracy and illicit trafficking.



The APS Johan de Witt deployment began in September and will run through November. Port visits will include stops in Cape Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Nearly 50 African naval personnel onboard are receiving training in maritime law enforcement.



Johan de Witt, a landing platform dock amphibious ship homeported in Den Helder, Netherlands, is the first non-U.S. ship to execute an APS deployment. APS, originally a U.S. Navy-led initiative, is an international effort aimed at improving maritime safety and security for the continent of Africa through training and other collaborative activities with African partner countries.