MONROVIA, LIBERIA, WEST AFRICA (ANS) -- Malcolm Kelly, former standout receiver at the University of Oklahoma and 2nd Round draft pick of the Washington Redskins, is visiting the African nation of Liberia from July 5 - 10th on behalf of the global charity, Mercy Ships.

According to a media release from Mercy Ships, the five-day “Vision Trip” is designed to shed light on the medical and development effort Mercy Ships is providing to the people of Liberia, as they continue to improve their health and well-being standards within the country’s reconstruction.

Mercy Ships says that during the weeklong trip, the group will visit with crew onboard the Mercy Ships flagship, Africa Mercy, the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, which is docked in the nation’s capitol, the port city of Monrovia.

The group will view surgeries in one of the Africa Mercy’s six state-of-the-art surgical suites and tour parts of the country now recovering from more than a decade of civil war. Malcolm will also meet with Liberian officials and hold a press conference before leaving Liberia.

In addition, he will spend an afternoon working out with members of the 2008 Liberian Olympic Team and other Liberian athletes at the Samuel Doe Stadium.

The Mercy Ships press release says Malcolm has enlisted the help of his own personal trainer, world-renowned sports performance coach, Chip Smith and Competitive Edge Sports, based out of Atlanta, Georgia, to provide two coaching sessions for trainers and athletes to encourage the emergence of Liberian sport initiatives.

Liberia’s Deputy Minister for Sports, Mr. Marbue Richards states,” We are a developing nation and what we are lacking is trained trainers. Mr. Kelly bringing his personal Training Coach for our benefit is a wonderful opportunity. The fact that Chip Smith is world renowned and is willing to share his training techniques for free is very valuable because we want to produce more competitive athletes.“

Following involvement in college with Mercy Ships, Malcolm named the global organization as his charity of choice soon after declaring himself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft.

The International offices of the global charity are located only 25 miles from Kelly’s hometown of Longview, Texas. Malcolm’s father, Moses Kelly will also accompany him on the trip.

“I’m honored and humbled to play a small part in this effort to bring both hope and healing to the people of Liberia,” said Kelly. “As I have come to know the history and spirit of the Liberian people through Mercy Ships, I feel a real connection to the country. I admire the way they are rebuilding their future and I want to do everything I can to help. My folks always taught me that giving is better than receiving…unless of course it is on the football field.”

Mercy Ships is a global charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978. Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the forgotten poor by mobilizing people and resources worldwide.

A crew of both professional medical and non-medical volunteers serves all people without regard for race, gender, or religion. This is the forth time a Mercy ship has visited Liberia.

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of ACT International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (ACT) International.