July 20, 2005
Doctors Without Borders - A Global Volunteer
Organization Helping People In Crisis Regions
One of the subjects I am going to research in the near future is
combining travel with volunteer opportunities all over the world.
Volunteering is a great way of exploring different cultures while
making a positive contribution to important causes.
Doctors Without Borders first caught my attention during the Tsunami
Crisis. It is an organization that provides important medical relief
to people in disaster-stricken areas. I felt compelled to find out
more about this organization, about its philosophies and its recent
missions. Here is my interview with Isabelle Jeanson, National Press
Officer Toronto with Doctors Without Borders.
Photo credit: Tim Dirven
1. Please tell us about Médécins
Sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders. What type
of organization is it? What philosophy is it based on?
We are the world's leading independent international medical relief
organization.
Médecins Sans Frontières offers assistance to populations
in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to
victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective
of race, religion, creed or political affiliation. We also observe
neutrality and impartiality in the name of universal medical ethics
and the right to humanitarian assistance.
2. Please tell us about the history of Doctors with Borders.
Who founded the organization? How has it evolved since its inception?
MSF was originally founded in France in 1971 by a group of doctors
and medical journalists who were concerned with the plight of populations
in emergency situations. Since 1971, MSF has grown into 5 European
operational sections, and 13 partner sections around the world.
The Canadian office was founded in 1991, by a few Canadian doctors
who came back to Canada from mission, and realized there was a need
for an MSF presence in Canada.
Photo credit: Juan Carolo Tomisi
3. How is your organization funded?
We are mostly funded by donations from the public (80%) and the
rest from governments and foundations (20%).
4. Who can volunteer with Doctors without Borders? How
many volunteers are there world-wide? Please tell
us about the volunteer recruitment process.
Doctors, nurses, midwives, logisticians, project coordinators,
financial coordinators, mental health specialists, social workers,
and many other professionals can volunteer with Doctors without
Borders. There are over 2000 volunteers working for MSF in the field,
and hundreds more who work in offices around the world.
People who are interested should first visit our website:
www.msf.ca, that explains in detail what we look for
in our candidates. Once an interested candidate has applied (either
on-line or by mail), their application is revised by a recruitment
officer. If their application is relevant to what we look for, they
will be invited to an interview. If the interview is successful,
the candidate will be offered pre-departure training prior to going
on mission. The selection of their mission is based on the candidate's
skills which are matched to the needs of the field. The time needed
to find the right mission for the right person can happen anywhere
from a few weeks to several months.
Photo credit: Kurt Tonini
5. Please comment on some of the risks and dangers that
the volunteers face.
Security is of the outmost concern for MSF, for all of its volunteers
and national staff. A security briefing is given to the volunteer
prior to going on mission, and once they arrive at their mission.
A volunteer is never forced to go on mission if they are concerned
about their security. The volunteer is ultimately responsible for
his or her security once they are on mission, however MSF provides
excellent security protocols and systems to minimize the risk. If
a volunteer is in a mission which becomes too insecure, he/she will
be evacuated with his or her team to a secure environment.
6. What are the living conditions for the volunteers?
Volunteers will often live in a house shared by other international
MSF volunteers. Housing, food, transportation and all other amenities
are covered by MSF. Volunteers also receive a stipend as pocket
money.
7. What critical missions has your organization been involved
in recently?
Currently we are involved in a famine crisis in Niger; in the conflict
in Darfur, West Sudan; in conflict areas in Democratic Republic
of Congo; in mental health projects in Asia; in the tsunami relief
in South-East Asia; and we offer AIDS treatment projects in dozens
of countries around the world, to name only a few. MSF is currently
working in over 70 countries around the world and manages hundreds
of projects.
Photo credit: Christian Aslund
8. MSF also speaks out to end suffering and provides public
education and informational events. Please tell us more about that.
Other than providing medical relief to populations in distress,
MSF also has a mandate to speak-out or do "témoignage".
This basically means that we speak out against the atrocities or
injustices that we witness in the field, to raise international
public awareness about an issue that is otherwise forgotten or unknown
by the world. We do this by speaking at public events, or giving
interviews in the media or by publishing reports.
9. Please comment specifically on the situation now in
South Asia, more than 6 months after the Tsunami Disaster.
We are currently still active in India and Indonesia, providing
mental health counseling to the victims of the tsunami and basic
health care.
10. Please tell us about the different ways of making a
contribution to Doctors without Borders.
People can give to MSF through a variety of venues:
Through Partners Without Borders, our monthly giving program ;
By internet through our secure online giving form ;
By fax or mail, in response to our annual campaign, or our special
or emergency appeals ;
By phone - we may call you, or you can contact us toll-free at 1-800-982-7903
;
Through donations of publicly traded securities ;
By leaving a contribution to MSF in your will ;
By hosting or organizing a special event to benefit MSF ;
By making a gift in honour of a birthday, anniversary, marriage
or graduation of a friend or family member ;
By making a gift in memory of a loved one who has passed on ;
At work through matching gift programs
Thank you, Isabelle, for providing further information about your
organization and the important missions and activities you are involved
in. We wish you the best of luck in your humanitarian efforts.
Related Articles:
Doctors without Borders: Visiting
an Afghan Refugee Camp
Doctors without Borders: El Salvador,
after the Earthquake
Doctors without Borders: Water
for Ixtahuacan
Doctors without Borders: Visiting
MSF in Sierra Leone
Doctors without Borders: Lost between River
and Sky
Doctors without Borders: Journey
into the World of Humanitarian Aid
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