Stories From Patients & Staff

Obstetrician-gynaecologist Jared Watts has completed three assignments with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), working in Nigeria, Syria and more recently Sierra Leone. He spoke to us about his experience and how the role of an obstetrician-gynaecologist varies compared to working in remote Western Australia.  

Senior Health Promotion Manager, Fatumazahra Khalif (Fatma), describes the challenges facing people in the areas of Somalia where she works, and says health promotion is vital. In this profile she describes the impact of health promotion, including a moving patient story.

Neal Russell is a paediatric doctor and advisor based in London and has been working with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for 10 years. Following a recent visit to MSF’s project in Chad’s eastern region of Sila, near the border with Sudan, Neal provides his account of the situation he witnessed there. 

Sally Thomas has done 10 assignments with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). She has a degree in architecture and a diploma in project management. She started her career with MSF by working as a construction logistics manager on a project in Nairobi in 2009, and then went on to work in Nigeria, South Sudan, Haiti, Ethiopia, Iraq, Yemen. She then took the position of deputy head of mission in Syria and her most recent assignment was in Libya. She spoke to us about her work overseas and what the role of a logistician involves. 

James Neeson grew up on a crop farm in rural Western Victoria and went on to study international business, where he majored in supply chain management at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He worked in a few rural areas as a supply chain focal point delivering farming equipment in Western Australia, as well as in Tonga as a procurement officer supporting supply chain systems for the Ministry of Health.  

Jeanne Vidal has worked as a water and sanitation logistician and a logistics team leader on seven assignments with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). She has worked on projects in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and most recently Sierra Leone. She spoke to us about her work overseas and what the role of a water and sanitation logistician (or 'watsan’) involves. 

Queenstown’s nurse, Maia Blenkinsop witnessed extraordinary bravery while working in Ukraine.

From a shelter in northern Mexico, seven children share their hopes and dreams for the future in the short, animated documentary.

Little Birds is an eight-minute journey that examines the wounds of uprooting, the multiple risks faced by children along the migration route, and the dreams that propel them and lift their spirits despite the indefinite wait in the shelter.

"The path from El Geneina to Chad is riddled with dangers as armed groups often patrol and can stop you on your route. The consequences of the escalating conflict are devastating..." says Moussa Ibrahim, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)'s logistics supervisor in El Geneina.