Chris Sauer asked an audience of about 30 community members what they saw in a picture that displayed the inside of an Angola hospital during a presentation in 123 Pacific Wednesday night.
Although one audience member said he saw hospital beds, Sauer, a fire chief near Lake Tahoe in California, said he sees something different.
“When I see it, I see all the non-medical things,” he said.
The Doctors Without Borders volunteer told the audience about work that goes on behind the scenes in a hospital: constructing a building, establishing electricity and purifying water.
Sauer is giving presentations across the West Coast in an effort to recruit new volunteers, including non-medical staff, and raise awareness about the nonprofit group Doctors Without Borders, an international medical organization that provides emergency aid to people affected by armed conflicts, epidemics and natural and manmade disasters. French journalists and doctors started the nonprofit in 1971 after a famine in Nigeria, and it now serves about 70 different countries with nearly 4,000 volunteers.
Although the organization typically requires volunteers to have some professional experience, students may want to consider working with the organization after graduation and gaining some real-world experience. The organization offers opportunities in fields that include finance and construction. Workers are called volunteers, but they are paid with a $1,200 stipend each month, and all expenses are paid. The stipend is supposed to help pay for expenses at home so volunteers don’t go into debt while away.
Sauer talked about his experience as a non-medical staff member with Doctors Without Borders, where he has held a number of positions since 1997, including a logistician and human resource coordinator.
“We have a lot of non-medical people working in the background,” he said, adding that one-third of those in the organization aren’t doctors or nurses.
Sauer started as a volunteer in the organization’s New York City offices after he read about group members aiding those affected by a 1996 flood in China.
“I read that and thought, this is exactly what I wanted to do,” Sauer said. “I wanted a challenge, to help other people.” He added he wanted to see the world because he considers himself a “global citizen.”
Before Sauer volunteered with Doctors Without Borders, he worked as a mechanic, construction worker, hotel manager and firefighter.
“When I’d respond to 911 calls, it wasn’t always an emergency,” he said. “The cat would come down eventually.”
Doctors Without Borders workers will usually establish a primary health care center and provide hospital care, mental heath care and nutrition care in whatever country they’re serving.
In a typical week, Sauer said volunteers usually work 10-hour days and have one day off.
“Most people sleep till noon that day,” he said.
Volunteers can become a logistician for a minimum of six months, and they must have two years of professional experience. Logisticians will work on a variety of projects, including construction, transportation, water sanitation and security.
“You never know what job you’re going to get,” Sauer said.
In Sudan, gunfire, shelling and helicopters passing over the base were common, Sauer recalled. One day, when a female staff member was showering, she didn’t think anything of helicopter noise, but the helicopter started hovering above the shower to watch the woman.
“The logistician’s job was to immediately put a roof over the shower and talk to the military commander,” he said.
Volunteers can also work in the finance or administration field with a one-year commitment and must have accounting experience. The conditions are not as harsh as a logistician’s, and administrators usually work in an office.
Sauer said the finance positions are important because only hard currency is used.
“Sometimes you’re carrying bags of money because of inflation and exchange rates,” Sauer said.
He said there is some risk involved when volunteering with Doctors Without Borders. Sauer said, on average, one to two volunteers are killed each year by violence.
For more information, visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org.
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