It’s easy to fight for adorable causes that grab headlines—we seek out and stand alongside different groups. We defend people whom society would prefer to ignore. A crisis often highlights larger issues, and we see medical injustices as more than merely temporary emergencies with a quick fix. We bear witness, spotlight perennial issues, and create sustainable, robust healthcare infrastructure solutions.
We’re on a different timeline from most. Instead of dropping in with experts and aid to quickly help in a crisis, we stay well after the cameras have left, sometimes decades, until the local healthcare infrastructure is sustainable. When disaster does strike, we target remote communities often ignored by other organizations and provide long-term medical support and training to native groups in need.
Marginalized populations are often portrayed as victims reliant on others’ benevolence. Although we all need emergency medical care during a crisis, in the period following a disaster, we work proactively to empower local groups, communities, and medical experts to build more sustainable and robust healthcare infrastructures.