2009 © MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES / DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) – CANADA
Canadians on Mission 2008
MSF recruits medical and non-medical staff to work in its projects. In 2008, 143 Canadians departed on 172 field missions with MSF in 31 countries. Of these, 44 were new staff participating in their first missions.
Overall, Canadians worked on 263 missions in the field with MSF last year, with some joining their teams before January 2008.
The greatest number went to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the destination for 20 per cent of Canadians working for MSF. The following countries were also in to the top five: Sudan (12%), Ethiopia (10%), Chad (10%) and Central African Republic (6%).
The large number of Canadian MSF field staff in DRC is due in part MSF’s extensive work in the country, the organization’s biggest humanitarian commitment. Ongoing violence and displacement is forcing thousands to flee for their lives and taking a massive toll on the people of DRC.
"The situation in DRC is very volatile. The needs are enormous. It's also a large country and MSF has a large number of projects. We send a lot of Canadians there because a lot of them are bilingual French and English speakers. You can't go to the DRC if you don't speak French," says Barbara Ceccarelli, human resources for MSF in Canada.
The majority of MSF's Canadian field staff in 2008 came from Québec and Ontario, which represented 48 per cent and 31 per cent of staff respectively. The average age of field staff was 38.9 years, and over half were women. Of the 143 field staff, 52 per cent worked in non-medical positions in MSF projects.
Alberta
|
Ahmed Alas, Edmonton |
Republic of Congo |
British Colombia
|
Ian Adair, Vancouver |
Sri Lanka |
Manitoba
|
Duncan Coady, Pinawa |
Central African Republic, Republic of Congo |
New Brunswick
|
Judy Adams, Miramichi Bay |
India |
North West Territories
|
Anne Marie Pegg, Yellowknife |
Ethiopia |
Nova Scotia
|
Susan Adolph, Halifax |
Democratic Republic of Congo |
Ontario
|
Justin Armstrong, Haileybury |
Ethiopia |
Québec
|
Eva Adomako, Montréal |
Democratic Republic of Congo |
Yukon
|
Leah Battersby, Whitehorse |
Myanmar |