"Borders and Babies"
SIERRA LEONE | AFGHANISTAN

Sierra Leone:

In late 2001, just before Sierra Leone’s civil war ended, Head of Mission Rebecca Golden negotiated MSF’s access to Magburaka Hospital, which is situated in territory formerly held by the rebel group RUF (Revolutionary United Front). Now she prepares to return home to Houston after spending most of the last five years on a variety of MSF projects in Africa.

New Zealand surgeon David Friend and Canadian nurse Katiana Rivette, are stationed at Magburaka – the only facility for emergency surgery in northern Sierra Leone. Infant mortality in the region is among the highest in the world, and two difficult pregnancies demonstrate the danger of childbirth in remote areas decimated by a decade of war.

When a young boy with an advanced case of bone cancer appears at Magburaka, David is forced to perform a tricky operation to stop the cancer from spreading and potentially save the boy’s life. (read more about the Sierra Leone)

Afghanistan:

Project Coordinator Vickie Hawkins supervises logistics and medical care for the MSF project in Chaman, Afghanistan’s only open border crossing with Pakistan. Since the fall of the Taliban, Chaman has been flooded with Afghan families returning to homes that they fled during two decades of violence and oppression. When Vickie encounters a man with a potentially serious health problem, she battles through red tape to get him admitted to the local hospital. (Read more about Afghanistan)