Doctors Without Borders

Waiting for hours for food or medical services in the blazing sun in a desert is something a typical city person will not be able to handle, according to Karel Jansenns, a member of the Doctors Without Borders Organization. Who would wait hours for a gallon of water or some medicine to cure a cold?

There are 33 million people that do wait. They live in refugee camps due to political issues, war, or other issues affecting their country. In these camps, they are given shelter, medical services, and food. Doctors without Borders is an organization that has brought an exhibit to show the people of Chicago what it's like to be a refugee.

Karel Jansenns is a refugee volunteer that has worked in different parts of the world. "There are 33 million people on the run, one third of those people have crossed international borders and the rest have stayed in their home countries," he says.

People in this situation don't have a lot of time to pack when they leave, so they usually take the clothes on their backs and an extra change of clothes. Upon their arrival, they are medically screened for measles and meningitis. Children under the age of 15 are vaccinated. These people can be refugees for days, months or even years according to Jannsenns.

There are many issues affecting the refugees in the camp. Cholera is one of those issues. Cholera is a form of diarrhea. This disease causes the loss of large amounts of liquids, deadly, and is highly contagious. The refugees with this type of disease are put into a CTC, an aid center. There are some that can and cannot swallow liquids for those that can; they are given ORS, oral re-hydration salt, to treat the cholera. Those that cannot swallow are given medication through an IV. The camps provide counseling services to treat those refugees that have been raped or tortured. Each person receives four to five gallons of water per day. The average American uses 100 gallons of water a day, shower and laundry included.

"We want to go places where we can make an impact," said Kim Daley an administrative worker for Doctors without Borders. She added that the Midwest in general, is great place to inform people about refugee camps and recruit potential workers.

"This exhibition opened last year in the US, but there are other exhibits starting in Canada, Tokyo, and Australia," Daley said.

Caitlin Meredith also works for Doctors Without Borders and says that this is the first time this exhibit comes to Chicago. She says the group's main goal is to raise awareness of what's going on around the world. "Our plans are to move across the country. We started on the east coast last year and were making our way across the US. Next year we plan on moving on west," she said.