Cholera’s Coming to UCC | Audrey Walsh

UCC Friends of MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders) Society are hosting an interactive cholera tent exhibition to campus this Tuesday, the 25th of September. The event, which takes place as part of MSF Ireland Week, aims to provide UCC’s students with more awareness about the work of the NGO by affording them an insight into everyday life in the field.

    The tent is a replica of MSF’s Cholera Treatment Centres as used in recent real-life cholera outbreaks in Haiti, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. It will be staffed for the day by doctors, nurses and logisticians who have recently returned from work in the field with MSF, and they will be on hand to answer any questions one may have, while sharing their own first-hand experience of MSF’s lifesaving work.

     Michael Creed, Campaigns officer with Friends of MSF explained why the issue of cholera is being highlighted in particular. “There have been a number of significant outbreaks recently, most notably in Haiti 18 months after earthquake. It is something which happens on regular basis and is one of the infectious diseases that MSF would deal with the most.”

     The event will be an opportunity for students to learn about the work of MSF and the Friends of MSF society which is the student wing of the organization. The society works to promote the work of MSF through fundraising and raising awareness, and aims to inform and interest students in the activities and potential of the organization. Recruitment for the coming year will be an important part of the day.

     The society are keen to stress that it is not a society exclusively for medical students and that will be an important area that they focus on in the coming recruitment drive. “This is something that we have trouble convincing students of- that you don’t have to be a doctor to get involved. Worldwide for every doctor in the organisation, there are 10 staff members who are not”

     Michael particularly encourages students who are interested in gaining an insight into the organisation to come along on the day. He states that the society committee “have obviously never worked in the field and so only have so much knowledge. It should be an interesting day.”

     This national exhibition will travel to other venues during the week, including Trinity College Dublin (24th), NUI Galway (27th), and Blanchardstown Shopping Centre (29th & 30th).

     This cholera tent is the first event of many for the society in the year ahead, which promises to host more on-campus campaigns, concerts and gigs, table quizzes and guest speakers. To sign up email dwb@uccsocieties.ie