Extra Credit Guest Speaker

            Paul Brockmann’s presentation was based on some of the social issues in developing countries today. More specifically, he talked about his experience in Sierra Leone and the organization MSF. MSF is also referred to as Doctors without borders and is international organization that provides medical assistant to 67 countries as of 2013. They provide assistant countries that have suffered from natural disasters, have been excluded from health care, and have suffered from diseases. Paul talked about the Ebola outburst in developing countries and his part in helping to aid this issue. He mentioned that people believe that Ebola is not a threat anymore. However, Paul said that although the epidemic is not as bad as in August 2014, it is still a threat and in the first two weeks of March, 150 new cases of Ebola came up. He talked about the effects that Ebola has caused like Orphans. I really liked that he mentioned the Survivor Stories and talked about hope. Paul’s presentation made me consider volunteering as MSF. I liked that this organization doesn’t just bring medical aid, but psychological aid as well. This organization gives patients and their families hope. It brings life to people and makes them want to continue to live aside of their states. Paul also talked about the suits they had to wear and the treatment centers. He talked about the precautions they took, like changing their “street clothes” before entering the center. He also mentioned how the suits were not used all day because they were too hot to handle. They would use them for an hour and wouldn’t let anyone exceed that time for the fear of someone fainting. In the end he talked about the estimated costs of giving these countries basic health care. Paul said that the estimated amount would be $1.6 billion. He also gave us tips on what we can do to help the cause.