Thuy Applies to Partners in Health

Written: Tuesday, November 25, 2014

When I rejoined my wife, Thuy, back in Seattle after finishing my own leg of our combined humanitarian trip to Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines, we both agreed that we wanted to do more humanitarian work abroad.

Around that time I was coming home in August, Ebola was quickly becoming, if not already a mainstay headline in the media. Around October, Thuy and I made the rather easy decision to find a way to get involved in the Ebola stricken countries in Africa.

I asked Thuy, "Hey, want to find a way to help out with this Ebola problem?"

Thuy responded with something along the lines of, "Sure. That'd be great."

It just so happened that my question came shortly after both Doctors Without Boarders (Médecins Sans Frontières, or "MSF") and Partners In Health put calls out on their respective Facebook pages for volunteers to assist them in Ebola stricken areas.

Once Thuy and I had that short conversation, Thuy did a quick search of the MSF website and learned that they were already done recruiting for Ebola response...they’re that popular.

PIH, however, was still recruiting. So she immediately started her application.

If everything pans out and we both go on this trip together, then, much like our time in SE Asia, I document everything to tell the stories for other people to hear.

As of the day I’m writing this post, Thuy has already had two interviews with PIH, and has all but been offered a position to join them in their efforts to combat Ebola in West Africa--which country exactly has yet to be determined, but it'll either be Sierra Leone or Liberia. She’s supposed to get an official offer within the next week or so.

Once PIH has made an offer, we’ll make the pitch for me to come along and get involved in other areas within the organization. Not sure how receptive they will be, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask.