Still an Intern

Banners for the World Health Organization and International Committee for the Red Cross

Yes, I am still working. In fact, after a few weeks of procrastination I am finally getting work done. My supervisor is really supportive of me using this internship as a learning opportunity. She encourages me to go to talks given for interns, so I went to two this week.

One was given by a big head honcho at WHO, the assistant director general for communicable diseases. He gave an engaging talk on how the WHO deals with communicable diseases. Think the SARS outbreak or ebola. The pressure on how to react when you first get wind of an outbreak of SARS or some virus with unknown potential makes you realize it's a professional job to make tough decisions. The speaker, David Heymann, ran through a scenario with us and had us think of potential responses we should make. I was surprised that one of the answers was "Call the Director General." I mean...I know she's the big boss, but I kind of figure you are the expert at how to deal with the outbreaks. All part of working in a bureaucracy I guess. Another surprise: they kept track of who was at risk for contracting SARS by using a Hong Kong database used originally to track perpetrators of petty crimes. It's amazing what you can apply technology to. And amidst the whole SARS epidemic, there were no absolute travel bans because, in a nutshell, the goal of controlling outbreaks is to protect people's health as much as possible while restricting travel and trade as little as possible. It's nice to learn at least a little about who can do what in the face of infectious disease. The WHO is by no means the organization solely responsible for the control of deadly outbreaks or whatnot, but it is a player in the game with other nations and institutions.

Museum of the Red Cross: It's right down the hill from WHO and right next to the UN, so there really was no excuse not to go. A friend and I went during my lunch hour yesterday, and I'm really glad I did. It was a museum experience where you feel like you are learning something instead of just seeing things. A lot of that is because there is not too much to see in terms of pretty paintings or exquisite artifacts. It's more of a place to commemorate the way in which the Red Cross came into being and to document the obstacles it has faced and the good works it has been able to do. I was struck by how one man, Henry Dunant, and his compassion on men suffering from war, could set in motion an entity of such universal need. And not a moment too soon either. If you look at the succession of wars and disasters that occurred in the years after 1863, it seems quite fortunate that the Red Cross formed when it did. In fact, nowadays we take for granted the universal need for an aid organization like the Red Cross. But when it was first formed the Red Cross could only extend its coverage soldiers. Shortly after, it was able to aid prisoners of war, but civilians were not able to be reached until WWII! Whether it was mending soldier's wounds, feeding children in a famine or preventing the torture of prisoners of war...I'm so thankful that God has allowed such an organization to exist amidst the wars we fight and damage we bring about.