When looking at the World Humanitarian Day 2019 theme of #WomenHumanitarians my thought first jumped to the countless Religious Sisters working in hospitals and clinics around the world with whom Mission Doctors have partnered for 60 years. Physicians, midwives, nurses, instructors, administrators; the countless Religious Women who work tirelessly to provide care. According to the UN “Women make up a large number of those who risk their own lives to save others. They are often the first to respond and the last to leave. These women deserve to be celebrated.” I could not agree more.
From my own days in Thailand in the 1980’s – witnessing the work of the Daughters of Charity in refugee camps along the Mekong River, to the Franciscan Sisters who today, despite a civil war raging in Cameroon, put the care of their people first, to the Dominican Sisters in Zimbabwe who stay beyond the days others would leave. These women provide a witness not only to humanitarian service but to a deeper truth of why they serve. They have given their very lives to God, and in doing so bear witness to God’s love and their deep faith as they serve others.
On behalf of all the Mission Doctors who have been blessed to serve alongside these remarkable women, we say ‘Thank you’!
We celebrate you today and every day and thank all women who strive to make a difference in the world.
