On Giving Tuesday we asked you, our visitors past, present, and perspective, to vote on an organization for us to donate to. For more on the three charities that were voted on check out our post, ‘AMO is Giving to Charity, and You, this Giving Tuesday.’

Doctors without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, was the charity that received the most votes on our Instagram and Facebook page. Thanks to all who voted, AMO is making a donation to Doctors without Borders to celebrate this season of giving.

The Start

The idea for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was hatched in 1968.  At this time public news grew and with it, an awareness of war, poverty, and hunger. Through their televisions and radios the public to push past borders and oceans. At this time, a group of young doctors banded together with the goal to bring healthcare to those who could not afford or obtain it. This group was known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

The founding members, who began as volunteers with the Red Cross in France, wanted to effect real change. This meant speaking up for those who had no voice, even if it meant questioning popular politics and religious values of the era. In 1972 MSF was introduced to the world. 300 members took to Nicaragua to lift up the community fragmented by an earthquake which killed up to 30,000.

In 1999 MSF won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in more than 80 countries. For more information on the group’s history, click here.

Present Day

MSF, which is now well known throughout the world, has continued to build out the aid they provide. In addition to providing medical care and emergency relief, MSF has become an advocate for equal healthcare, moderate pricing for healthcare services, and more transparent medical research. The groups more notable effects can be seen in Africa, where they have worked to combat the spread of AIDS, Cambodia, where they have provided aid to refugees and introduce means to decrease cases of malaria in the country, and Yemen, where they have opened up hospitals to treat individuals affected by the country’s civil war.

The group has 24 offices around the world, each of which acts as a separate limb to the organization, assessing needs to create and carry out plans that improve the health and happiness of communities near and far.

We are excited to be able to contribute to a charity making such a difference in the quality of life for so many in the world.