Showing posts with label Central America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Central America. Show all posts

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Doctors Without Kiddies

I live in a relatively 'interesting' part of the world. Below is a photo that was recently taken from my car as I drove to work. Not to a border crossing or to a remote location near an army base but on a main freeway between two cities.

Photobucket

I also get to see many cars with CD number plates, Swiss Red Cross vehicles and a multitude of UN buses and people carriers.


On some rare occasions I see 'Doctors Without Borders' vehicles and I just don't get what they do that the UN, The Red Cross and the State itself do. So I wasn't particularly surprised to read what JayG over at MArooned had to share on Thursday in his blog-post 'Idi Amin Was A Humanitarian, Too'

Remember, "It's for the Children™"...

‘Border’ struggle erupts over name
Three years ago, after decades of performing volunteer operations worldwide, George Whitelaw decided he wanted to do something that would have a broader impact.
The orthopedic surgeon from Milton started a small nonprofit organization to provide primary care to children in Central America. He called his organization Children Without Borders, because “our treatment is without borders, and our patients are without borders,’’ he said.
Seems pretty straightforward, right? Except that some didn't see it that way:
The operation was running smoothly - it had grown to have a $60,000 annual budget and three clinics in Costa Rica - until last summer, when Whitelaw received a cease-and-desist letter from a similar but vastly larger organization, Doctors Without Borders. The Geneva-based organization, which employs 27,000 people and has an annual budget of more than $800 million, said the group was infringing on its trademark and threatened legal action if Whitelaw did not change its name.
JayG ends with what I think is a very inciteful line:

I mean, I'll admit to being suspicious man by nature, but when a Google search on "Doctors Without Borders" brings up 4 out of 10 hits for donations...
Go to MArooned to read the full article:Idi Amin Was a Humanitarian, Too...Remember, "It's for the Children™"...

kthanxbai!