Crossing the Border
—Médecins Sans Frontières —
Dr. Kanto Tomoko joined MSF/in 1993.// She was the first Japanese/to work in the field/with this international volunteer group.// Here,/she gives a speech/to a group of high school students/about her experience.//
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　　After working for about eight years/as a doctor in Japan,/I went to Switzerland/for further study.// It was there/that I joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF),/“Doctors Without Borders,”/an NGO established in France/in 1971.// MSF helps people all over the world/who are sick or injured/as a result of war and disaster,/regardless of race,/religion,/or politics.//
　　I had been thinking about/how I might be of some help to others/as a doctor.// I wanted to see different cultures and places.// I had read about MSF/and I had friends who had donated money.// I sent a letter to an MSF office in Paris/saying that I wished to join the organization.// They said yes/and I was sent to the Madhu refugee camp in Sri Lanka,/where fighting was going on.//