Sponsor a Doctor
Your monthly gift will help the most vulnerable access healthcare
In the UK and across the globe, there are volunteer doctors and nurses giving their time to help the most vulnerable access healthcare.
Whether it be the aftermath of a disaster, a warzone, a country facing famine, a refugee camp or wherever people are suffering or dying unnecessarily – they are there helping and providing care.
By sponsoring a doctor with a monthly gift, you can stand alongside these humble and heroic medical professionals and save lives.
- Cost of sponsoring a doctor, nurse or support worker
- What you’ll get from us
- Introducing some of the volunteer, doctors, nurses and translators you will be supporting
- Frequently asked questions
Cost of sponsoring a doctor, nurse or support worker
£24 per month contributes to the costs of sending volunteers to projects and the medical supplies they will need whilst they are there.
£16 per month contributes towards the recruiting, training, travel and living costs of a medical professional volunteering at one of our projects.
£8 per month covers the costs of essential vaccines, drugs and medical equipment for our doctors to use.
By sponsoring a doctor you will join an increasing number of kind and considerate people, who are committed to a world where no-one suffers or dies because they can’t access medical care.
When you sponsor a doctor you will receive:
- a thank you from a volunteer
- a small gift as a token of our appreciation
- regular updates on how your sponsorship is saving and transforming lives
- an invite to an annual event where you’ll have the chance to hear about our work and meet some of the volunteers you are supporting
Introducing some of the volunteer, doctors, nurses and translators you will be supporting
We have volunteers working around the globe to provide medical care to those in need. Below are just four people who have given their time and expertise to help in recent times.
From warzones to refugee camps and emergency situations to our London clinic, we simply couldn’t help so many people without our wonderful volunteers.
Your sponsorship will help us to recruit and train new volunteers and then send them to projects around the world.
Patricia spent two months in 2017 in Kenya
There she worked on our emergency project in Isiolo and Marsabit, two counties where a vicious drought had pushed malnutrition rates far above emergency levels.
“I’m proud of our teams work. For some of the children, their only meal each day was a small free lunch they got at school. We were seeing malnourished mothers and children – many cases were moderate but would’ve deteriorated if they weren’t treated.
Pratheep – volunteers at our UK clinic in Bethnal Green
“In August, I had two dramatic cases at the clinic on a single day. I saw a Filipino woman who’d had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy, but she wasn’t registered with a GP so she couldn’t get the follow-up care she needed. I removed her sutures and changed her dressings.
“I also saw a domestic worker who had burns on her arm and face, as a candle had fallen over in her bedroom while she was asleep. She’d been to A&E, but again she didn’t have a GP for follow-up care. I changed her dressings, and we also did a social consultation with her and referred her to a support group for domestic workers. Our patients might come in with a health problem but we end up helping them in so many ways.”
Kharman volunteered twice as an Arabic and Kurdish
interpreter in Greece’s refugee camps
“I myself moved from Iraq to the UK as a refugee in the 1990s – I’m now a British citizen and a qualified solicitor here. So I was touched by what was happening and I desperately wanted to do something.
“Working in these camps in the best thing I’ve ever done. Translating is so important for these vulnerable people – I can make sure their pain and suffering is heard and expressed. Having a female interpreter in the camps makes a big difference too, as many women there need help with gynaecological problems.”
Thelma is a GP in her 70s, who has volunteered
for Doctors of the World since 2014.
“I’ve been struck by the extent of trauma that people have experience but also their resilience too,” she says. “Working at DOTW breaks down myths and barriers. You’re talking to people, you’re not talking to migrants.”
You can read more about these and other volunteers in our case study section.
Can I choose who I will sponsor?
No. Unfortunately, given the nature of projects and the different lengths of assignments, it is not possible to sponsor a specific volunteer.
Can I choose which project my money will go towards?
Our most urgent need is unrestricted funding. This means we can spend your money where it is needed most. However, we understand that you may have a particular interest in a specific project or area of our work.
If that is the case, then please do let us know. We will do our best to allocate your donations to a specific project, such as our UK clinic, work with refugees or emergency response and will let you know if that is not possible.
How long do I have to sponsor a doctor for?
There is no minimum time period, but we’d hope you were able to commit to a minimum of one year. If you feel this is not possible, then you may feel more comfortable giving a one-off or ad-hoc gifts.
I’d like to make a one-off donation
No problem. You can make a one-off donation here to sponsor a doctor for a year. The monthly amounts equate to £288, £192 and £96.
I’d like to give more/less than the amounts above. Is that possible?
Yes, of course. Those are guide amounts only. We are very grateful for any support and every gift is greatly appreciated. Please give what you can afford and, if you are able to surprise us with a larger gift, we’d be delighted to receive it!
How much money goes to frontline services?
You can read our full 2016 impact report here. This outlines the difference we made and how much we spent in the last year.
Over 80p in every £1 went to work in the UK and overseas. The remaining money was spent on governance and invested in raising the next £1.