Biking Pacific Coast for Doctors Without Borders!

Ends September 6th

 

Hi everyone!

I'm Azeem Foy and I recently quit my job as a surgical tech to bike from San Francisco to Seattle in an effort to raise funds directly towards Doctors Without Borders. I'll be taking an opposite route from what is typically recommended, but that just means it is more of an adventure for me! Starting my trip off in San Francisco, the trip is about 1,200 miles and I am planning on doing roughly 40 miles a day. I believe this will be the most difficult journey I've experienced and will be a test of my mental and physical abilities.

What is Doctors without Borders?

Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters.  In 1999 they received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its members' continued efforts to provide medical care in acute crises, as well as raising international awareness of potential humanitarian disasters.

Why Doctors Without Borders?

While I was traveling in Indonesia a few years ago, I was on a tiny island off of Lombok. To state the size of the island; you are able to walk around the whole island in two hours. That night on which I arrived a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck and changed my life. Joining a herd of people running up the only mountain on the island, we feared a tsunami would hit the island, which thankfully didn't end up being the case. On the mountaintop I was able to get service to call my family. I remember my father saying, "You have an opportunity to help others." I took his words to heart and found a small group of people who were doctors and nurses just on vacation like me before the quake. I saw injuries such as a young girl who needed stitches in her head, another person with a broken leg, and several people with cuts that needed dressing. I helped tie a tarp to shade dead bodies from the sun and carry the injured ones onto boats. There were also crowds of people breaking into stores for food like a riot. Only a small handful of people were helping out of a hundreds who were in such distressed. During this experience I saw the importance of medical care during a disaster, which led me towards Doctors Without Borders. Since then I've shared my story through scholarship essays and interviews in hopes to maybe some day being apart of something bigger than myself. 

"Charity Navigator - Rating for Doctors Without Borders, USA" https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3628

The Bike Trip 

The Pacific Coast Bicycle route spans from Vancouver to the Mexican border, covering a total of 1,848. While on the route I'll be sharing a U.S. Highway 101 and State Highway 1 with cars, recreational vehicles, farm trucks, and logging trucks but I'll be riding through redwoods, breathtaking. While visiting my sister in Nevada City, CA, I decided to start my bike ride at Roseville to San Francisco to Seattle. During the trip I'll be meeting my brother Amir in Orick, California and we'll be finishing the trip together. Amir was also an inspiration for this charity ride. Years ago Amir set up a college project where he planned a bike charity through China. He wasn't able to commit to the trip because he tore his ACL skiing right before he was set to depart. Overall I'm deeply excited for the opportunity to ride and I hope to take this experience with me as I gain more confidence for future expeditions.

Their Major Accomplishments 

Over many years they have provided lifesaving medical humanitarian care, and speaked out about what we they see. Below are 3 major accomplishments reviewed by the Borgen Project

1. Hospital in Tasnimarkhola 

"Doctors Without Borders constructed a new hospital in Tasnimarkhola camp, Bangladesh in three weeks. The hospital has an emergency room, an intensive care unit, a pharmacy and sterilization unit. In its first month of operation, MSF staff admitted 220 patients with more than half needing treatment for measles. "

2. Medical Assistance to Refugees

"MSF provided medical assistance to refugees and migrants in the central Mediterranean. At sea, the search and rescue vessel Aquarius — run by MSF in cooperation with humanitarian organization SOS MEDITERRANEE — rescued 3,645 people and brought those rescued to ports of safety in Italy."

"Doctors Without Borders also provided psychological first-aid after tragic rescues while also running several mental health and healthcare projects in Sicily. In Libya, the MSF teams provided medical assistance to refugees and migrants that were arbitrarily held in detention centers nominally under the control of the Ministry of Interior."

 

3. Treatment of War-Wounded People in Taiz 

"Doctors Without Borders has a team treating war-wounded people in Taiz. Currently, Taiz is one of the most intense conflict zones in the country with extremely high humanitarian needs. Doctors Without Borders are one of the few medical organizations in Taiz who remain committed to working in Yemen."

"These three specific accomplishments of Doctors Without Borders are some of many; the staff continuously works hard, laborious hours to save the lives of those affected by poverty."

https://borgenproject.org/accomplishments-of-doctors-without-borders/

 

Thank you!

With my limited experience as a surgical tech I may not yet be able work with Doctors Without Borders but I can at least ride the Pacific Coast on a bicycle to raise funds. Thank you for your great generosity! I greatly appreciate your donation, and your sacrifice. Thank you again!