MEDICAL STUDENTS OVERSEAS RELIEF
(MSOR)
MSOR, Medical Students Overseas relief, is a voluntary society run by UCD medical students to raise funds for hospitals and clinics in the developing world.
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Every summer since 1974, UCD medical students have travelled to third world countries to assist, voluntarily, in humanitarian medical work. Over the past 37 years, UCD students have gone to over 30 different developing countries including parts of Africa, Asia and South America.
The aim of this charitable organisation is to bring aid to underfunded healthcare institutions in developing countries. This aid is in the form of vital drugs, essential surgical and life-saving equipment, monetary donation and the voluntary work of the medical students.
One of the core principles of MSOR is its policy on fund raising- all students must pay for their own travel expenses (flights, accommodation etc.) and in this way EVERY SINGLE PENNY RAISED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE HOSPITAL AND TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST.
FUNDRAISING
Under the guidance of a small committee formed from students in the year ahead who partook in MSOR the previous year, the stage 4 medical students choose a hospital in a developing country that they want to fund-raise for and throughout the year they raise as much money as possible to donate to their chosen hospital.
Previous successful fund-raising events have included bag-packing, church collections, raffles, nights-out organised for the years ahead and below, blood-pressure clinics, table quizzes and the list goes on.
There are also letters sent out asking for donations from groups such as consultants in the hospitals and any business contacts that people are willing to contact for assistance. Fund-raising in your old school has proven successful in the past!
It is important to stress when collecting that every cent of people's contributions will go directly towards the affiliated hospital where it will be used to help with any acute crisis the hospital may be experiencing or fund development. These projects help make these hospitals more self-sustainable, more stable and help secure a better future for them and the rural populations they serve, often receiving no payment from their impoverished patients.