When looking for a volunteering project, examining different options and organizations and making comparisons are crucial steps to be able to choose the ones that fit you best.
One organization that quickly catches interest is Doctors Without Borders. A frequent inquiry we receive is what the difference is between Jose’s Hands and Doctors Without Borders. This article explores the differences and similarities between the two entities.
Differences between Doctors Withous Borders and Jose's Hands
Many have heard about Doctors without Borders (DWB), a very well-known medical volunteering abroad program, which is an humanitarian, non-governmental organization (NGO) best known for its labor recruiting professionals in the health sector to deliver emergency medical aid to countries in crisis, such as war-torn regions, and to developing countries.
At its core, the purpose of humanitarian action is to save the lives and ease the suffering of people caught in acute crises, thereby restoring their ability to rebuild their lives and communities.
Jose's Hands brings health students to places in dire need of medical attention.
Jose’s Hands partners with organizations hosting medical mission trips to countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Jose’s Hands gathers information about such volunteer opportunities and makes it available to anyone interested. Jose’s Hands’ focus is giving medical students the opportunity to travel abroad, help underserved populations, learn firsthand, and gain medical experience by serving alongside volunteer healthcare professionals. Jose’s Hands grants scholarships to medical students currently enrolled in an American medical school, to help them defray the cost of the mission trip’s registration cost. DWB, on the other hand, requires a medical degree and 2 years of experience.
Jose’s Hands works only in stable, low-risk environments, where the hosting organization has taken steps to ensure the missionaries’ safety. For example, Jose’s Hands has partnered with organizations to send students on medical missions to communities in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Peru, and Panama. DWB sends medical missions to assist in crisis situations; i.e., armed conflicts or natural disasters.
Another critical point is that Jose’s Hands partners with organizations going solely on short-term missions that are anywhere between 1 to 2 weeks long, which allows missionaries to participate without having to put their lives on hold. You can even volunteer during a summer break! DWB, on the other hand, requires for volunteers to travel abroad for much longer periods of time, generally for several months.
Why Volunteer with Jose's Hands?
Volunteering with Jose’s Hands promises to be a life-changing experience where you will learn permanent life skills while helping others. You will get to know a completely different reality as well as a new culture filled with beautiful people. You will have a chance to build a lifelong friendship with those attending the trip with you. If you’re currently working in the medical field, we promise that you will have the chance of reconnecting with the humanistic aspect of why you entered medicine in the first place.
A group of Jose's Hands Ambassadors after a long clinic day.
Come fall in love with philanthropy. We would be honored to harness this newfound love you will discover within yourself. Let Jose’s Hands help you make this connection within yourself, and ultimately, this wonderful world we live in.