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Frontline Volunteer

My closest person offered him a volunteer to fight Ebola. He is just a programmer and neither a doctor nor a nurse, so I wonder what he can do for that. However, the frontline people need not only doctors and nurses, but also support people. He found a position of IT, the frontline people will establish a data center for outbreak and information hub.

I asked him, ``Don't you have a fear to do that?'' He answered me, ``I'm scared.'' The Ebola has a high risk of death, 50 to 90% of death ratio once infected. There is no good medicine for it yet.

But he thought, the outbreak must be stopped there and must be stopped still we can. He told me he doesn't have any family, so he just felt that he does it better than someone who has a family does. Although he clearly sees what he should do, still his hand was trembled when he pushed the ``send'' button of the application form.

For one week just after he sent the form, he continue to think about what he should do before he go. His hobby is making introductory math videos for children. He just continued to make them. He told me it was a quite productive one week. But I know the work is never done in a week, so I wonder it is good thing to do or not. He seems to feel what I am thinking, he told me that, ``I could not find any other things I need to do now.'' He also tried to find some medical training that he could do in Berlin. But, it is not so simple.

One and half a week later, he got a letter: This time the frontline allies are not expressing an interest in volunteers with his skills, profile, and availability. But the frontline situation is always changing, if the frontline needs him, they will let him know right away. I think his specialty is only for computer and maybe the frontline people need the people who know more about medical stuffs. He didn't talk about this anyone until he got this letter.

He told me that that one and half week was a special week for him. He had a strange feeling. He thought ``If I could not come back here again....'', but he also thought ``What do I want to do even I could come back?... I have nothing special.'' Then he realized that it makes much sense he helps to stop the disease.

But, he made one plan, he thought it might be the last plan. His friend's child will have a birthday at 18th of November. He bought a ticket to Dresden and he wanted to celebrate her birthday before he leaves.

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