Work has always been important to me. I need to believe in my job, in the work that I’m doing, in the people I work with. I need to feel that what I’m doing, no matter how small, can have an impact on someone’s life.

I had this strong sense of purpose when I worked with Probe Media Foundation, on Mulat Pinoy-Kabataan News Network. We could only work with a few youth reporters at a time, but so many of them went on to work in the media, or in some form of public communications or advocacy, and we have been so proud.

I had a similar sense of pride and purpose in my work at Unilab Foundation, where we worked not only with youth, but also Persons with Disability, and children.

In 2009, I never imagined that I would thrive in NGO work. In 2019, I never imagined that I would end up working for a global humanitarian organization, but here I am!

It has been over a year since I started my job at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). As Communications and Liaison Officer, I have had the privilege and challenge of telling the stories of our people and our patients, the conflicts and the emergencies, our research and our campaigns, our history and our failings.

Over the past year, I have learned so much. I have learned that it takes more than doctors and nurses to bring emergency medical aid to those who need it most; it takes HR managers and finance coordinators and logisticians too. I have learned that it isn’t just countries at war that need our our projects, but also communities in dire need of sexual and reproductive health services, HIV medicine, and pioneering TB research. And our organization does so much more than surgery in the middle of conflict zones. We fight for access to lifesaving medicine, vaccines and treatment. We innovate.

It has been over a year since I started this job, and I am still so amazed at all the things we do. Every day, I learn something new, often about places and diseases I’ve never even heard of. All the time, I am humbled by the fact that I am but one little gear in a gigantic machine of an organization that operates all over the world.

There is so much to be thankful for. I am part of a wonderful team that gives me space to grow and supports my wild ideas. I have wonderful teammates who message me randomly and then say things like “sorry I had no idea you are on leave STOP LOG OFF DO NOT DO ANYTHING” or “go to sleep why are you still working!” I have colleagues all over the world, people I have never met and may never meet face to face, but I am honored to call them colleagues because I know we all work for the same things. I thrive on the challenges I face, because they often lead to new ways of doing things.

It’s not all sunshine and roses, obviously. I’ve been tired, frustrated, anxious, upset. But that comes with every job, and here the good days most certainly outnumber the bad. There are disappointments, sure, but the gratitude and wonder definitely outweigh those.

Work has always been important to me. I need to believe in my job, in the work that I’m doing, in the people I work with. I need to feel that what I’m doing, no matter how small, can have an impact on someone’s life. And right now, I believe in my job, in the work I’m doing, and in the people I work with. Right now, absolutely, I feel that, no matter how small my role in the larger scheme of things, I feel like what I’m doing can have an impact on someone’s life. And that’s pretty amazing.