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Author's profile photo Susan Keohan

SAP Community and the Lord of Flowers

As some of you may know, I have been on a quest!

Sir Loras, the Lord of Flowers, from Game of Thrones

A quest to raise funds (perhaps by flogging the community) for Doctors Without Borders.

They do fantastic work – all you have to do is check them out.

But let’s talk about this a little.  What does your money really do?  I mean, we all know there are certain charities that have, like, 90% overhead.  So your $100 to feed the children actually boils down to ten dollars – ten – for the actual beneficiaries of that  charity.

But what can $10 do at MSF?

Charlie Kunzer, who works for MSF and is our liaison, sent me this.


$10 – Can purchase 45 emergency food rations for use in a crisis or natural disaster.

$30 – Can purchase wound care for six burn victims

$35 – Can provide enough ready-to-use therapeutic food to treat one severely malnourished child.

$50 – Can purchase enough vaccine to inoculate 175 children against a deadly outbreak of measles.

$60 – Can purchase treatment for 72 children under the age of five suffering from malaria

$75 – Can purchase two Suture Sets containing essential surgical instruments for emergency wound repair in the field.

$100 – Can purchase 17 wool blankets to protect displaced people from the cold

$100 – Can purchase a year of antiretrovirals for two infants to help prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child

$150 – Can purchase a Chlorination Kit to provide 85 uprooted families with clean drinking water for one month.

$500 – Can purchase a course of seasonal malaria chemoprevention for 333 children during peak malaria season which protects a child under the age of five from getting malaria during this time

$1000 – Can purchase a set of instruments for use in emergency war surgery

$2,500 – Can purchase basic waterproof shelters for 106 displaced families.

$5,000 – Can purchase a Nutrition Inpatient Kit with supplies to treat 50 severely malnourished hospitalized children for three months.

Well, OK, they do have overhead costs as well.  Their management costs are 1.3% and their fundraising is about 12.7%.  So out of your $10, there will be $8.60 used to buy medicine, purchase vaccines, etc. 

You can participate in the fun challenge we have set up  for people attending ASUG/Sapphire in Orlando next week by signing up for the SAP Community Challenge. We have plenty of space for more participants and sponsors!  You can integrate this with the SAP Analytics folks, and have your footsteps included in their (very cool) analytics by going here.

Or you can just go directly to the MSF Fundraising Page and make a donation.

So what do you say?  Are you willing to forgo a week of Lattes in order to purchase enough vaccine to inoculate 175 children?

Or do I need to flog some more?  Daenerys Targaryen looks ready for the job.

Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones


PS: I admit, I have been watching both Game of Thones and Brain Games.  So I think I used a trick from Brain Games to capitalize on everyone’s fascination with Game of Thrones to lure you in to reading my blog.  But, in fairness, I did include a picture of the Lord of Flowers.

PPS:  Someone I know was recently in the hospital for 5 days.  This is a summary of the expenses.  Not that there is a one-to-one match between American health care and what MSF does, but it makes you think.  Or at least it makes me think.

Lab or X-ray Reading 414
Medical Care 429
Medical Care 330
Lab or X-ray Reading 258
Lab or X-ray Reading 32
Lab or X-ray Reading 181
Emergency Medical Care 869
Room and Board 21,152.44
Medical Care 306
Medical Care 500
Ambulance 958
Medical Care 485
Lab or X-ray Reading 149
Medical Care 220
Medical Care 242
Medical Care 330
Medical Care 220
Medical Care 180
Medical Care 330
Medical Care 220
Medical Care 330
28135.44

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      Author's profile photo Jelena Perfiljeva
      Jelena Perfiljeva

      Susan, good post and good point. I got my lesson very early in the US when after donating small amount to "help children" at a local store I got a brochure saying that more then 50% of my donation will actually go towards the fundraising and administrative cost. Ouch.

      Those in the US might be interested to learn that donations to Doctors Without Borders are tax deductible.

      Sorry to hijack your blog, but there is also a great (and free!) web site You Caring for those who are looking for more personal donation level or are in need themselves.

      P.S. Medical costs in the US are outrageous. And don't even think about getting into an ambulance - it'll cost you arm and leg and insurance won't cover it. 😡

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Thank you Susan for organizing this great challenge - something really different and fun for everyone to get involved with. We are really grateful to Susan and all the other SAP mentors for supporting Doctors Without Borders in such a great way and reaching out to your network and spreading the word. It is through donors and supporters like you that our aid workers are able to go and work in the most neglected areas of the world and help the most vulnerable people.  On behalf of the more than 30,000 aid workers in the organization, I want to thank you for providing the funds to keep this great work going. Thank You.

      Charlie (Doctors Without Borders)

      😘