- Name: Greg Scott
- Age: 30
- Current location: Hong Kong
- Home town: Vancouver, Canada
- Education: Bachelor of Linguistics
- Current position: Supply Logistician, Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
- Organization description: Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, is an humanitarian organization and international NGO that works in over 70 countries, providing healthcare, water, and sanitation.
- Bio: Greg Scott has worked 2 missions with MSF, first in Uzbekistan and another in the Democratic Republic of Congo, working in logistics and operations. He holds a degree in linguistics from Carleton University, speaks 3 languages, and also worked logistics for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games. He now lives and works in Hong Kong.
- Countries I've worked in: Uzbekistan, DR Congo, China, Hong Kong
- Sector / subsectors: International development, humanitarian aid, logistics
- Areas of expertise: Logistics, humanitarian aid logistics, disaster relief.
- Country: DR Congo, Uzbekistan
- Region: Central America, Africa
- Sector: Humanitarian, International development
- Degree subject: Languages / linguistics
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You were a supply logistician in DR Congo, for a project involving 1 hospital and 6 satellite health centres. What exactly did your role entail?
From calculating how many litres of diesel fuel are needed to run generators, to how many kilograms food are needed to feed every patient.
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How did you get to where you are? What was your career trajectory?
From studying linguistics, to working for the Vancouver Olympics, Greg breaks down how he got to where he is now.
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MSF is a well-known international NGO. What was the application process like?
Greg was interviewed in three separate languages.
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So you did two separate missions with MSF, in Uzbekistan and then DR Congo. How did they differ?
From vodka, to drunk gun-toting soldiers.
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So what’s an average week in the life of a supply logistician in DR Congo?
From the monotonous to the life-saving, Greg was in charge of everything from having enough printer paper in the offices, to rushing therapeutic milk to malnourished children.
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You went to school for linguistics and had worked logistics at the Vancouver Olympics. What do you think helped you stand out, or get your foot in the door, at MSF?
You don’t have to be a doctor to work for Doctors Without Borders.
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Did you have a lot of travel experience before working for MSF?
Greg explains how his travel experiences helped get him in the door at MSF.
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What were the biggest challenges when it came to working in logistics in DR Congo?
From bad road conditions, to flipped over supply trucks, and having to make the call on whether to bring a child back to the hospital.
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Wait, you got struck by lightning?! Tell us that story.
Greg tells us how their village earned the nickname "thunderstorm alley" - and how something that seems like it’s out of a Saturday morning cartoon is deadly serious in real life.
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So you’ve faced some pretty crazy challenges in this position. What did you enjoy most about it? What made it all worth it?
Greg shares his favourite memory from his time in Congo; where a soccer match between two neighbouring villages led to a 2,000 person turnout.
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What are the various streams within the MSF framework?
From supply logistics, to technical logistics, and administration, Greg breaks down the streams within MSF.
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Does work-life balance exist in the humanitarian field?
Greg tells us why accepting the fact that he was working 24/7 actually made things easier.
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What was it like to live and work with the same people, in the compound, 24 hours a day?
A little tapas can go a long way.
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What’s your best advice for someone looking to get into this field?
Start doing this now.
