Doctors for Africa – visiting Ebola victims | Documentary

The Ebola crisis hit Sierra Leone hard. Medical care collapsed almost entirely. These foreign doctors have come on their holiday to lend a hand.

A hospital in Sierra Leone is an unusual holiday destination – but not for these hardworking doctors. They’ve returned to the West African country to help with the aftermath of Ebola, treating patients for free. Foreign aid is a vital lifeline here.



Fritjof Schmidt-Hoensdorf always takes his surgical instruments with him. The orthopedic specialist doesn’t travel to switch off, he travels to help. He goes there with a group of doctors for two weeks to treat the sick for free. They focus on surgery. Hundreds of patients with terrible injuries await the international team of doctors upon their arrival. These patients haven’t seen a doctor for years. The work in Sierra Leone has become a vocation for Dr Schmidt-Hoensdorf. The orthopedist has been travelling there for years to volunteer. However, the last time he was there was around three years ago, because after that the country was struck by the Ebola epidemic that killed an estimated ten thousand people in this west African country alone. It’s the first time doctors have been back in the country since the outbreak. Ebola brought normal life in Sierra Leone to a standstill. Medical care collapsed almost entirely and nothing works without foreign help.

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