Hope: An evening of storytelling in the west end of Glasgow
Telling stories is one of our most ancient and powerful forms of expression.
Watch the event
On Tuesday 15 July 2025, we held an evening of storytelling in Glasgow at in ‘The Venue’ at Òran Mór, Top of Byres Road, Glasgow G12 8QX.
Our storytellers were MSF staff from a range of professions. They recounted their personal experiences of what it’s like to work with MSF in some of the world’s most demanding places.
Reflecting on the theme of ‘Hope’ in its many forms, each shared a short story about an experience that made a lasting impact on them whilst working with MSF in Central African Republic (CAR), Afghanistan, Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
It was an evening of unique, moving and ultimately uplifting stories told by the people at the heart of our projects.
Our speakers and host
Amber Dowell (host)
Amber is MSF UK’s Story Manager. She is passionate about the ability stories have to bring people together and to help us look at sometimes difficult topics in new ways. Before moving to charity communications, Amber worked in publishing, so stories have been part of her career for an embarrassingly long time.
Dr Prudence Jarrett
Pru is a paediatrician based in London and has worked with MSF in the Central African Republic and Afghanistan. She has also worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Eswatini and Zimbabwe as an epidemiologist and public health practitioner.
Patrick Sharkey
Patrick is an engineer from Cambridge. Since 2023, he has worked on three projects for MSF as a water and sanitation (WATSAN) specialist in Bangladesh, India and Syria. When he is not working for MSF, he works for an engineering consultancy in the UK.
Dr Pauline Lynch
Pauline has recently retired as an NHS consultant in Scotland with over 35 years’ experience working in obstetrics and gynaecology. Having always been keen to use her skills in a humanitarian setting, she undertook her first assignment last year with MSF in Afghanistan. She spent three months in Helmand province supporting the delivery of essential emergency care for pregnant women. She is a passionate advocate for women’s health, and her next MSF assignment is to Kenema in Sierra Leone in November.
Dr Sally Pearson
Sally is a GP in Scotland who started her journey with MSF over ten years ago. In that time, she has worked in medical roles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and India. Sally is well aware that the medical component of any MSF project is a just a snapshot of the skills required to bring humanitarian aid to those in need. Sally enjoys the challenges of overseas work with MSF and welcomes these as opportunities to share, develop and connect with others.
