"Les conquérants savent que l'action est en elle-même inutile. Il n'y a qu'une action utile, celle qui referait l'homme et la terre. Mais il faut faire "comme si". Car si le chemin de lutte me fait rencontrer la chair, même humiliée, la chair est ma seule certitude. Je ne puis vivre que d'elle."

Albert Camus (Le mythe de Sisyphe)

This site is dedicated to Edmond Kaiser, 1914-2000, founder of the Swiss humanitarian organisations “Terre des hommes” and “Sentinelles” and, in particular, to those who continue to pursue his work at the noma centres at Zinder, Niger, and other African countries. “Sentinelles” was created in 1980 and is dedicated to combatting the “destruction of innocence” in the world, especially the sexual mutilation, prostitution and slavery of children in developing countries, and including those who are excluded by disfigurement such as noma.

We thank the healthcare workers and the administration of the University of Geneva Hospitals for their dedication to patient care and logistic support in the field of humanitarian medicine.

We gratefully acknowledge the support and encouragement of Gertrude Hirzel of the Hirzel Foundation.