11 Jan 08: Ken, 29 years old, arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo late last year as a Merlin intern. Here is the first entry in his field diary.

28 Apr 06: Magnus Anderson, a former NHS manager from London, has been working in Congo since January 2006 as part of Merlin’s internship programme.

5 Apr 06: Merlin Health Director in Pakistan, Paula Sansom, described life in the field six months after the earthquake

24 Oct 05: Merlin doctors Sean Keogh and Fayaz Ahmad reached the epicentre of the quake five days after it struck.

28 Sep 05: Helen Abnett describes her experiences in Myanmar (Burma), where she worked as Assistant to Merlin’s Country Director for six months