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The UK medical NGO Merlin has recently agreed to join forces with Save the Children.

To ensure that Merlin’s story is recorded and its achievements and contributions to the humanitarian and health sectors are properly recognised and understood, Merlin has commissioned A History of Merlin that will be published in 2015. The intention is to tell the story of Merlin’s development, the work it undertook and the people who made it happen. The work is being led by John Borton, an experienced researcher and consultant within the humanitarian sector, assisted by Luke Kelly, a post-doctoral historian based at the University of Manchester.

Merlin provided health care in disaster and conflict-affected areas (in countries such as Chechnya, Zaire/DRC, Sierra Leone, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Albania, Myanmar and Libya) and made a significant contribution to the management of diseases such as TB, Lassa Fever and Malaria.

We are looking for ex-Merliners or those who worked with or observed Merlin in some way to contribute to the History Project via our website. All those wanting to feed their recollections and reflections on Merlin, or perhaps to share Merlin-related documents and images with the Project team, are invited to do so via the site at:

www.merlinhistoryproject.uk

All contributions will be treated in confidence and kept secure in accordance with the Privacy Policy provided on the site.

The website:

• Explains the Merlin History Project;
• Presents a preliminary timeline of 50 key events in Merlin’s 21 years;
• Shares the PDF archive of Annual Reviews and Newsletters that we have managed to build up over recent weeks;
• Enables Merlin’s former staff, trustees, supporters and partners, and also any observers of Merlin’s work over the years, to submit their recollections and reflections to Luke and myself;
• Provides a contact form for those wanting to correspond directly with Luke and myself on particular issues or perhaps to share Merlin-related documentation and images with us.

Merlin in Nagorno-Karabakh, 1993. Photographer: David Stewart-Smith

On completion of the Merlin History Project in March 2015, it is hoped to retain the website as a means of sharing the projects outputs and a selection of key documents and images.

The opportunity to feed into the Merlin History Project provides a valuable opportunity for the humanitarian sector, not only to ensure that Merlin’s story is accurately told, but also as a case study providing insights into the organisational and financial challenges experienced by international humanitarian agencies during the last 21-years of rapid growth and evolution in the humanitarian sector.

www.merlinhistoryproject.uk

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