
[ Bishkek, KYRGYZSTAN ] Alina, right, comforts another volunteer as they continue their 12 hours shift in, Thursday, July 30, 2020. As local hospitals were overwhelmed by the pandemic, civil society organisations helped convert restaurants and hotels into temporary hospitals. Most volunteers in these temporary hospitals were staffed by non-medical workers with no prior experience in the medical field. Alina almost quit after seeing doctors trying to save the life of a patient. Many volunteers were afraid of catching the virus themselves but Alina persisted; the recovered patients gave her motivation to continue her volunteering work.