The 2025-26 BMJ Annual Appeal supports the work of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), who provide maternity care, prevent disease outbreaks and carry out life-saving operations in areas affected by conflict and natural disasters. The article describes MSF's response to the cholera outbreak in Nigeria through the perspective of an emergency physician. A doctor's day begins before sunrise by checking messages in the WhatsApp group for nightly staff reports, hoping for no deaths. Work is not in the typical 9 to 5 mode, but continues non-stop, even while sleeping through replying to messages. The doctor sometimes does not sleep deeply due to the anticipation of tasks. MSF operates as a mobile team with a nomadic lifestyle and base in a designated location.