A century ago, in 1913, Albert Schweitzer and his wife traveled 200 miles into the interior of what was then French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon) to found a hospital. In the first nine months he and his wife had 2,000 patients to examine, some travelling many days and hundreds of kilometers to reach him. In addition to injuries he was often treating severe sandflea and crawcraw sores, framboesia (yaws), tropical eating sores, heart disease, dysentery, malaria, sleeping sickness, leprosy, fevers, strangulated hernias, necrosis, abdominal tumours, chronic constipation, and nicotine poisoning.
In recognition of the Schweitzer Hospital Centennial, the Camden Public Library will feature a presentation in the Picker Room by Patti Marxsen and Dr. Hans-Peter Müller on Thursday, May 23, at 7:00 pm. “The Schweitzer Hospital—Then and Now (1913-2013)” will include a historical perspective by Ms. Marxsen, writer and former Camden journalist. Dr. Müller, a retired Swiss surgeon and former VP of the International Schweitzer Foundation, will speak about his personal experience at the Schweitzer Hospital since 1996. Both promise a visual feast of photographs along with an inspiring tale of resilience, optimism, and international cooperation. In association with this event, signed copies of Patti Marxsen’s translation (from the French) of Albert Schweitzer’s Lambarene, A Legacy of Humanity for Our World Today by Jo and Walter Munz will be available for purchase.
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