When Dr. Schweitzer was around eight years old, he experienced something one Sunday morning that helped shape his life. At the urging of a young friend, he reluctantly aimed his slingshot at several birds which, he later wrote, “sang sweetly into the morning sunshine.” Moved, he “made a silent vow to miss. At that moment, […]
Read More...Schweitzer created a hospital village as well as a leper village. By the mid-1960’s more than 100,000 patients had been treated since its founding in 1913. In the 1960’s it was housing 500 patients and their relatives at a time. Before this, people had to depend on fetishes and superstitions. When new patients arrived, they […]
Read More...The Albert Schweitzer hospital of the 1960’s was far from the traditional hospital we’re familiar with. It was not a single building filled with beds where patients recovered from illness in a formal setting. Gabonese patients came a long way and stayed in huts, along with those who had brought them. This was a hospital […]
Read More...In 1913, the Schweitzers prepared to travel to Lambarènè, on the Ogowe River in what was then French Equatorial Africa. Here they founded their hospital at a station set up by the Paris Missionary Society. This area is now part of the independent West African republic of Gabon. But first, they needed to do a […]
Read More...ALBERT SCHWEITZER (1875-1965) Now for something completely different. A man who served to overcome needs in a remote area of the world. Albert Schweitzer was an Alsatian-German religious philosopher, musicologist and medical missionary in Africa. He was especially known for founding the Albert Schweitzer Hospital which provided much needed care for the natives of Gabon […]
Read More...But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. Luke […]
Read More...LIVING ROOM MEMORIES 281 (July 1, 2010) An amazing answer to prayer: My friend in hospital has improved by leaps and bounds. Two days ago she wasn’t allowed her clothes because she was still suicidal. Today she will probably be allowed an accompanied pass, meaning she can leave the hospital if she has someone with […]
Read More...I’ve spent much time trying to write my Living Room history. There’s a lot I haven’t covered and, as I’ve said, I would like to move on. But I do want to leave this capsulated form of my history. It offers a clearer overall picture of how things went for me. 2005 or so […]
Read More...After reading the last couple of posts, I can’t help thinking back to when my life with mental illness began. How far I have come! My story wouldn’t be complete if you didn’t understand a little about this part of my life. In 1965, at the age of nineteen, I lived with psychosis for several […]
Read More...LIVING ROOM MEMORIES 200 (November 5, 2008) I feel heavily burdened today for a friend, a Living Room member, who is in hospital. Her psychiatrist certified her and she is not allowed her clothes. On top of that, he and her therapist have turned her over to a new psychiatrist, withdrawing from her case. This […]
Read More...© 2024 Marja Bergen
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑