Albert Schweitzer left a secure life in Europe to dedicate himself as a doctor to improving the poor medical conditions in Africa. His spirit of service has been passed down to future generations and has inspired many people.
Albert Schweitzer laid the foundation for medical service. He was the first to reach out to Africans who were dying of various diseases without proper hospitals, doctors, or medicine. In the early 1900s, the medical situation in Africa was very poor. Albert Schweitzer was deeply impressed by a missionary who wrote to him. “There are no doctors here, and if you are a doctor, please come!” He realized the suffering of the Africans and decided to become a doctor and live a life of service.
He gave up a comfortable life in Europe to serve in Africa. At the age of 27, Albert Schweitzer was a professor of theology at Strasbourg and had a secure life in Europe, but his conviction to serve led him to begin the long and difficult process of studying medicine, and after seven years, he passed his medical exams and became a doctor. After becoming a doctor, Albert Schweitzer traveled to Africa, where he founded the Lambarene Hospital and began providing free medical care. In this way, Albert Schweitzer pioneered the concept of medical service abroad and became an inspiration to many.
In addition, Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s approach to medical service is a model for others. He encouraged Africans to run their own hospitals, and the money, bananas, chickens, and eggs he received from them were used to run them. I think it’s great that he didn’t just provide free care to temporarily improve conditions, but to help Africans become self-reliant in the long run. Treating the sick in the short term would have made Africans dependent on Albert Schweitzer. But he encouraged Africans to take ownership of the hospital. This gave them a sense of responsibility to improve their own conditions rather than blindly relying on him.
Albert Schweitzer’s work is significant because he not only established the concept of medical service, but also expanded it. After he built the first hospital in Africa, many others followed in his footsteps. For example, Larry Mellon, a successful American businessman, was so moved by an article about Albert Schweitzer that he built Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti in the small Caribbean island nation to help people improve their health. Larry Mellon read Albert Schweitzer’s article in Life on October 6, 1947, and began seeking his advice, studying to become a doctor for several years. He went on to found the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the Artibonite Valley of Haiti, where he employed doctors at his own expense to care for patients free of charge and provide educational facilities. Through Larry Mellon, Albert Schweitzer’s noble spirit of humanity spread to Haiti, where the Albert Schweitzer Hospital is still operated by his grandchildren and continues to serve today.
Albert Schweitzer also expanded his medical service through his writings. His books not only informed many Europeans who were unaware of the conditions in Africa, but they also conveyed the excitement and enlightenment of a life of medical service. For example, Zwischen Wasser und Urwald, published in 1918, vividly conveyed the poor conditions in Africa to Europeans and inspired many to donate money to help Albert Schweitzer’s medical work. On his first trip to Africa, only his wife accompanied him, but on his return trip in 1925, several doctors and nurses joined him. In his book Aus meinem Leben und Denken, Schweitzer wrote, “I believe that we should all share the burden of the world’s suffering,” and directly called for more people to join him in medical service.
Albert Schweitzer was a physician who pioneered and broadened the path of medical service and made a significant contribution to society. His life is an inspiration for today’s healthcare workers, and we hope that his noble spirit of humanity will be widely recognized.
