UMSM Academics Societies

Albert Schweitzer is a model for both the art and science of medicine. He was the world’s leading expert on organ building and wrote the definitive biography of Bach. He earned a doctorate of philosophy obtained and advanced degree in theology and had written 3 scholarly books by age 29. Schweitzer always felt a strong yearning toward direct service to humanity. At age 30, when he chanced upon a publication of the Paris Missionary Society, which detailed the urgent need for physicians to serve in the then French colony of Gabon, Schweitzer decided to study medicine. He explained that his choice stemmed from a desire to work with his hands “For years I have been giving myself out in words” and “this new form of activity” would not be mere talk about “the religion of love but actually putting it into practice” Albert Schweitzer received his degree in medicine with a specialization in tropical medicine and surgery at the age of 38. When he approached the Paris Missionary Society to volunteer in Africa he was rejected! He and his wife, Helene Bresslau (a nurse) would not accept defeat; rather they raised money sufficient to start up and supply a hospital in Africa and under write its expenses for 2 years. Together, the two built a hospital at Lambaarene, Gabon, starting from a chicken coop and gradually adding buildings, whereby the facility actually serves thousands of patients per year. In 1953, Dr. Schweitzer was honored for his humanitarian work with the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 1952. Following the bonging of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Dr. Schweitzer became increasingly concerned about 4he dangers of nuclear testing, nuclear energy and the arms race, issuing in 1957 a worldwide public appeal for peace entitled “A Declaration of Conscience”