 Hospital Albert Schweitzer, Deschapelle, Haiti
When the Trustees of the UK Fund in 1994 decided to broaden their involvement beyond the Gabon and Alsace, HAS was the first hospital they discovered in other parts of the world. It was unquestionably "administered in the spirit of Albert Schweitzer", with the words "Reverence for Life" inscribed in stone above it's main entrance.
Since then, the Fund has helped finance the provision of wells for drinking water and contributed to the general running costs of the hospital.
Hopital Albert Schweitzer was built in 1956 by Dr. Larimer and Mrs Gwen Mellon in Deschappelle, in the Artibonite Valley region of Haiti. They were inspired by the work and commitment of Dr. Schweitzer and his philosophy of Reverence for Life. A 1948 article in 'LIFE' magazine on Dr Schweitzer's work in Gabon touched the couple so deeply, that Larimer Mellon, a banker's son living in Texas USA, decided to go to medical school and open a hospital in a deprived part of the world. His wife Gwen concurrently trained to be a nurse in order to be able to support him in his work. In 1956 he chose to go to the Artibonite Valley region as one of the world's most densely populated and impoverished areas. The residents, mostly subsistence farmers living on poor land and in harsh conditions, suffered from high infant mortality, malnutrition, tuberculosis, measles, neonatal tetanus, malaria and intestinal parasites.
After establishing the hospital, the Mellons started reaching out beyond its walls and working with its neighbours. They forged ahead in improving life for the Haitian people by piping water into villages, building latrines, drilling wells for safe water, introducing animal husbandry and farming method. They also developed highly successful partnerships with North America, Europe and the people of the valley.
Dr. Mellon died in 1989. Mrs. Grant Mellon continued to sustain the spirit of the hospital embodying Dr. Schweitzer's philosophy of Reverence for Life and the love and pragmatism of Dr. Mellon, until her death in Nov. 2000. The following is taken from the HAS Brochure " Much can be done for those who have little":
 "HAS is an integrated rural health and development program serving 225,000 residents within a 610 mile square district of the Aritibonite Valley region of central Haiti. HAS works with residents in improving the quality of their lives by offering curative, preventative and promotive health services, and by playing a supporting role in health education and community development programs. HAS is dedicated to encouraging self-sufficiency and self-determination in the people it serves."
For more information contact:
The Grant Foundation, 1410 Magellan Drive #101, Sarasota, FL 34243, Tel: 941-752-1525, Fax: 941-752-0755, e-mail: gfhaiti@kudos.net, or visit: www.hashaiti.org.
Other Projects
|
