In the Shade of an Acacia Tree: Memoirs of a Health Officer in Africa, 1945-1959, Memoirs, American Philosophical Society (Vol. 194)

When Frank Lambrecht arrived in Africa in 1945 he came with a 3 years’ contract with the Congo Red Cross. What he found in the Belgian Congo was an old colonial system steeped in its traditions right down to the garb colonials wore & the separate class structure for Europeans & natives. When he left 14 years later Africa was on the verge of divesting itself of foreign rule & influence. Lambrecht’s story is of the beauty of Africa & its people as well as a description of the many diseases that decimated its populations. His responsibility in the beginning, with a diploma in tropical medicine, was to care for the lepers. But it was on the tsetse fly that Lambrecht concentrated most of his research. The book describes his attempts to capture tsetse fly species & then to train his native staff to help him in his research. A fascinating glimpse into the earlier stages of public health in the 20th century, through the diaries & letters of a dedicated medical scientist. Illustrations.