40 Years Between Volunteers

So I guess this entry is targeted at the Gabon RPCV's more than anybody else. I went to a NPCA event in Phoenix today. It was great- there were over 100 Arizona RPCV's all with great stories to tell. Something that was surprising to me was that approximately 75% of the RPCV's there were over the age of 60. They really had some interesting stories about serving in a time before the internet and cell phones. About halfway through the event, I noticed a man in his 60's or so whose nametag said Gabon, 1962-1964. I had to approach him as I'm sure you can all agree that finding Gabon RPCV's isn't as easy as with some other countries. As it turns out, Doug Hawkins was in the very first group to go over and serve in Gabon in 1962, exactly forty years before our group went. They did their training in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas and then went straight to their posts once in Gabon. He worked in the school construction program when they got to drive cars around. He worked in Lambarene and Ndende and a couple other small towns where they built schools. He actually worked in Lambarene when Albert Schweizer was there. Him and a couple other volunteers used to stop by the Hospital, help out, and chat with Albert Schweizer whenever possible. Wow! We swapped stories and tried to figure out the major changes between the 40 years that occurred between our services. One thing we concluded- in the 40 years since he served, not many roads had been paved! Anyway, just wanted to post this as it really got me thinking about Gabon. Gonna put up some pics for memories.