he tells us Enthusiastically about his next journey. It starts in the morning, practically right after this conversation. The bags are Packed, the papers are semi-sorted on the floor. The mountain bike is ready for departure. Before Bernhard Römhild rises in the plane, he wants to drive but still with the car to Stuttgart, his son to visit. The baptism of his granddaughter is celebrated, he does not want to miss. The former surgeon of the Rudolf-Virchow-hospital uses, with 73 years of its independence for what met him. “It is very pleasant, if one can organize his life more independent. You have a lot of freedoms that you would not otherwise.“
in His spare time spends the Pensioner, among other things, as a city guide in Berlin, where he offers tours on foot and by Bicycle. He and his wife are Dahlem members of the circle of friends of the Ethnological Museum. The Sport has always played a large role in his life, he has completed 15 Marathons, not too short. He is still running. Currently he makes frequent Bicycle tours. Since 15 years he lives as a pensioner who cares how many of his Generation, even in old age his many Hobbies. But Römhild has made it is also on a mission to help people and save lives. He goes with aid organisations in developing countries, to provide urgently required medical aid.
again and again to Africa to good people
The father of two and his wife have a total of 14 years, lived in Africa. “Friends of ours started to go to Africa. For us, this was a great story, because we always thought that we need to do that.“ For manufacturers, it was clear that he only accepts projects in which he and his wife can work. So you worked in 1978 in Nigeria and Tanzania for the Catholic Church, he as a General practitioner, you, as a pharmacist. After seven years, the family moved back to Baden-Württemberg, and later to Berlin, where the couple has to be a home. Africa remained as a “very interesting continent, with wonderful locations and well-meaning and well-intentioned people” always in his memory. So she moved back 15 years ago there. They spent, now as a pensioner, a further seven years in aid projects, and then they came back to Berlin.
Since you work for the Red cross and the SES Foundation, a development organization. These organizations engage in four – to five-week, global projects. He works in West Africa during the Ebola epidemics, or as in Bavaria, in a refugee camp, mostly as a General practitioner. In some projects, he directs training courses or help where his help is needed. The “Mix of landscape, people, language, and encounters with the other,” make each trip for him to something very Special.
“So many rotten limbs”
In June and July, the native of Brandenburg for the Red cross in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. “I’ve never seen so many rotten limbs. It was really very dramatic situations, infants with abscesses and boils, over the whole body.“ As the ambulance doctor, he treated every day about 100 patients, many of them underage. The communication only took place through a Translator: “the feeling of the people with each other, I didn’t catch that.” In those moments he regretted particularly that he had started in his youth, so late, to learn languages. With fluent English, French and Kiswahili, Nigeria’s national language, come to far, language barriers are still a Problem. Could help you in any way.
But the many travels of the three times the get grandfather, with his family life? “You have to find a healthy Mix between what you do yourself and what you have learned and what they plan to do with the family.” It is also important to be there for the family, especially for his grandchildren. Among other things, he selects, therefore, only projects of short duration. “I think you already has a certain exemplary role.”
