(HEALTH WORK). (INDIA). (BANGLADESH). (PHOTOGRAPHY). VISSCHER, Lois H. Two photo albums.

Health Work in the Aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War

(HEALTH WORK). (INDIA). (BANGLADESH). (PHOTOGRAPHY). VISSCHER, Lois H. Two photo albums. (India & Bangladesh: 1972-74) 307 x 256 mm.  Contemporary spiral-bound photo albums, one in blue cloth with images of women in saris dancing across the front cover; the other in blue and gold patterned paper. With a total of 207 black & white photos (136 in the first album, seven of which are loose, and 71 in the second album). Photos in first album with notes in ink on versos; photos in second album with notes in ink and Dr. Visscher's stamp on versos. Photographs in near fine condition but still in their original albums, and thus the versos with a little residue and offsetting from the aged adhesive. 

A valuable collection of candid snapshots documenting the work of missionary and volunteer groups in hospitals and villages in South Asia in the early 1970s, compiled by female doctor with a lifelong commitment to providing health care to vulnerable communities.       

These two albums were almost certainly compiled and captioned by Dr. Lois H. Visscher, a medical doctor who worked for various aid groups around the world over the course of nearly five decades. The photos here capture her time in India and Bangladesh between 1972-74, very soon after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the genocide that targeted Bengalis in what was then East Pakistan, resulting in millions of refugees and displaced peoples. The first album of 136 photographs primarily shows relief work in Bangladesh during 1972-73. Pictured here are workers with the International Rescue Committee and the humanitarian organization Concern, as well as many the many patients--mainly women and children--who benefited from food and medical programs. Some of the photographs also capture simple moments from everyday life, such as carrying water, serving food, catching fish, and making handicrafts.

The second album of 71 photos largely shows Dr. Visscher at work in the Christian Hospital Kasganj, located in Uttar Pradesh, India. The photos follow Dr. Visscher throughout her day as she attends patients, performs surgeries, lectures, consults with staff and visitors, and even translates sermons. The photographs are all dated 1974 and have Dr. Visscher's stamp, and each is carefully captioned with a brief commentary, or with information such as patient names, their conditions, and, in some cases, their outcomes.

Dr. Lois H. Visscher (1914-2002) attended Mount Holyoke College and received her medical degree at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, specializing in surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics. A member of the Presbyterian Church, she first served as a medical missionary to India in 1942, and later volunteered during the war in Vietnam, followed by India, Bangladesh, Sudan, and Thailand, where she nearly died from a knife attack. After a brief period working for the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming and an additional six years in Thailand, she retired to California at the age of 76. (1126)