The grand day of the foundation of "Riverboat-Doctors-International" was set to be April 17, 2004. All was planned, but as it often happens, things did not turn out the way they were initially planned.
Thanks to the Internet and modern technology, a handful of people got to know each other via e-mail, etc., and after months of discussions, introduction and planning of a wonderful project, the first meeting was scheduled to take place in Cologne, Germany. Objective of this meeting was the foundation of our association.
The day before the actual foundation date, the first members met in person for the very first time, and their enthusiasm was clearly visible in their faces. Unfortunately, the first blow came soon after initial discussions: the location we had organized for the founding session was suddenly not available anymore. We had already planned everything and even invited everybody there, but now the doors were closed.
Disheartened and not knowing how to reorganize within a day we set out to meet yet another member, somebody who had been of valuable assistance to us for quite some time already and had also helped us draft the memorandum of association.
While four of the founding members settled down to put the final editing touch to the memorandum, the unfailing Mrs. Heike Tautz hit the road once more to try and organize a new suitable location for our founding session. It was a humid day in a city unbeknownst to her – she had just arrived there from Gambia the day before. Yet she never lost sight of her goal: the founding of the association would have to take place on the following day, otherwise the sedulous work and efforts Mr. and Mrs. Tautz had performed in Gambia over the years would have been in vain or were about to suffer an indefinite delay.
Hours later, Mrs. Tautz returned, tired and worn down but with a smile on her face: she had indeed managed to find a location where the foundation session could take place as scheduled!
April 17: the day had finally come. On our way to the meeting location in the evening, we realized how far Mrs. Tautz must have walked the previous day until she managed to find a place for us.
On this evening, finally all founding member met for the first time. Most of them had not known each other personally prior to this day, but there was a unique cordial atmosphere and each of us was aware of what we wanted to achieve together, namely to found an association in order to provide aid and assistance in Africa.
Mr. and Mrs. Tautz delivered a very informative and stirring slide show, which made us all the more aware how urgently professional aid is required in the country where they both had been working for three years already. Hence, the first cornerstone was in place and the rest was a mere formality: