A Grandmother's Gift
Hildegard and Bernhard Franz
It’s very likely that Engeye would still be a dream were it not for Hildegard Franz, pictured here with her husband Bernhard in 1989.
Hilda was a German immigrant who brought her family from the former East Germany to West Berlin in 1956 and then to Portland Oregon in 1966. Hilda passed away in 2005 and left her granddaughter Stephanie -- Engeye’s founder -- with a $30,000 inheritance.
After briefly pondering more prudent investment options – options that would help to ease the burden of post-medical school debts -- it became clear to Stephanie that there was only one choice that would effectively honor her grandmother’s memory and bring her own dream to fruition by the summer of 2006 which was her last free summer for the foreseeable future.
With the addition of a $10,000 gift from her parents, Jeff and Heidi Van Dyke, the funding was now in place to build the clinic structure and two volunteer residences.
Stephanie and her parents, along with three volunteers, set off for Uganda in August of 2006 to lay the groundwork for what would be the Engeye Medical Clinic – The first medical resource ever for the inhabitants of Ddegeye Village.