Elvire Engel, born on 17 February 1949 in Luxembourg, spent her childhood with her family in Nospelt. After passing her secondary school exam at the Ecole Privée Notre-Dame, Ste Sophie, in 1968, she continued her studies at the Cours Universitaire, Section des Sciences, in Luxembourg, and then at the Faculté de Médecine de Strasbourg.
On 2 February 1979, Elvire Engel was authorised to practise as a specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics.
At the suggestion of the Minister of Health, she helped to set up a maternity ward at the St. Joseph Clinic in Wiltz to serve the needs of women in the Oesling. Elvire Engel accepted this challenge with enthusiasm.
Her commitment is not limited to her professional goals. Elvire Engel participates assiduously in the activities and meetings of the Soroptimist Club, Luxembourg-Clairefontaine section. As a sportswoman, she loves playing golf.
In 1997, she reduced her professional activities, keeping only the gynaecological part of her profession.
The onset of a serious illness marked a turning point in her professional life. The discovery of Burkina Faso gave her new hope. Elvire Engel travelled to the country several times to get to know the life of the population. After meeting a little girl near Ouagadougou who touched her deeply, a decision matured within her: these underprivileged children would be her heirs, her descendants.
The idea of creating a Foundation then came to her. The objectives will be the health and education of women and children in Burkina Faso. A first project will be to finance the construction of an agricultural school. Elvire wants to help the poorest people to live a dignified life and to lift them out of poverty and misery by working with their own hands.
Elvire knows how to inspire those around her. By becoming members of the Foundation, her relatives are committed to continuing and carrying out the projects when her own strength leaves her. Thus, at the time of her death in 2004, she passed the torch to the Dr Elvire Engel Foundation, confident that it would ensure that the actions undertaken would be followed up and that her will would be executed.
Source:
● Mrs Margot Muller, Dr Elvire Engel Foundation.