We are grieving the loss of Honduran Project Manager and friend - Doris Eggenberger. Co-Founder and Co-Direktor of the Child & Family Foundation school in Honduras.
After completing an apprenticeship in Buchs (Switzerland), Doris set her sights on interests abroad from a young age. She was active in several international companies, including an international airline. In so doing, she got the chance to travel the globe widely and get to know other cultures.
In 1985 Doris visited Honduras for the first time and had the opportunity to experience a night shift with two medical students at the University Hospital in Tegucigalpa. She was so shocked by what she experienced that night that she decided to help immediately. Eight years later she set up her own charity, the Medical Center La Ceiba charity, registered in the canton of Zurich and recognised by the Department for the Interior (EDI in Switzerland). In 1998 she began building a private hospital (Suizo Hospital) for disadvantaged people in La Ceiba, Honduras. The hospital was opened in June 2000.
Doris devoted her life to improving the lives of the disadvantaged and helpless who are unable to afford medical treatment, education or basic living costs. Honduras became her second home. She collected donations for her project tirelessly and made use of every journey to Switzerland to hunt for sponsors and find new supporters.
In order to combat the difficulties which arose in the Honduran educational system, the Medical Centre La Ceiba charity and the Child & Family Foundation joined forces in 2010. The aim: construction of a jointly-run school for children from the most socially disadvantaged backgrounds in La Ceiba. Providing these children with access to education will allow them to improve their own lives in the long-term.
Doris was incredibly enthusiastic about the school project and became the project manager on site in La Ceiba. The corner stone of the school was laid in June 2010 and the building was due to be completed as part of two construction phases. Six classrooms, a pre-school class, two DT workshops, a dining hall with adjacent kitchen, a computer room and library, a conference room, administrative spaces, storage and outdoor facilities were built over the course of two years.
The school building situated on a 7000 square metre plot was completed in July 2012. On 23rd August 2012 the school held an opening ceremony. In November 2021 the first ever school leavers graduated who received a free education thanks to bursaries.
As the result of a serious illness, Doris was airlifted back to Switzerland in 2019. She died on 5th January 2022 following a prolonged battle.
We would like to thank Doris from the bottom of our hearts for her untiring sense of charity, her efforts, her kindness and her commitment to the people in need. Thanks to her projects and initiative, she was able to positively influence and change the lives of countless individuals.
Dear Doris, thanks to our school on Honduras, we shall carry you in our hearts for ever.
The Child & Family Foundation, all its employees, project beneficiaries and supporters.
In our projects, our main focus is on educational support, especially in our school projects. We believe that education is the pathway to empower people to build a better future for themselves.
Continuously supporting schools in their operation is just as well part of our work as is the construction and improvement of school infrastructure. Creating access to a secure educational environment free of charge in poor regions with comparatively high educational costs and inadequate public facilities is our goal.
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