EngeraUSA

About us

Working with — not for — the communities we serve.

Officially founded in 2007, Engera marks twenty years next year. Engera USA is the sister organisation of Engera; together we support eight health facilities caring for more than 230,000 people each year in Ethiopia's Gurage Zone and Oromia's South West Shewa.

A clinic visit at an Engera-supported health centre

Our vision

Healthy communities in the Gurage Zone and the parts of Oromia where we work, and access to quality health care for all who need it.

Our mission

Engera improves the health of women and children in Ethiopia's Gurage Zone and Oromia region by partnering with local communities to promote well-being and prevent disease.

Community members gathered outside an Engera-supported health center

What we believe

Good health is the foundation of a thriving society.

Every activity we undertake is done in collaboration with the Ethiopian people. Our goal is to build skills and knowledge that contribute to a healthier population, supported by quality and accessible health care.

The association works closely with the Ethiopian Catholic Church (Eparchy of Emdbir), but supports patients of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Our history

From Addis Ababa orphanages to a network of rural health centers

  1. Before 2007

    How it began

    Medical volunteers from Tuscany begin providing medical assistance and training to orphanages in Addis Ababa. The name Engera refers to the Ethiopian bread made from teff flour.

  2. 2007

    Engera is officially founded

    Engera is formally established and shifts its support to the Gurage Zone, collaborating with local, Italian and international partners — with a particular focus on maternal and child health.

  3. 2008

    Zizencho Health Center is built

    A new health center rises in an isolated highland village with no road, electricity or running water. It grows into one of the busiest facilities in the network.

  4. 2014 – 2021

    The network grows

    Shebraber (2014) and San Marco (2021) join the network, alongside long-running support for Burat, Gura Megenesse and Getche.

  5. Past work

    Into Oromia: the Galeya Rogdha clinic

    The clinic at Galeya Rogdha, in Oromia's South West Shewa zone, was developed with Engera's support — bringing preventive care, infant immunisation and pre/post-natal services to a remote village, alongside a school programme.

Where we are today

A growing network, not a single project

Today, Engera continues to support a growing network of health facilities across the Gurage Zone and Oromia — providing maternal and child health care, training local medical staff, and investing in the community health infrastructure that keeps those services running.

Our work spans multiple sites at once: medicines and diagnostics, maternity and tuberculosis wards, solar power and clean water, scholarships and clinical training, and education programmes in the villages around the facilities.

Our team

The people behind the care

Clinicians, business leaders and fundraisers in the US, Italy, the UK and Ethiopia — most of whom have travelled to the facilities themselves.

Founder

The founder

Francesco Silenzi

Francesco Silenzi

Founder & Chair

Francesco is a pediatrician working in the Emergency Department and Pediatric Trauma Center of Meyer Hospital in Florence. Since 2011 he has been part of the multidisciplinary team against child abuse and mistreatment, and since 2020 a board member of C.I.S.M.A.I. (Italian Coordination of Services against Child Maltreatment and Abuse). He has had a passion for Ethiopia for over 15 years, first personally and then as founder and president of Engera, coordinating medical missions several times a year to protect maternal and child health in rural Ethiopia.

Board

Board members

Giuseppe Indolfi

Giuseppe Indolfi

Vice Chair

Active paediatrician and Professor of Pediatrics who began working in Ethiopia in 2005 and considers it his second home.

Filippo Bianco

Filippo Bianco

Treasurer

Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank, holds four degrees in Business Administration and speaks five languages. First traveled to Ethiopia in 2011 and has collaborated with Engera since.

Colleen McKenna

Colleen McKenna

Secretary

Executive Director of the AJA Foundation, with more than 20 years in marketing and non-profit strategy across the tech and non-profit sectors.

Duccio Petrocchi

Duccio Petrocchi

Board Member

Senior leader at Microsoft EMEA as a Global Solution Specialist. He holds a Master's degree in Business and Economics from the University of Florence and participated in an Engera mission to Ethiopia in 2008.

Wubrest T. Bekele

Wubrest T. Bekele

Board Member

Medical doctor with experience in hospitals, health media ventures and health policy work at Ethiopia's Federal Ministry of Health. She holds a Doctorate in Medicine from Addis Ababa University and received the 'Celebrating Women in Medicine 2020' award from the Ethiopian Medical Women Association.

Tammy Muto

Tammy Muto

Board Member

An entrepreneur who has led Greater Austin Moving, a Texas-based moving, storage and home support company, since 2015. Now based in Florence, she joined Engera in 2023 to bring her business and project management experience to healthcare in rural Ethiopia.

Jennifer Gaymu

Jennifer Gaymu

Board Member

A finance executive with over 20 years leading financial teams in public and private companies in the United States. She holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, is a CAIA charter holder, and joined Engera in 2024.

Ricky Abbott

Ricky Abbott

Board Member

President of Transmission, a marketing consultancy advising some of the world's largest companies. He relocated from the UK to the United States in 2019 and brings business strategy, fundraising and market positioning experience to Engera USA.

Director

Director

Lydia Pistis

Lydia Pistis

Director

Lydia joined Engera as Director in May 2022 from SOAS University of London, where she was Philanthropy Manager for nine years, leading fundraising relating to Africa including scholarships for African students. She leads fundraising and communications, focused on philanthropy's role in transforming lives and women's empowerment.

Ethiopia

In Ethiopia

Dr Eyosiyas Arega

Dr Eyosiyas Arega

Country Advisor

As Country Advisor, Eyosiyas advises on project implementation, monitors activities and builds relationships with local stakeholders. Involved with Engera since August 2023, he works to amplify community voice and showcase Engera's work, reporting to the Executive Director who oversees activities across Engera USA, Engera UK and Engera Italy.

Support our workGet involved