Alexander "Solaye" Ogedegbe Donates Paintings to Help the Engeye Health Clinic in Uganda

The Gifted Painter Is a Fourth-Year Medical Student at Albany Medical College

Albany, N.Y. (PRWEB) April 1, 2008 -- Alexander "Solaye" Ogedegbe, a fourth-year Albany Medical College (AMC) student, is a gifted and prolific painter from Nigeria. Alex recently heard about the Engeye Medical Clinic and donated his entire collection of more than 70 original paintings to be auctioned off on Ebay, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Uganda. Team Engeye wanted to encourage people to become a part of this amazing story by gracing the walls of their homes with some lovely art work, knowing that the money made would be poured directly back to the Engeye Health Clinic. To bid on one of Alex's beautiful paintings, bidders went to www.ebay.com and searched "Engeye art." Alex will be hosting a gallery showing of his artwork in New York during the Fall of 2008, and a portion of those proceeds will also be donated to Engeye.

Alexander is truly an exceptional person who has lived a colorful life thus far. Alexander was born on August 6, 1976, in Milan Italy. A year later, he moved back to his native country of Nigeria where he spent the next eight years. In May of 1985, his family was transferred to Yokohama, Japan, where he attended an American International school. In 1986, he joined his elder siblings and enrolled at the Stoke Brunswick school in East Grinstead, United Kingdom and finished high school at the King's School Canterbury, UK. Upon graduation from high school in 1995, Alex crossed the pond to attend college at the University of Rochester in New York, where he received a B.S. in Microbiology. Between college and medical school, Alex took time off to do research and work as a volunteer in an HIV crisis and resource center in Hackensack, New Jersey. It was during this time that he realized he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Upon entering Albany Medical College in N.Y., he endured numerous personal and trying experiences while leading a seemingly unhealthy myopic lifestyle.

By his junior year, he felt compelled to pursue interests outside the world of medicine and began to cultivate an interest in the arts. He became a frequent contributor to the school paper, Student Perspectives, and this became a project dear to his heart. Alexander's major influences to date range from the impressionistic genre of Monet, Manet, Pissarro and Renoir, to the more modern contemporary American artists, such as Edward Hopper. Alex plans to graduate from AMC in May and continue his residency in Internal Medicine at the same institution. His art continues to play a central role in maintaining his sanity in such a chaotic world. When Alexander heard about the Engeye Health Clinic, he realized that he wanted to contribute to this noble effort. His paintings have already raised a significant amount for the non-profit clinic, and Team Engeye is very grateful for his generosity.

In the future, Team Engeye is preparing to host a Ugandan child named Susan who will be visiting the U.S. in May of 2008 to receive the surgery she needs for massive burns all over her body. Susan had visited the Engeye Health Clinic in April of 2007 as a patient seeking help for her major burns. The team knew Susan's care wouldn't be easy, and that only the plastic surgeons and pro-bono work offered in the U.S. could heal her scarred body. In mid-2007 Susan was preliminarily accepted to the Boston Shriners Burn Unit. Months of reviewing her applications and medical records passed, and finally Susan was accepted for plastic surgery to repair her leg with ALL medical expenses covered! Susan will fly in on May 18, 2008, staying in Boston for two months. Susan will then return to her home in Uganda to begin her new life unimpeded by her injuries.

Choose A Need (www.chooseaneed.org), partnered with Engeye on this exciting event and is donating the entire amount needed for airfare for Susan and John Kalule, the co-founder and manager of the Engeye Health Clinic in Uganda. Just Cause (www.jcause.org), Theresa Weinman, and Jackie Lamont are ensuring Susan's stay will be a success. From housing
to food, from clothing to emotional support, they are pulling on all their connections to ensure John and Susan are loved and nourished at all levels during their first ever visit to the United States.

Engeye Health Clinic
The Engeye Health Clinic was established in 2006 by three medical students, Stephanie Van Dyke, Misty Richards, and Brooke Richards, in collaboration with two key Ugandans, John Kalule and Laurence Makana Sitati. Despite the rigors of medical school, the team is in daily contact across the globe, bringing sustainable healthcare to Ddegeya Village in southern Uganda for the first time ever. For more information, visit: www.engeye.org.

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