Dr. Lia Tadesse Gebremedhin. (Photo: Kent Dayton/Harvard)
Tadias Magazine
Updated: March 12, 2024
New York (TADIAS) – Dr. Lia Tadesse emerged as a pivotal leader in Ethiopia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, assuming her role on March 12, 2020, the day after the virus was classified as a global health emergency. In the face of adversity, she swiftly moved to announce the country’s first confirmed case of coronavirus and outlined the various measures her office was implementing to mitigate the emerging crisis, showcasing her adept leadership. Dr. Lia is credited for approaching the pandemic not only as a challenge but also as a chance to improve the nation’s healthcare infrastructure. “We aimed to respond not just in the short-term, but also for the long-term,” she explained. “It was an opportunity to bolster the entire health system.”
Ethiopia’s proactive measures, including the expansion of the public health workforce and enhanced access to critical care, proved instrumental in mitigating the virus’s impact.
This month, Harvard University announced that Dr. Lia would lead its Ministerial Program, a collaborative initiative involving the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Lia, an OB/GYN by training, brings a wealth of experience to her new role, having previously served as Ethiopia’s Deputy Minister of Health, a provost at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, and a program director for various international maternal and child health projects. Before assuming her role at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Lia Tadesse held the position of Program Director at the University of Michigan’s Center for International Reproductive Health Training (CIRHT) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During her tenure, she effectively collaborated with various institutions in Ethiopia and Rwanda to enhance the quality of reproductive health services and training.
Reflecting on her extensive leadership experience, Dr. Lia emphasized the importance of visionary leadership in bringing about meaningful transformation. I” know that the ability to make positive change is related to how strong a leader is,” she said. “Anything I can contribute to improving leadership around the world truly excites me.”
ArifPay is a mobile point of sale system which will allow ATM cardholders to make electronic transactions via their smartphones. (Shega Media)
Shega
ArifPay Closes A $3.5 M Private Placement Round From 31 Investors
ArifPay ( ArifPay Financial Technologies Share Company ), an upcoming fintech company in Ethiopia, raised $3.5M / 140M ETB from 31 investors in a private placement round. From the total raised capital, the paid capital is $1M while the rest $2.5M is a subscribed capital. Investors are expected to pay the subscribed capital in the period of 2 years.
ArifPay is a mobile point of sale system which will allow ATM cardholders to make electronic transactions via their smartphones.
The company intends to launch M-pos and gateway-related digital financial products. It aims to allow people to use their mobile phones for conducting financial services including payments.
ArifPay sold 140,000 shares to the 31 investors with each share having a value of 1000 ETB. The shares are sold in a primary market. However, this was not a public offering rather a private placement as ArifPay hasn’t made a call to the public to buy the shares. The company plans to raise a fund through a public offering in the coming years. All investors are Ethiopian or Ethiopian Born Foreign Nationals as National Bank doesn’t allow non-Ethiopian foreign citizens to invest in Ethiopia’s financial sector.
ArifPay is founded by similar founders of Zay Ride, which is one of the pioneer ride-hailing platforms in Ethiopia.
Speaking to Shega about the fundraising, Habtamu Tadesse, Founder, and CEO of ArifPay said, ” We are able to raise $3.5M from 31 shareholders within a short period of time. We believe ArifPay will change the financial industry for the better.”
ArifPay is currently in the process to receive a Payment System Operator License ( For POS and Online gateway business ) from the National Bank of Ethiopia. ArifPay aims to launch its services by the end of May 2021.
Officially referred to as “Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive (ONPS/02/2020), It is remembered that National Bank has issued a new directive that allows non-traditional financial institutions also known as financial technology (Fintech) companies to start offering payment processing and related services in the Ethiopia market by acquiring a payment system operator license issued by the regulator.
There are five licenses under the payment system operator directive. These licenses are National Switch, Switch Operator, ATM operator, POS operator, and payment gateway license. Read Our Guide: How to Get Started As A Payment System Operator in Ethiopia
In a statement sent to Shega, the company said, “Once operational, ArifPay aspires to make a significant contribution to the financial sector by offering digital-based payments services that meet the needs of consumers and merchants towards cash-lite transactions in line with the national agenda of the digital economy.”
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Related:
Feres to Expand to the Ecommerce Space
Taxi-hailing Company ‘Feres’ launches an e-commerce service called Feresegna. (Shega Media)
Shega
Feres, a taxi-hailing company that has become a major player in the ride-hailing sector after joining the market a year ago is now moving to the e-commerce space and is launching an online marketplace and delivery service.
The platform is called Feresegna. Feresegna is a new e-commerce and delivery service that plans to join the market with different value-added features. Feresegna is a sister brand of Feres. Feres will be taking over the logistics and delivery side while E-birr serves as a payment solution.
Ebirr which is the latest entrant to the mobile money space in Ethiopia is also integrated with Feres and claims to have 2 million users, 15,000 + and 5000 + Agents and resellers.
Feresegna aims to capitalize on Fere’s driver and cab network to deliver orders to the customer.
Semir Nasir, Feresgnya manager says, “Feresegna, after understanding the growing demand of the eCommerce, the delivery service and the limitation of the options provided, is planning to join the market and fill the gaps between the huge demand and few offer.”
Feresegna will be a marketplace for merchants and plans to provide access to an online shop for businesses that are offline. In the new platform, Online shop is going to be anything from restaurants to apparel stores.
Semir added, “With the services we are planning to offer, that is tech efficient, fast, and effective; we plan to create many job opportunities, create accessible products for customers and be a platform for local business.”
Fersegna will first start delivering in Addis Abeba and aim to cover other cities outside of the capital soon.
Biden Pivots Focus to Trump Amid Coronavirus Concerns
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden blasted President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday and outlined how he would combat the threat differently by relying more heavily on global alliances and listening more closely to the recommendations of scientists.
“This administration has left us woefully unprepared for the exact crisis we now face,” Biden said from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
The new coronavirus has upended the presidential campaign at a crucial moment. Just as Biden is beginning to pull away with the delegates needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination, in-person campaign activities are virtually ground to a halt. And many Americans who would otherwise be tuned into politics are instead preparing for what might happen if they become infected or asked to remain home for weeks at a time.
As financial markets spiraled, Biden sought to look past the turbulent Democratic primary and portray himself as a soothing counter to the chaos of the Trump era. Standing before a bank of American flags, he mixed indictments of Trump with his own policy proposals and the kind of national cheerleading and encouragement that he sees as critical aspects of the presidency.
“No president can promise to prevent future outbreaks, but I can promise you this: When I’m president we will be better prepared, respond better and recover better,” Biden declared. “We will lead with science, listen to the experts, will heed their advice. We’ll build American leadership and rebuild it to rally the world to meet the global threats that we are likely to face again.”
Biden touted “the ingenuity of our scientists and the resourcefulness of our people,” and he hailed the nation’s “decency” and “spirit.” But he coldly exempted Trump from such praise: “I’ll always tell you the truth,” Biden said. “This is the responsibility of a president. That’s what is owed the American people.”
But Biden faces limits in presenting himself as Trump’s alternative. The former vice president hasn’t yet won the Democratic nomination. After Biden’s plans were announced, his top Democratic rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, also scheduled remarks.
“If there ever was a time in the modern history of our country when we were all in this together, this is the moment,” Sanders said in Burlington, Vermont, as he said the current White House was characterized by “incompetence and recklessness” that threatens “the lives of many, many people.”
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.
Sanders led voting in the first three nominating contests, only to watch Biden score a blowout in South Carolina that has carried over to more than a dozen primaries in March.
Both Democratic candidates used their remarks to recommend specific policies. Sanders, nodding to his signature demand for universal health care, pressed the need for all Americans to have access to the care they need, and he called for Trump to declare a national emergency. Biden paired his speech with the release of a litany of proposals and promises, including a call for Congress to enact paid medical leave, that are a staple of labor law in other major Western economies.
Yet it was the former vice president who most conspicuously postured as an almost-shadow president, willingly assuming the unofficial mantle of Democratic Party leader as he not-so-subtly emphasized one of his fundamental arguments: that he’d be ready on Inauguration Day for whatever challenges make their way to the Oval Office.
Tim Miller, a Republican consultant who’s part of a movement to defeat Trump, said that’s exactly the tack Biden should take.
“He needs to be out there reinforcing his main message of stability and trust,” said Miller, who worked for Trump rival Jeb Bush in 2016. “He’s got to have a presence and use this as a leadership opportunity.”
In some ways, the dynamics recall the financial crisis that mushroomed late in the summer of 2008. The meltdown further damaged outgoing President George W. Bush and his Republican Party, dealing GOP nominee John McCain a new setback and granting a wider opening for Democratic nominee Barack Obama and his running mate, Biden. But that unfolded weeks before the election — Biden must keep making his case for nearly eight months.
Separate from his coronavirus speech, Biden is making other tactical moves toward a general election. He and Sanders have canceled upcoming rallies amid the coronavirus outbreak, but Biden has launched plans for virtual town halls that could become a staple of his campaign going forward.
He announced on Thursday a leadership shuffle atop his campaign, hiring longtime Democratic operative Jen O’Malley Dillon as campaign manager. The former campaign aide to Obama and Hillary Clinton quietly joined the campaign as an adviser ahead of the critical Nevada caucuses, where Biden’s second-place finish to Sanders, even though distant, was the first step of his resurgence.
O’Malley Dillon and other top brass at Biden’s Philadelphia headquarters have been busy interviewing former staffers to Biden’s vanquished primary rivals as they build out a campaign staff befitting a would-be nominee – something they’d been unable to do because of Biden’s lackluster fundraising throughout the first 10 months of his campaign. And on Thursday, Biden’s campaign formally requested Secret Service protection, a decision rooted in security concerns but also a symbolic step for serious contenders.
Yet amid the clear pivot, Biden and his aides have signaled their awareness of a potential roadblock in a general election campaign: Sanders’ supporters. The Vermont senator has said in many forums, and again after Biden’s wins on Tuesday, that he’ll back the nominee and work to defeat Trump regardless of his own fortunes. But four years ago, after another bitter primary fight against the Democratic establishment, many of Sanders’ supporters did not willingly follow his lead in backing Clinton.
Biden, in his post-primary remarks on Tuesday, praised Sanders and promoted his own agenda as “progressive” and “bold” in a seeming plea to his party’s left flank. On Thursday, with a broadened audience, he steered clear of those primary dynamics altogether.
The Republican president, meanwhile, after having spent a heady few weeks gearing up to face Sanders, appeared ready Thursday to accept a challenge from Biden. “One of the reasons I ran for president was because of Joe and the job they did,” Trump said at the White House, referring to Biden’s time as Obama’s vice president. “It’s maybe the way it should be.”
Ethiopian-American author Maaza Mengiste is among 19 writers who will receive the 2020 awards in literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Photo: CUNY)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: March 12th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — Maaza Mengiste has won the 2020 Literature prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The Academy announced that Mengiste is among 19 writers who will receive this year’s awards in literature, which will be presented in New York at the organization’s annual Ceremonial in May.
“The literature prizes, totaling $350,000, honor both established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry,” the press release said. “The Academy’s 250 members propose candidates, and a rotating committee of writers selects winners.”
Maaza Mengiste — who is the author of the critically acclaimed novels The Shadow King and Beneath the Lion’s Gaze — was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. Maaza is also the “writer for the Ethiopia segment of Girl Rising,” a feature film that tells the stories of 10 extraordinary girls from 10 developing countries around the world. Maaza’s work has likewise appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC Radio, The Granta Anthology of the African Short Story, and Lettre International.
“The American Academy of Arts and Letters was founded in 1898 as an honor society of the country’s leading architects, artists, composers, and writers,” the announcement states. The press release added: “The Academy’s 250 members are elected for life and pay no dues. In addition to electing new members as vacancies occur, the Academy seeks to foster and sustain an interest in Literature, Music, and the Fine Arts by administering over 70 awards and prizes, exhibiting art and manuscripts, funding performances of new works of musical theater, and purchasing artwork for donation to museums across the country.”
This quarto-sized volume, by Ethiopian-American Dagmawi Abebe recounts the story of the Ethiopian contribution to the war. (StrategyPage)
StrategyPage
StrategyPage reviews are published in cooperation with The New York Military Affairs Symposium
Ethiopia in the Korean War
Given that the Republic of Korea and the United States provided by far the largest number of troops to the U.N. command during the Korean War, most accounts of the conflict necessarily concentrate on their role in the fighting, although some American treatments slight the role of the ROKs. But nearly a score of other nations sent ground troops, aircraft, warships, and medical teams, and aside from the British and the Turks, their role in the war has generally been neglected in the literature and largely forgotten outside of their countries. One of those contingents was from Ethiopia. This quarto-sized volume, by Ethiopian-American Abebe recounts the story of the Ethiopian contribution to the war.
Abebe opens with some background on the recent military history of Ethiopia. He particularly concentrates on the Italian invasion and occupation (1935-1941), which signaled the failure of League of Nations “collective security”. This prompted the Ethiopian Imperial government to send troops, to help secure that principal which had been embedded in the United Nations charter.
Abebe outlines the experience of the Ethiopian contingent. It comprised four specially trained battalions, recruited from the Imperial Guard, which served with the U.S. 7th Infantry Division. Each battalion served about a year in Korea, and was then rotated home to be replaced by another. Altogether three battalions saw combat, and the fourth served during the initial year or so after the armistice of 1953.
Abebe spends some time discussing the recruiting, training, and equipping of the troops, and their service in the field. Despite some initial misgivings by American commanders, some of whom were could hardly conceal their racism, the Ethiopians did well in combat, even in winter (their homeland may be in Africa, but it’s also mostly highlands), and they were generally accepted as comrades by American troops. He concludes the book with some material on the subsequent military history of Ethiopia and biographical profiles of various soldiers and other persons prominent in the country’s Korean war experience
Emperor’s Own is a useful work for anyone interested in the Korean War or the role of smaller nations in collective defense.
A Chinese man mourns a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash during a commemoration ceremony at the scene of the crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, March 13, 2019. (REUTERS)
U.S. grounds 737 MAX jets, Boeing shares fall again
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States would ground Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jets, following Europe and other nations that have already stopped the planes flying due to safety concerns after an Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, the second such disaster in less than five months.
It was the second time the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has halted flights of a Boeing plane in six years. It had grounded the 787 Dreamliner due to problems with smoking batteries in 2013.
Shares of the world’s biggest plane maker, which were up earlier in the session, fell 2 percent to $370.48. The shares have fallen about 13 percent since Sunday’s crash, losing about $32 billion of market value.
Shares of Southwest Airlines Co, which has the largest fleet of 737 MAX aircraft, fell 0.4 percent.
“We’re going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 and planes associated with that line,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“The FAA is prepared to make an announcement very shortly regarding the new information and physical evidence that we have received from the site, and from other locations and through a couple of other complaints,” he said.
Boeing said in a statement that it supported the move to temporarily ground 737 MAX operations.
Meanwhile, Germany’s federal agency responsible for investigating air accidents will not analyze the black box from the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed, casting uncertainty over the process of finding out what may have caused the disaster.
“This is a new type of aircraft with a new black box, with new software. We can’t do it,” said Germout Freitag, a spokesman for Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU).
The move leaves unclear the destination of the black box, which may yield vital details of what caused the plane to plunge to the ground, killing 157 people.
Canada also grounded 737 MAX jets on Wednesday, saying satellite data suggested similarities to a previous crash involving the same plane model.
Countries around the world had already grounded the 737 MAX jets or banned them from flying over their airspace since the Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa.
The still-unexplained crash followed another involving a Boeing 737 MAX in Indonesia five months ago that killed 189 people. Although there is no proof of any link, the twin disasters have spooked passengers.
Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau told a news conference that Ottawa would stop 737 MAX 8 and 9 jets from leaving, arriving or flying over Canada.
He said satellite data suggested similarities between the flight profiles of the Ethiopian jet and that of a Lion Air plane of the same type that crashed in Indonesia last year. Both planes crashed shortly after takeoff.
Air Canada and rival WestJet Airlines operate a total of 37 Boeing 737 MAX jets.
Boeing has said it has full confidence in the 737 MAX – a model that has 371 jets in operation around the world.
Ethiopian Airlines spokesman Asrat Begashaw said it was still unclear what happened on Sunday, but its pilot had reported control issues – as opposed to external factors such as birds.
“The pilot reported flight control problems and requested to turn back. In fact he was allowed to turn back,” he said.
— Canada Joins Much of World in Banning Boeing Jet Involved in Ethiopia Crash (AP)
Relatives react at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday killing all 157 on board, near Bishoftu, south of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia Wednesday, March 13, 2019. The black box from the Boeing jet that crashed will be sent overseas for analysis but no country has been chosen yet, an Ethiopian Airlines spokesman said Wednesday, as much of the world grounded or barred the plane model and grieving families arrived at the disaster site. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)
Canada grounds Boeing 737 Max 8s after Ethiopia crash
HEJERE, Ethiopia (AP) — Canada joined much of the world in barring the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet from its airspace on Wednesday, saying satellite tracking data shows possible but unproven similarities between the Ethiopian Airliner crash that killed 157 people and a previous crash involving the model five months ago. The decision left the U.S. as one of the few remaining countries to allow the planes to keep flying.
Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said a comparison of vertical fluctuations found a “similar profile” to the Lion Air crash that killed 187 people in October.
Garneau emphasized that the data is not conclusive but crossed a threshold that prompted Canada to bar the Max 8. He said the new information indicated that the Ethiopian Airliner jet’s automatic system kicked in to force the nose of the aircraft down after computer software determined it was too high. He said that in the case of the Lion Air crash off Indonesia, the pilot fought against computer software that wanted to drop the nose of the plane.
“So if we look at the profile, there are vertical fluctuations, in the vertical profile of the aircraft and there were similarities in what we saw,” Garneau said. “But I would repeat once again. This is not the proof that is the same root problem. It could be something else.”
Canada lost 18 of its citizens in Sunday’s crash, the second highest number after Kenya. A Canadian family of six were among the dead.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines said Wednesday that flight recorders from the jet that crashed will be sent abroad for analysis, but it was unclear where. Some aviation experts have warned that finding answers in the crash could take months.
Boeing has said it has no reason to pull the popular aircraft from the skies and does not intend to issue new recommendations about the aircraft to customers. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke with President Donald Trump and reiterated that the 737 Max 8 is safe, the company said.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has backed the jet’s airworthiness and said it was reviewing all available data.
“Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft,” acting FAA Administrator Daniel K. Elwell said in a statement.
The agency had no response to Canada’s decision, saying it doesn’t comment “on actions that other civil aviation organizations take.”
While aviation experts warn against drawing conclusions until more information emerges from the investigation, more than 40 countries — including the entire European Union — have suspended flights by the Max 8 or barred it from their airspace. China also ordered its airlines to ground the planes — they had 96 Max 8 jets in service, more than one-fourth of the approximately 370 Max jets in circulation.
The list of countries continued to grow Wednesday. Lebanon and Kosovo barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 from their airspace, and Norwegian Air Shuttles said it would seek compensation from Boeing after grounding its fleet. Egypt banned the operation of the aircraft. Thailand ordered budget airline Thai Lion Air to suspend flying the planes for risk assessments. Lion Air confirmed reports it has put on hold the scheduled delivery of four of the jets.
Ethiopian Airlines, widely seen as Africa’s best-managed airline, grounded its remaining four models.
And airline pilots on at least two U.S. flights have reported that an automated system seemed to cause their planes to tilt down suddenly.
Ethiopia was searching for another country to take the black box from Sunday’s plane crash for analysis.
Germout Freitag, a spokesman for Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, said that agency declined a request from Ethiopia to analyze the box because it lacked the software needed.
A spokesman for Ethiopian Airlines, Asrat Begashaw, said the airline has “a range of options” for the data and voice recorders of the flight’s last moments.
“What we can say is we don’t have the capability to probe it here in Ethiopia,” he said, adding that it would be sent to a European country that he did not identify. An airline official has said one of the recorders was partially damaged.
Boeing’s technical team joined U.S., Israeli, Kenyan and other aviation experts in the investigation led by Ethiopian authorities.
An Ethiopian pilot who saw the crash site minutes after the disaster told AP that the plane appeared to have “slid directly into the ground.”
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said their pilots had received special training.
“In addition to the basic trainings given for 737 aircraft types, an additional training was given for the Max version,” Tewolde told state news reporters.
“After the Lion Air crash, questions were raised, so Boeing sent further instructions that it said pilots should know. Those relate to the specific behavior of this specific type of aircraft. As a result, training was given by Boeing, and our pilots have taken it and put it into our manuals,” he said.
Tewolde said he is confident the “investigation will reveal that the crash is not related to Ethiopian Airlines’ safety record.”
Forensic DNA work for identifications of the remains recovered so far has not yet begun, Asrat said. The dead came from 35 countries.
More devastated relatives of victims arrived at the crash site Wednesday, some supported by loved ones and wailing.
Others mourned in private. Dawit Gebremichael sat with a photograph of his only sister, Sara, a flight attendant on the plane. She left three children.
“It is customary for Ethiopians to have a body and a proper burial,” he told the AP. “But we don’t have the body here, and we don’t expect anything now.”
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Gillies reported from Toronto. AP writer Yidnek Kirubel contributed from Hejere, Ethiopia.
Ethiopian lawyer Yetnebersh Nigussie is being honored with the Spirit of Helen Keller Award. It's named for an American who promoted the rights of women and people with disabilities. (Photo courtesy of Light for the World)
VOA News
By Salem Solomon
Ethiopian Disability Rights Advocate Champions Opportunities for Women
Yetnebersh Nigussie had opportunities other girls in rural Ethiopia can only dream of.
Unlike her peers growing up in Wollo province, Nigussie wasn’t married off as a young girl or forced to work at home.
Instead, she devoted herself to learning.
Nigussie moved to the capital, Addis Ababa, and pursued an education, eventually earning a law degree and founding the Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development, a group that advocates for the rights of disabled people in her home country.
What makes Nigussie’s accomplishments especially noteworthy are the challenges she overcame.
Nigussie lost her sight at age 5 after contracting meningitis. But where some see obstacles, Nigussie, now 36, sees potential.
“I believe challenges are opportunities. So we human beings are created to change challenges into opportunities,” she told VOA’s Amharic Service in a phone interview last week. “That’s why I always tell [people] that, when I turned blind at the age of 5, that brought a new opportunity. I would have never been educated had I not been blind. All my siblings and the children in my area, in my age [group] — none of them have gotten educational opportunities.”
Advocacy
Nigussie has built her career on advocating for people with disabilities. In recognition of her accomplishments, she will receive the prestigious Spirit of Helen Keller Award, presented by the nongovernmental organization Helen Keller International, at a May 2 gala in New York.
First presented in 1959, the award is named for an American activist who was deaf and blind. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Keller gained fame for her lectures, writings and advocacy work promoting the rights of women and the disabled.
“Receiving the Spirit of Helen Keller Award is a great thing because Helen Keller has been my source of inspiration that I am living. We believe in the same thing: telling people not to focus on our disabilities, [but] rather on our abilities,” Nigussie said. “Helen was always saying that ‘I don’t know what darkness is, but I know there is a light.’ So it’s a great thing to be associated with such a fantastic hero who has been always my inspiration in life.”
Recognizing contributions
Now, Nigussie wants to honor women making an impact across the globe with a separate award: Her Abilities, which she will give out annually in partnership with Light for the World. Nigussie is an adviser to the Austria-based organization.
The award will recognize women making an impact in the areas of health and education, rights, and sport and culture. It is open to women with disabilities worldwide.
“The reason we decided to focus on women with disabilities is that we believe they face double, and sometimes triple, discrimination,” Nigussie said. “We need to spotlight their work and make sure that they are visible to the world. … So it’s very much in line with my personal motto: I have one disability and 99 abilities. So we’re not going to focus on the one disability. We’re going to talk about their 99 abilities — or more — and we’re going to celebrate their achievements, their greatness.”
Nominations for the award will open July 2, and winners will be announced in December.
Overcoming barriers
An estimated 15 million people in Ethiopia live with disabilities, and they often lack access to resources and protections while facing stigmatization and a heightened risk of poverty and social isolation. According to the World Health Organization, Africans with disabilities face significant gaps in their access to welfare, education, vocational training and counseling services.
Nigussie’s organization, the Ethiopian Center, has sought to address these barriers through job training and publications. For example, it offers an online guide to Ethiopian hotels, restaurants and offices that are accessible to people with disabilities.
The activist also hopes to continue advocating for legal changes, including overturning a restriction that makes it illegal for deaf people in Ethiopia to drive.
Nigussie said she is humbled by the recognition and motivated to do more.
“I believe all these challenges would lead people with disabilities, in particular in Africa, to make sure that they overcome the challenge,” she said. “No challenges are coming to stop us. They are coming as a puzzle for us to solve.”
Police officers secured the perimeter around a garbage dump landslide on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Sunday as excavators helped the rescue efforts. (Photo: Elias Meseret/AP)
46 killed, dozens missing in Ethiopia garbage dump landslide
ADDIS ABABA — A mountain of trash gave way in a massive garbage dump on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital, killing at least 46 people and leaving several dozen missing, residents said, as officials vowed to relocate those who called the landfill home.
Addis Ababa city spokeswoman Dagmawit Moges said most of the 46 dead were women and children, and more bodies were expected to be found in the coming hours.
It was not immediately clear what caused Saturday night’s collapse at the Koshe Garbage Landfill, which buried several makeshift homes and concrete buildings. The landfill has been a dumping ground for the capital’s garbage for more than 50 years.
About 150 people were there when the landslide occurred, resident Assefa Teklemahimanot told The Associated Press. Addis Ababa Mayor Diriba Kuma said 37 people had been rescued and were receiving medical treatment. Dagmawit said two had serious injuries.
Many people at the landfill had been scavenging items to make a living, but others live there because renting homes, largely built of mud and sticks, is relatively inexpensive.
An AP reporter saw four bodies taken away by ambulances after being pulled from the debris. Elderly women cried, and others stood anxiously waiting for news of loved ones. Six excavators dug through the ruins.
“My house was right inside there,” said a shaken Tebeju Asres, pointing to where one of the excavators was digging in deep, black mud. “My mother and three of my sisters were there when the landslide happened. Now I don’t know the fate of all of them.”
The resumption of garbage dumping at the site in recent months likely caused the landslide, Assefa said. The dumping had stopped in recent years, but it resumed after farmers in a nearby restive region where a new garbage landfill complex was being built blocked dumping in their area.
Smaller collapses have occurred at Koshe — or “dirty” in the local Amharic language — in the past two years but only two or three people were killed, Assefa said.
“In the long run, we will conduct a resettling program to relocate people who live in and around the landfill,” the Addis Ababa mayor said.
Around 500 waste-pickers are believed to work at the landfill every day, sorting through the debris from the capital’s estimated 4 million residents. City officials say close to 300,000 tons of waste are collected each year from the capital, most of it dumped at the landfill.
Since 2010, city officials have warned that the landfill was running out of room and was being closed in by nearby housing and schools.
City officials in recent years have been trying to turn the garbage into a source of clean energy with a $120 million investment. The Koshe waste-to-energy facility, which has been under construction since 2013, is expected to generate 50 megawatts of electricity upon completion.
Ethiopia, which has one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, is under a state of emergency imposed in October after several months of sometimes deadly protests demanding wider political freedoms.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters in Palm Beach, Fla., while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, March 15, 2016. (Photo:Reuters/AP)
MIAMI — Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton have taken commanding leads in their months-long campaigns to claim their parties’ 2016 U.S. presidential nominations, with both scoring impressive victories in contests on Tuesday.
Neither Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul who has never held elective office, nor Clinton, the country’s secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, has clinched a majority of delegates to their national party conventions in July to be assured of their party nominations, but both have built substantial leads over their remaining challengers.
Of the two, Clinton’s path to the nomination seems more assured.
Clinton, looking to become the first female U.S. president, won four states Tuesday over her sole challenger, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and is leading in a fifth where votes are still being counted. She won contests in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Illinois, and holds a small lead in Missouri.
Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, has now won 66 percent of the convention delegates she needs for the Democratic nomination as the focus turns to voting in more state contests that run through June 14.
The next Democratic contests are set for March 22 in the western states of Arizona, Idaho and Utah.
Flamboyant candidate
The flamboyant Trump, a one-time television reality show host, has amassed slightly more than half of the convention delegates he needs to win the Republican nomination.
Trump, however, would need to win about 60 percent of the remaining available delegates in 21 state-by-state party contests to claim his party’s nomination before the convention.
His closest challenger is Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative lawmaker who delights in aiming barbs at the Washington political establishment, Democratic and Republican leaders alike.
Cruz said the race has culminated in a head-to-head match with Trump through the remaining party nominating contests, but Ohio Governor John Kasich won his home state Tuesday over Trump and remains in the race.
Contentious battle
Kasich, however, cannot mathematically win the nomination before the convention and is hoping neither Trump nor Cruz has enough pledged delegates either, throwing the contest into a contentious battle at the quadrennial gathering.
Trump said it is time to bring the Republican Party together, vowing he will not stop until he “wins the country.”
Trump’s resounding victory in the southeastern state of Florida, where he has a lavish second home estate, forced Florida Senator Marco Rubio to quit the race in an election night concession speech.
Numerous establishment Republican figures had endorsed Rubio in hopes of stopping Trump, who many Republicans believe would lose November’s national election to Clinton, a contention supported by numerous surveys showing her winning a hypothetical match over Trump.
The winner of the election will succeed President Barack Obama, a Democrat who leaves office in January 2017.
After polls closed Tuesday, Cruz said it is time for Republicans to unite behind his candidacy, noting that he has won several state contests against Trump in recent weeks.
Cruz welcomed to his campaign those who had supported Rubio, saying, “America has a clear choice going forward.”
Unpredictable
Numerous Republicans, including Cruz, say Trump is too unpredictable and has over the years adopted numerous policy positions tha are at odds with the dominant conservative party philosophy.
One major anti-Trump group has been running a nationwide television ad in recent days, quoting his many comments disparaging women and another pointing attention to the melees that have broken out at some of his rallies between his supporters and those opposed to his candidacy.
After Tuesday’s results, former House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner endorsed his successor, House Speaker Paul Ryan, the losing 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, to be the party’s presidential nominee over Trump, Cruz and Kasich.
Trump said his run for the White House has drawn new voters to the Republican contests, many of them angry at being ignored by Washington and Republican elites.
He has struck a chord with some voters with his calls for construction of an impenetrable wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. and temporarily banning the entry of all Muslims into the United States.
Supporters of Donald J. Trump clashed with protesters inside a scheduled campaign
event in Chicago. By REUTERS on Publish Date March 11, 2016. Photo by AP.
Merkamo Ethiopian Bistro is a family run restaurant based in Springfield, Virginia. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, March 12th, 2015
New York (TADIAS) — In Ethiopia’s Gurage language Merkamo is an all-encompassing word meaning beautiful, says Alex Habte Cherein, the founder of Merkamo Ethiopian Bistro in Springfield, Virginia. “But when literally translated, it’s more than a physical beauty.” He adds: “It depicts a wholesome being radiating purity of heart and ‘joie de vivre’ to all who come in contact with that beauty.”
Next week, Merkamo is launching a monthly event called “Afro Diaspora Mixer” that will take place every third Friday from 5:30 – 8pm.
“The purpose of the Afro Diaspora Mixer is to bring together change agents and business people in the Afro Diaspora community in an informal but intimate environment,” Alex tells us. “The Afro Diaspora community has achieved admirable progress in the U.S. and the community has significant high caliber individuals who are doing amazing things. Unfortunately, these individuals are not as connected as they should be.”
“The idea,” he notes, “is to create a space where Afro Diaspora business people and professionals connect and share their story and hopefully collaborate in mutually beneficial projects.”
The mixer will be followed by an after-party “for those who want to stick around and dance the night away,” says Alex.
The first mixer is scheduled for Friday, March 20th featuring DJ Quajah, as well as happy hour drink and food specials.
— If You Go:
Address: 7020 Commerce St, Springfield, VA 22150
Phone:(703) 639-0144
Hours: Open today · 11:00 am – 10:00 pm merkamo.com
The Orthodox Church dominates life in Ethiopia, and its priests are some of the country’s most respected figures. So when priests take child brides, often age 15 or younger, it’s not something that’s questioned by the community. Rather, it’s expected. Tradition dictates that a priest must marry a virgin.
Before, the priests used to think that marrying a girl over 15 years old, after her menstruation starts, is a bad thing, it lowers her quality,” says Melak Birhan Ewenetu Yetemegne, the second top priest in his region, a rural area in southern Amhara in the cool Ethiopian highlands. His district includes 56 churches and more than 2,000 priests. And his experience with child marriage is personal. When he was 22, he married a girl who was only 9.
“She didn’t really understand she was married,” the 45-year-old says. “She considered me as a brother or father and until she was 15, she never understood that we were married.”
He says though sexually tempted by his new wife, he waited until she was 16 before consummating the marriage. He tells the story of his friend, also a young priest at the time, who was de-robed after injuring his 11-year-old bride with a traumatic fistula. Melak Birhan says he was careful not to make the same mistake.
“He was misguided by the tradition, rather than by the Bible. That was a bad story, while my tolerance is a good story,” he says.
The priest and his wife are still together today. In the years since their wedding, Melak Birhan has blessed countless child marriages. But about a year ago, the priest’s position on child marriage was challenged. A group called Finote Hiwot: End Child Marriage ran a workshop for the top priests in the district. Over five days, the priests were asked to reinterpret the Bible.
Fanna Haile-Selassie is a correspondent for ABC-affiliated WSIL-TV's News 3 - a television station that covers parts of Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn
Published: Monday, March 12, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Our second interview for the Women’s History Month series features broadcast journalist Fanna Haile-Selassie, a political reporter for the ABC-affiliated WSIL-TV – a television station that covers Southern Illinois, Southeastern Missouri, and parts of West Tennessee.
Fanna joined WSIL-TV’s News 3 team in August of last year. She was previously in Rochester, Minnesota, where she worked as the political, crime, and courts reporter for a local TV station for more than three years. Fanna has been honored for her work by the Minnesota Associated Press and the Minnesota Society of Professional journalists. She is a graduate of University of Missouri’s School of Journalism.
Below is our Q&A with Fanna Haile-Selassie:
TADIAS: What do you most enjoy about your work?
Fanna Haile-Selassie: I love that I am always learning something new at my job. Each day means a new story, whether I am heading to the state Capitol or into a medical clinic to learn about the latest scientific breakthroughs; my job is always exciting.
TADIAS: Who are your female role models?
FH: I admire all women who have the gumption and perseverance to reach their goals. Christiane Amanpour has always been a long-standing favorite of mine, but I actually find new role models almost on a weekly basis in my career. I have told many stories about strong women breaking barriers in their industry, or making a difference in their community while battling cancer, or even giving up everything to provide for their families. I find renewed strength in myself every time I get to meet one of these women and tell their story.
TADIAS: What challenges have you faced as a female reporter?
FH: The stereotype of broadcast journalism being dominated by men is quickly changing. More women are graduating from journalism schools than ever before. My journalism graduating class had more females. Currently, my newsroom has only one male reporter. As my industry recognizes more women in the field, the challenges have also reduced professionally.
TADIAS: What are some practical tips you can give for young women who want to follow in your footsteps?
FH: I would classify journalism almost like a calling. Reporters do not make a lot of money on average, they work long hours, sometimes get a bad reputation from the public, and have to report on some pretty terrible things. So before I recommend anyone to become a journalist, I would have them make sure this is truly what they wanted to do. The true satisfaction I get from my job is knowing that I am making a difference in this world by informing the public. People who are not in this career for the right reasons don’t know that satisfaction, and they rarely stay in this career.
TADIAS: Please tell us briefly about yourself (where you were born, grew up, school and how you developed your passion for your work?)
FH: I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My parents always encouraged me to strive to be the best, and I believe my pursuit of success led me to be a bit of a control freak. I always need to know what is going on around me at all times, and I never like being “out of the loop”. I figured out in high school that journalism would allow me to investigate all the things that made me so curious. I chose to go to the Missouri School of Journalism, one of the best broadcast journalism schools in the country. There, I discovered my passion for political reporting while working at a radio station in the state Capitol. Since graduating, I have worked as a general assignment reporter, but am the “go-to” person for all the political stories.
TADIAS: Thank you so much and Happy Women’s History month from all of us at Tadias!
Stay tuned for more highlights celebrating Ethiopian women role models and change agents.
– Video: Collection of Recent News Reporting by broadcast journalist Fanna Haile-Selassie
Above:Grammy-nominated musician Kenna’s January trip to
Mount Kilimanjaro is a subject of an upcoming film that will air
on MTV on sunday March 14 at 9 pm ET.
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Friday, March 12, 2010
New York (Tadias) – You may remember our recent interview with Grammy-nominated Ethiopian-American musician Kenna (né Kenna Zemedkun) from camp base Tanzania as he prepared to lead a team of friends – including Jessica Biel, Lupe Fiasco, Isabel Lucas, Elizabeth Gore, and Alexandra Cousteau – to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak and one of the world’s largest stratovolcanoes, in an effort to raise more awareness about the global clean water crisis. On Sunday, March 15th, MTV will air a documentary about the climb.
“When you go by yourself and you’re on a solo mission, it’s not necessarily something that registers at the end of the day. No one has your back. Getting to the top of Kilimanjaro this time had everything to do with the fact that I had an army with me,” Kenna told MTV News. “Some of us would literally look at each other and say, ‘If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t have made it.’ Our director, Mike Bonfiglio, was basically watching Isabel Lucas, and saw her dedication when she was really, really ill at the top of this mountain. And he, literally, was like, ‘She made it, I’ve got to do this.’ ”
According to MTV, Kenna’s friend Justin Timberlake will introduce the film. The 90-minute documentary will premiere on Sunday (March 14) at 9 p.m. ET.
–
Businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi is on Forbes list of the world’s richest people. (Photo: ikfoundation.org)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, March 12, 2009
New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian-born businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi, 63, who is now a Saudi citizen and resident of Jeddah, ranks 43 among the world’s richest people, Forbes Magazine announced.
The self-made businessman, whose net worth is estimated at 9 billion, amassed his wealth in construction and real estate in Saudi Arabia before investing on energy. He is one of Sweden’s biggest foreign investors with ownership of Svenska Petroleum and Swedish refinery Preem.
According to Forbes, the net worth of the world’s billionaires fell from $4.4 trillion last year to $2.4 trillion in 2009, while the number of billionaires was down to 793 from 1,125. “Billionaires don’t have to worry about their next meal, but if their wealth is declining and you’re not creating numerous new billionaires, it means the rest of the world is not doing very well,” Chief executive of Forbes Magazines Steve Forbes told reporters. “The typical billionaire is down at least one third on their net worth.”
Al Amoudi, who has donated more than $1 million to the Clinton Foundation, has so far invested more than $2 billion in Ethiopia. His landmark project in the country, the Sheraton Addis, with 293 rooms – including 33 suites, 5 restaurants, 5 bars, 1 nightclub, and a private bar, is considered one of the most luxuries hotels in the world. It is the most luxurious in Africa. He also operates a gold mine in the Oromo region of Ethiopia, currently producing 6 tons of gold annually and expected to double production by 2010.
Sheraton Addis. (Wikimedia)
Globally, New York City booted Moscow as home to the most billionaires, claiming 55. From the top 20 richest people, New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the only Billionaire who made money. Forbes reports Bloomberg’s net worth grew from $11.5 to $16 billion following a revaluation of his media company, Bloomberg LP. He is also the richest person in New York. In this economic downturn, Russia is the biggest loser, with the number of billionaires down to 32 from 87.
Dr. Lia Tadesse Gebremedhin. (Photo: Kent Dayton/Harvard)
