<html>

<head><title>Welcome to Tadias.com</title>


<body background="back4.jpg" vlink="#000000" alink="#000000" link="#000000">


<body>

<table width="700"><tr><td><a href="../index.html"><img src="intro-banner.jpg" border=0></a></td></tr><table>

<table width="900"><tr><td>

<a href="advertise.html"><img src="advertise.jpg" border=0></a>

<a href="archives.html"><img src="archives.jpg" border=0></a>

<a href="toc.html"><img src="current.jpg" border=0></a>

<a href="service.html"><img src="customers.jpg" border=0></a>

<a href="events.html"><img src="events.jpg" border=0></a>

<a href="subscribe.html"><img src="subscribe.jpg" border=0></a>

<a href="guide.html"><img src="guide.jpg" border=0></a>

</td></tr></table>


</head>


<body>


<table width=800><tr><td align="left" VALIGN="top"><img src="current-cover.jpg"><br>


<a href="toc.html"><img src="toc-button.jpg" border=0></a><br><a href="editor.html"><img src="editor.jpg" border=0></a><br><a href="contribute.html"><img src="contributors.jpg" border=0></a><br><a href="letters.html"><img src="letters.jpg" border=0></a><br><a href="townbeat.html"><img src="townbeat.jpg" border=0></a><br><a href="hotshots.html"><img src="hotshots.jpg" border=0></a><br><a href="advertisers.html"><img src="advertisers.jpg" border=0></a>


</td><td align="left" VALIGN="top" width=350><font face="Arial" size="4" color="#000000"><b>Grassroots:</b></font><br>

<font face="Arial" size="2"><b>Interview with Ethiocorps Founder Addisu Mesfin</b></font><br><br>


<img src="ethiocorps1.jpg"><br><font face="Arial" size="1">Ethiocorps Founder Addisu Mesfin<br><br>

<font face="Arial" size="1">


<font color="#ffffff">Tadias:</font> How long had you been

working on the concept of Ethiocorps

prior to launching the program?<br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Addisu:</font>  Ethiocorps was conceived in

2000 as a response to the growing demand

expressed by young Ethiopian-Americans

in the Diaspora to return to Ethiopia

after they graduated from college.

As a pre-medical student when

I was looking for summer research opportunities

I always had a desire to apply to

a funded program that would send me to

Ethiopia and conduct research there. However,

I was never able to ﬁnd such a program,

although there were a few organizations

who managed programs that charged

you a steep fee to volunteer in Ethiopia

and other parts of Africa. After graduation

I knew of many friends, acquaintances,

and members of Ethiopian Students Associations

who yearned for short term or

long term opportunities to go to Ethiopia

prior to starting grad school or entering

the workforce. Some took their own initiative

and relocated there for a year, while

others planned to do so in the near future.

However, the risks and costs

associated with independently relocating

to Ethiopia discouraged most young

Ethiopian-Americans from returning

to Ethiopia, especially recent graduates

who needed to begin building their professional

experience. I recognized that

these young Ethiopian-Americans were

the most eager group but the least ﬁnancially

capable ones to return to Ethiopia.

Thus, the demand for some type of program

with a stipend that would facilitate

or provide opportunities for people to volunteer

or work in Ethiopia was high. After

2 years of med school I decided to take a

year off to conduct research and I searched

again for funded opportunities to conduct

research in Ethiopia and did not ﬁnd one.

I ended up ﬁnding a research project in tissue

engineering in the U.S and during that

year of research one of my priorities was to

start a non-proﬁt program that would provide

fellowships for people to volunteer in

Ethiopia. This was in September 2003

and that was how Ethiocorps was born. <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Tadias:</font> Can you give us a few speciﬁc examples of the types of positive

solutions that you hope to introduce

through the Ethiocorps program?<br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Addisu:</font> Through the Ethiocorps Public

Service Fellowship Program we hope to enable

Ethiopian-Americans an opportunity

to reclaim their Ethiopian heritage while

also working on projects in Ethiopia that

will beneﬁt the people. Th e fellowship program

is also open to people of non-Ethiopian

heritage who have an interest in volunteering

in Ethiopia. This is another means

of exposing non-Ethiopians to the beauty

and potential of Ethiopia and its people.

Recipients of the Ethiocorps Public Service

Fellowship are some of the brightest graduates and have great potential as

leaders in their respective ﬁeld. We believe

these will be the next corps of leaders

that will be helping to reverse the

brain drain. There’s a dearth of trained

professionals in Ethiopia to tackle the

AIDS epidemic, and other development

issues. The professionals already there

are doing a remarkable job with the limited

resources they have, however we believe

there’s room for cooperation between

the diaspora and Ethiopians in Ethiopia.<br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Tadias:</font> On your web site you mentioned

that the program is intended to get Ethiopians

residing in the U.S. and Canada to

volunteer and provide expertise at home

(Ethiopia). Does Ethiocorps also have

a component where young skilled individuals in Ethiopia would also be able to

work alongside the diaspora volunteers? <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Addisu:</font> Absolutely!! We created the

Ethiopia Professional Fellowship Program

to provide young skilled Ethiopians already

in Ethiopia with an opportunity to

intern with businesses, NGOs in Ethiopia

and thus develop or perfect their skill.

We hope to facilitate, through this experience,

a process of information sharing and

a transfer of skills between our in-country

Fellows and our diaspora Fellows. Eventually

we anticipate that these internships can

lead to employment for the fellows. This is

also another means of reversing the brain

drain in that young, bright Ethiopians

with marketable skills will not have to leave

their native land for opportunities abroad. <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Tadias:</font> Where do you see Ethiocorps ﬁve

years from now? Ten years from now? <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Addisu:</font>  In the next ﬁve to ten years I

envision Ethiocorps Inc. as the leading

diaspora based provider and facilitator

of volunteer opportunities in Ethiopia

via our fellowship programs. Our fellowship

program will be expanded to allow

for short-term volunteer opportunities

as well as long-term opportunities.

By creating an extensive database

of NGO’s, businesses, international orthrough ganizations, government offices, universities

and hospitals which are in need of

human resources and a database of Ethiopians,

we aim to match the demands of

both the institutions and the individuals.

In the years to come, we

will be seeing the earlier group of fellowship

recipients becoming leaders

in their ﬁ elds and undoubtedly playing

a role in reversing the brain drain. We also plan to contribute to the

empowerment of disadvantaged youth in

the United States via the Explore Ethiopia

Summer Program; a program planned in

conjunction with the Baltimore/Washington

public school districts that will

allow disadvantaged middle school students

the opportunity to visit and take

classes in Ethiopia over the summer. By

visiting Africa, the students will expand

their world view, experience new cultures,

and develop into better students who can

overcome their economic limitations. <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Tadias:</font> How do you deﬁne success? <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Addisu:</font>Success for me is showing up everyday

with a positive attitude, giving my

best to achieve my goals, and aiming for

excellence. This in turn gives me happiness

which is the ultimate goal of success. <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Tadias:</font> What is the message you want

to relay to the Ethiopian-American

Community and Beyond? <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Addisu:</font> We have a vibrant Ethiopian-

American community with many successful

professionals, wealthy businessmen/

women and world renowned artists.

We also have many who are just arriving

to these shores and attempting to reach

the American dream. I credit my participation

in the Ethiopian Students Association at the University of Maryland

as my gateway into a greater understanding

of Ethiopian-American realities.

As a community we need to support existing

artists who are attempting to preserve

Ethiopian history via their ﬁlms, canvas or

music. There are large numbers of second

or ﬁrst generation Ethiopian-Americans

who desire a greater understanding of

their culture. The Ethiopian Students Association

International (ESAI) is playing

a key role for these Ethiopian-Americans. We also have to bridge the gap

for these second and ﬁrst generation Ethiopian-

Americans by providing them with

opportunities to reclaim their heritage in

their motherland. Ethiocorps is helping

to bridge this gap by providing fellowship

opportunities for people to volunteer in

Ethiopia. Support from the Ethiopian

community is vital for our work and for

our goals of reversing the brain drain. There is a bright future for the Ethiopian-

American community and to ensure this we need to play an active role in addressing

the emerging generation’s identity as an

Ethiopian-American; fully integrated into

American society but still yearning for a

greater understanding of their motherland. <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Tadias:</font> What can Tadias do to help in

your endeavor? <br><br>


<font color="#ffffff">Addisu:</font> As a successful diaspora based

magazine, Tadias can play a role in spreading

the mission and vision of Ethiocorps

to the large community of Ethiopians

in the diaspora. Tadias itself is a reﬂection

of the increasing diversity and size

of the Ethiopian diaspora. Ethiocorps’

service is only useful if our community

takes advantage of the opportunity it

provides. Tadias can play a great role in

informing its subscribers about this opportunity

and publicizing its progress in

the coming months and years. We wish

you much success in your publications!

<br><br>

<i>More info on Ethiocorps and its programs

can be found at www.ethiocorps.org</i>

</font>


<td VALIGN="top" width=5><img src="divider.jpg"><br><img src="divider.jpg"><br><img src="divider.jpg"><br><img src="divider.jpg"><br><img src="divider.jpg"><br><img src="divider.jpg"><td VALIGN="top" width=250><br>


<font face="Arial" size="3"><b> Links:</b> <br></font> <font face="Arial" size="2"><a href="http://www.ethiocorps.org" target="_new">Ethiocorps.org<a/></font><br><br><br>


<img src="ethiocorps2.jpg"><br><font face="Arial" size="1">Bersabeh Beyene</font><br><br>

<img src="ethiocorps3.jpg"><br><font face="Arial" size="1">Nolawi Taddese, Sophie Genet, Addisu Mesfin, Seble Seyoum</font><br><br>

<img src="ethiocorps4.jpg"><br><font face="Arial" size="1">Yodit Beyene, Abebual Zerihun, Candace H. Asrat</font><br><br>


</tr></table>

<p>


<center><font face="Arial" size="-2">Tadias.com. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2005</font></td></center>

</body></html>�