The Eminence ll, August 2016

Issue 22- August 2016

CONTENTS Eminence Spotlight 8 Chained Hotels Chaining With Local Brands to Lift up Quality, Standard 12 Wyndham Winding it`s Brands in Ethiopia 16 Shortage of Autism Centers Means Some Families Have To Wait For Therapy

Hospitality 3600 18. Worth the Trip: Bale Mountain National Park

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20. Le Grand Rêve: Bringing a small taste of Belgium 22. Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Association: Building Resilience within the Industry

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Cultural Panorama 24. Ethio-Israeli Relations: Re-exploring ancient ties 28. Harar: The ancient walled city that appeals to both spiritual seekers and hedonists

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30. Dire Dawa’s March band: The Last Vestige of a Proud School Tradition

Made in Ethiopia 32. Summer Camps Encouraging Children to Open up to New Experiences 34. Wossi Design Garment: Resurrecting traditional designs 36. Trying to capture all of Ethiopia: a delicate balance of traditional interior design in Restaurants 38. Celebrating Fichee-Chambalaalla in Sidama: Glimpse of New Year’s Customs

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Reflections 40. Telecom Services in Ethiopia 41. Coming Back Home

Entertainment 43. Recipe and Tourist Corner http://www.theeminencemagazine.com

44. Classifieds

Asnake Amanuel ( Founder ) aamanuel@eminence-se.com Dawit Kebede ( CEO ) Dkebede@eminence-se.com Managing Editor Tsewaye Muluneh tmuluneh@eminence-se.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

Ethiopia is a country that is towards becoming one of the top five tourist destinations in the world by 2020 by drawing record numbers of tourists to meet the expectation. This is showcased by the increasing number of chained and local hotels being established especially in the capital Addis Ababa. In addition, there are many more in the pipeline.

Besides the hotels, there are many local and international restaurants joining the sector to satisfy the desires of both locals as well as foreign visitors.

The increasing number of foreigners coming to the country is helping to boost the service providers specifically those that are involved in the hospitality and tourism sector. Standard accommodations and food are among the major facilities visitors are looking for in a country they visit.

These two (accommodation and food), directly connect service providers with visitors in a way that they make them create a direct communication.

For this reason, enclosing trained professionals in the sector is obligatory. Having trained and skilled professionals in the hospitality and tourism sector doesnot only smoothen the communication but it also has an impact on a country’s economy as it helps to attract more investors who are interested in doing business.

However, when it comes to Ethiopia, there is a huge shortage of trained professionals within the hospitality sector. According to a research conducted by the Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau in December 2010, only 3,010 people had received professional training for the hospitality sector. And out of these only 322 employees had degrees, 899 had diplomas and 1,789 had certificates.

Taking this into consideration, the government is playing its part by including tourism and hospitality departments in different universities.

As per the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, more than eight universities have such departments. The

Editor-in- Chief Frehiwot Gebrewold fgebrewold@eminence-se.com Lideta s.c Woreda 04 H. No 175

plan is to increase the number of universities in the coming year so that the number of professionals can also increase as well.

Regarding private owned colleges and universities there are 17 that give hospitality and tourism trainings. In addition, about 100 different level Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools provide the training in the regions as well as in the two city administrations.

Though there is a shortage of trained professionals in the sector, the Ministry blames different hotels for not hiring trained staff. The hotels, according to the Ministry, tend not to hire those that have graduated from the hospitality sector. They ask for several years of experience. Most of the graduates on the other hand don’t have that as the departments in many of the universities are still young. According to the 2010 study conducted by the Culture and Tourism Bureau, the largest percentage of employees (93.5 percent) has an education level below 10-12th grade.

Deputy Editor-in- Chief Fasika Tadesse ftadesse@eminence-se.com Nifas Silk Laphto s.c Woreda 12 H. No 747 Reporter Lucy Kassa lucykassa6@gmail.com Contributors Elias Aberra Gezaghegne Girma Editor Samson Haileyesus samsonfikre@gmail.com Copy Editor Carolyn Curti cutyrmc@yahoo.com Graphics and Layout Design Yohannes Seyfe vecxelgrafix@gmail.com

On the other hand hotel owners and managers are not satisfied even with the available graduate professionals. Most of them complain about the inefficiency of the professionals. Again, according to the Ministry, 70 percent of the courses are done practically while only 30 percent are in theory.

In that case the students work as apprentices at these hotels. However, the hotels don’t allow them practice, what they opt for instead, is assign them in different places which they shouldn’t. So the students don’t learn anything as apprentices.

Website Administrator Samson Tegegn

In general, in order to speed up the growth of the hospitality and tourism sector of the country, providing skills and empowering professionals is mandatory. Hence, both hoteliers as well as the government should grant ample attention to the matter and give it equal importance at par with standardizing facilities.

Distribution Tariku Tessema

Having professionals doesn’t only mean teaching on how bartenders or waiters serve the customers but it is also improving the facility starting from the simplest menu to enhancing capacity

Photographer Sentayehu Bekele Sbekele@eminence-se.com Front page picture source Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO) Finance and Administration Tizita Paulos

Editorial Address: Tel. +251-118-678-187 Mob. +251-939-858-724 P.O Box 794 code 1110 contact@eminence-se.com/ social@eminence-se.com Web:www.theeminencemagazine.com www.eminencemagazine.com Bole s.c Namibia Street, Behind Edna Mall, Adika Bldg 5th Floor This edition is printed at Central PP Kirkos Subcity, Woreda 03 H.No 414 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 5

News Highlights Ethiopian Airlines won the Skytrax World Airline Award of Best Airline Staff in Africa for the second time at Farnborougn Air show event which was held in Hampshire, England on July 12, 2016. While receiving the award, Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam, said, he is proud that the most reputed customer-service tracking organization in the airline industry.

Ethiopia launches “Land of Origins” Tourism Brand on July 15, 2016. Speaking at the official launching ceremony which was held in Sheraton hotel in Addis Abeba, the FDRE Prime Minister, Hailemariam Dessalegn urged the Ethiopian Tourism Transformation Council (ETTC) to utilize resources of the country and make the nation one of the best tourist destinations in the world.

The Addis Abeba Hotel Owners Association (AHA) organized a blood donation program for its member hotels on July 18, 2016 after giving orientation for the staffs of over 30 member hotels for one month. According to the general manager of the association, Lud Abiy AHA organized such event to carry out its social responsibility and increase participation of its members in different ways.

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The first of its kind human hair fashion show was held in Addis Abeba on July 16, 2015. The fashion show was organized by Zoma Hair Cosmetics and human hair shop. The event which was held in Morning star mall around Bole Medhanialem was attended by over 1,000 guests and the hair styles of three designers was showed by models.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) launched the 2016 World Tourism Day campaign, which will be celebrated on September 27, 2016 on the theme of “Tourism for All, promoting universal accessibility”. The focus of this year’s tourism day will be on the right of every individual to enjoy barrier free travel around the globe.

Wyndham Hotel Group, the largest hotel company in the World in terms of number of hotels inaugurated its hotel in Ethiopia on July 4, 2016. Ramada Addis Ababa which is located in the Africa Avenue was undergoing construction for the past three years. It has 136 guest rooms, 160 square meters of meeting space, lobby lounge, Konnect Bar and other facilities.

Emirates announced special travel and accommodation packages to Dubai in the summer time for Ethiopian travelers on July 15, 2016. The package starts from 465 dollar and it includes return airfare from Addis Ababa-Dubai, 3-night accommodation, complimentary breakfast, airport departure taxis, room and more.The offer stayed from July 15 2016 to September 15, 2016.

Events Aug./Sep. Event: Abyssinia TV Show Inauguration Date: August 20, 2016 Venue: Intercontinental Addis Hotel The inauguration ceremony of Abyssinia TV show and the annual Ethiopia Kpop fan meeting will take place on August 20, 2016 in Addis Ababa at the new building of Intercontinental Hotel. The inauguration ceremony is expected to be held accompanied with Korean dishes as well as soft drinks.

Event: Lutan Fyah and Norris Man Concert Date: August 13 2016 Venue: Juventus Club Event: Ethiopia Building Expo 2016 Date: 17 – 21 Sep 2016 Venue: Addis Ababa Exhibition Centre Organizer Innovation Exhibitions Ethiopia Building Expos is a 5 day event being held from 17th September to the 21st September 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This event showcases product from Building Construction, Hand, Machine & Garden Tools, Home Furnishings & Home Textiles, Household Services, Real Estate industries.

Event: Conference of the African Association of Agricultural Economist Date: 23-26 Sep 2016 Venue: United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The 5th International Conference of AAAE will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 23 – 26 September 2016 under the theme “Transforming Smallholder Agriculture in Africa: The Role of Policy and Governance”.

Live stage performance of the Reggae Artists, Lutan Fyah and Norris Man will be held in Addis Ababa at the Juventus Club on August 13 2016.The organizer behind the live performance is EML Events. Lutan Fyah and Norris Man are Jamaican born reggae musicians.

Event: The 11th time Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum Date: August 6, 2015 Venue: Washington DC The 11th time Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum will take place in August 6, 2015 in Washington Dc. This year’s Forum will focus on investing in the manufacturing sector. Last year the forum was hosted in Addis Ababa for the first time at the Sheraton Addis Hotel during the week of the Ethiopian Diaspora Day.

Event: Ethiopia Architects 18th Annual Convention and Exhibition Date: August 19, 2016 Venue: Sheraton Addis Hotel The Association of Ethiopia Architects will hold its 18th annual convention and exhibition on August 19, 2016 at Sheraton Addis hotel. A penal discussion on the themes of architecture for development and the architect at a crossroad are scheduled to take place in in the convention.

Event: The 3rd edition of Ethio Trail Race Date: 7 August 2016 Venue: Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National Park (Langano)

The 3rd edition of Ethiotrail Race is going to be held in Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National Park (Langano) on 7 August 2016. Organized by RIA Ethiopia Sports the race has included distances of 12 kilometers, 21 kilometers and 42 kilometers. This year the RIA Ethiopia had also organized the first children race in Holetta at the Born Free Park.

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 7

Eminence Spotlight: Ethio- Topical

Chained Hotels Chaining With

Local Brands to Lift up Quality, Standard

The hotel industry of Ethiopia started with the opening of Taitu hotel as a pioneer in 1898.

Since then the number of hotels in Addis Ababa has been expanding and reached a little over 400. This coupled with the growing number of internationally chained hotels that has reached an all-time high. A deal for 18 chained hotels has been recently signed with six of them going operational while the others are under construction. The Eminence’s FASIKA TADESSE looks into what these internationally chained hotels are contributing to the Ethiopian hospitality and tourism industry and what lessons they are imparting on local brand hotels.

The history of internationally chained hotels in Addis Ababa has dated back in 1969 by the opening of the Hilton Addis Ababa, a member of Hilton Worldwide Group, by Emperor Hailesellasie with the presence of dignitaries’ diplomats and foreigners of that time. The hotel became a pioneer for the internationally chained hotel business arena by offering 370 rooms, 7 meeting halls, 5 restaurants and a parking area which can accommodate 650 vehicles once.

It took nearly 30 years for Addis Ababa to get another internationally chained hotel, in the form of Sheraton Addis, which was opened in 1998. Sheraton Addis, a member of Starwood’s Luxury collection, has 293 rooms with a number of villas and over 10 bars and restaurants. The hotel has introduced high

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quality services and became a host for high profile people who came to Ethiopia.

Later in 2008 the third hotel, Radisson Blu, a member of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, joined the business. The hotel joined the Ethiopian hotel industry with 204 rooms having recent and very advanced quality hotel services by becoming an alarm call for the local brand hotels to improve and set their benchmarks for quality services.

Only these three hotels were operating in the business until the 4th edition of Africa Hotel Investment Forum which was held in Addis Ababa in September 2014. The Forum which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the first time ended up with several management deal agreements

signed between Ethiopian properties developers and internationally chained hotels to open more chained hotels in Ethiopia.

Since then additional management deals were inked and the latest agreement was signed between Wyndham Hotel Group and the local property developer Santa Maria Real Estate & Hotels Plc to bring three more Wyndham brands to Ethiopia; the Wyndham five star hotels, TRYP by Wyndham and Wyndham Graden Langano both four star hotels in July 2016.

In addition to these three hotels the total number of chained hotels to operate in Ethiopia has reached 18. These hotels are

members of 10 internationally chained hotel groups. Among the 18 hotels six of them are operational while the remaining 12 are under different stages of construction. The last hotel is expected to be opened before the end of 2020.

Among the operational hotels Marriott Executive Apartment, Golden Tulip and Ramada Addis are recent entrants in the business in addition to the aforementioned three hotels Sheraton, Hilton and Radisson.

“The opening of these chained hotels has become an eye opener for the local brand hotels to push their services to the maximum level,” said Lud Abiy, general manager of Addis Ababa Hotel Owners’ Association (AHA) which was established in 1997 and currently has 90 local and chained member hotels.

According to Lud, even if the Association did not make market assessments and analyses to investigate the effect of international chained hotel in the business, they have witnessed that the existing chained hotels have brought competition among the local hotels in Ethiopia and is helping the Ethiopian hotel industry to evolve.

According to industry insiders bringing

chained hotels into a country has several advantages including image building of the country, knowledge transfer, encourage the local brand hotels and attract more Meeting, Incentive Travel, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) businesses.

Gezahegne Abate, International and Public Relation Director at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, notes that the hotel industry of Ethiopia is growing.

“It is visible to see the emergence of hotel services in the country. Quality has improved since the chained brand hotels joined the hotel business of Ethiopia,” said Gezahegne.

These chained hotels created an opportunity to the country to be benefited from tourist that has a spending power, such as diplomat and leaders and they are also encouraging local investors to improve their quality. “For instance hotels which were opened 20 years ago cannot be competent in the market, so they are working on renovating their buildings as well as services to be competent in the market,” said Gezahegne.

“That does not mean international brand hotels are superior in quality, but there are also local hotels that have competent services and quality which are at par

with international brands,” added Gezahegne.

Among the 400 hotels which exist in Addis Ababa, nearly 95 of them are deemed by the MoCT as star rated hotels. And from the four hotels which were crowned as 5 star by the Ministry two of them are local brand hotels; Capital Hotel and Spa and Ellily International Hotel. The hotels were rated based on international standard with the involvements of experts from United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO).

“The introduction of new players [chained hotels] on the market is good for the competition of a market share that is still increasing slowly as it provides travelers with more and better choices,” said Ronald Garoute, general manager of Ramada Addis Hotel one of the 16 brands of the Wyndham Hotel Group counting more than 7,800 hotel in 73 countries.

Ramada Addis opened its door on July 2016 becoming the 6th internationally chained hotels in Addis Ababa.

Neway Berhanu managing director of Calibra Hospitality and Business PLC, the company which is behind the 11 management deals among the 18, claims

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Ramada Addis is the first property in Ethiopia from the 16 different international brands Hotel of the Wyndham Hotel Group. The group is the world’s largest and most diverse hotel company with over 7,800 properties and 678,000 rooms in 72 countries with highly recognizable brands and hotel choices in every category from upper to upscale to economy.

Ramada Addis is the sixth international chained hotel in Addis providing new services and experiences by brining international expertise and mixing it with local traditions.

Though all international brands are capturing the same market, Ramada Addis is planning to deliver its services in a very specific practice which will be implemented in the hotel.

The employees have been provided with different trainings for the past couple of months to make sure that Ramada Addis’s services are of high quality.

Located at the heart of Bole, about two kilometers from the Addis Ababa International Airport, Ramada Addis currently has 170 employees out of which three are expatriates while the rest are Ethiopians. The plan is to increase the number of employees to 200 when the hotel become fully operational.

Rooms

The Hotel offers 136 rooms with 17 rooms per floor and each floor has the same configuration of one suite which is connected with a queen sized bedroom. The remaining rooms are executive and twins which are king size and other connecting rooms which are

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smaller than the suites.

All the rooms are individually air-conditioned with different city center views. And typically feature high-speed wireless and wired Internet access, satellite television, in-room coffee and tea making facilities, a mini bar, a safe deposit box, iron and ironing board, hair dryer; telephone in the bathrooms, complementary toiletries, walk-in rain shower, radio/ alarm clock, and personalized wake-up call service.

The TVs in each room are connected to the internet so that guests can check on their bills as well as receive any messages while being in their rooms.

On the inside door of the rooms there is a fire escape system which helps guests to easily get out of their rooms and the building in

case of emergencies. In fact the doors of the rooms are made from materials that protect the inside from fire for up to two hours.

The detail in all 136 rooms is delightful, warmly decorated with genuine color to inspire creativity, the modern yet comfortable guest rooms make business and leisure travelers feel right at home. All the rooms including the waiting area and the corridors are decorated with beautiful Ethiopian sights and scenes, endemic-wildlife, cultural activity photographs and paintings which give the hotel an Ethiopian color and ambiance.

Meeting Facility

Ramada Addis is an ideal hotel for business meetings, trainings and workshops. Its location makes the hotel exceptionally preferable for both social and corporate events.

There are two meeting rooms in Ramada; Gibe and Awash. Both the meeting rooms have the capacity of accommodating 50 to 70 people. However, the number depends on the seat arrangement as per the client’s preference.

Both the meeting rooms are equipped with all the necessary meeting materials like inbuilt LCD projector, sound system, stationary materials, and other facilities to make business or social affair an unforgettable one.

Food & Beverage

For an international and branded hotel like RamadaAddis, food and beverage is a major service that it delivers to its customers.

Ramada believes in bringing unique services

to Addis. The all day dining on the 1st floor known by The Chefs’ Club is the best place to start the day with a wide variety of sumptuous. The morning buffets, breakfast which is the most important meal of the day, includes a variety of options made from fresh local products. Different local and international dishes are part of the service prearranged in this restaurant for lunch and diner from Monday to Saturday. On a daily basis dinner will be served with African dishes, Chinese, South East Asian night, Middle Eastern dishes, Sea Food and Mediterranean dishes will be served. On Sundays customers will be served with an international dish day. The buffet program might be adjusted at this restaurant.

According to Mr. Victor Oluoch, Food & Beverage (F&B) Manager of the hotel, a Middle

Photo by: Ismael Mohammed

The open kitchen provides a different vibe to the Chefs’ Club restaurant. The chairs are placed so that they can accommodate a group of people at once. As per the F&B manager the plan is to place photos of different international and local chefs on the wall of this restaurant.

Besides, in the future it is planned to bring different cooking books from aboard so that customers can choose any meal from the book by selecting ingredients of their own dishes. This would give a chance for customers and guests to customize the meal they order in the way they want it. In addition, it will allow customers to try new food every time as per the books.

KONNECT Bar is the hotel`s massive long bar at the lobby which offers amazing classic and delicious bar snacks that will leave guests amazed.

This bar also gives relaxed cocktails and variety of drinks.

The Oak Bar is one of the open spaces of the Food & Beverage Outlet where people can grab cocktail dishes like barbeque and enjoy wine and Champaign with some of the most astounding live grills and skewers.

It is also planned to have Ethiopian Coffee with its full ceremony and local bands playing Ethiopian music as well.

The 10th floor is dedicated to a Brazilian Restaurant known “Fogo no Chao” means Fire on the Grill. This is the first of its kind not only for the country but also for Eastern Africa as well. Starting from the chef to all the detailed utensils are directly brought from Brazil. In this Brazilian Restaurant different types of meat will be served and the unlimited meat cut will take place live, right in front of each guest.

“We felt that this is an appropriate concept for the people of Addis as people here love meat. The concept is to serve 18 different meat cuts which are prepared in authentic Brazilian recipes. The entire garnish and all the sauces will be presented as a buffet but the meat will be cut at each table. The chef goes to each table every five minutes for the cut,” said Roland Garoute, General Manager of the Hotel.

There will be a little mat given to guests in this Brazilian Restaurant.

One side of the mat is colored green while the other is red. If the guest places the mat on its green side, then the chef will go to the table to add meat cuts. If it’s red, then it means the guest has had enough.

be enrolled. If the customer is not a member, then the staff will take an email address and enroll the guest within a matter of two minutes. The enrollment is free of charge. The guest even doesn’t have to spend their time. The staff will do it themselves. Immediately the guest will be contacted by email that he/she is a member and the acquired number of points. The number of points is based on the number of nights a guest stays as well as the money he/ she spends at the hotel. During the enrollment the guest will get 500 points and during every room nights the points will be accumulated which is 10 points per dollar spent.

Once a guest reaches 15,000 points

“We have four different selections depending on the number of cuts that the customer wants. It starts with 4 then 8, 12, 16 and 18. This restaurant has a bar and two VIP rooms for people who want to dine either alone or in groups.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Eastern Chef from Egypt is on his way to join the Ramada Addis Hotel for Lebanese cuisine.

While dining the amazing Brazilian cuisine, customers can also enjoy the magnificent view of the city.

With all these facilities, Ramada has started serving its customers with mouthwatering local and international dishes.

Wyndham Reward Program

This is a loyalty program which is recognized as Wyndham Rewards®.

The simple-to-use, revolutionary new loyalty program from Wyndham Hotel Group, offers members a generous points earning structure along with a flat, free night redemption rate – the first of its kind for a major rewards program.

Ramada Addis is bringing this program to its customers and guests to Ethiopia. The number one thing a guest or a customer should do is to

then he/she will get a free night at any Wyndham Group Hotel worldwide.

If the guest wants to continue to accumulate points he can do it as well or if he wants to redeem before the 15, 000 then he can quit and collect other gifts as per the point.

The Ramada Addis’s welcoming and well trained staff offer not only the most lodging choices but also exceptional customer service and great value and are waiting to serve you by saying: “YOU DO YOUR THING. LEAVE THE REST TO US. ®”

Eminence Spotlight: Interview

Wyndham

Winding it`s Brands in

Ethiopia

It was in 2014 when the Wyndham Hotel Group inked their first deal to bring their brand in Ethiopia. By the beginning of July 2016, Daniel Ruff, Wyndham’s president and managing director of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Indian Ocean regions signed a deal with Santa Maria Real Estate & Hotels PLC to bring three more Wyndham brands to Ethiopia. The Wyndham five star hotels, TRYP by Wyndham and Wyndham Garden Langano are the new deals that were concluded with the consultancy service from the local firm Calibra Hospitality and Business PLC. These make Wyndham the first chained hotel in Ethiopia to have four brands. The Eminence’s FASIKA TADESSE sat down with Ruff to discuss the deals and the contributions of these hotels to the Ethiopian hotel industry.

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Tell me about Wyndham Hotel Group and what makes it unique from other internationallybrand hotel groups?

Wyndham is a hotel for every type of guest and every type of vacation. We have 44 million loyal members around the world. What I believe to be our best product is our loyalty programme. What is so unique about our program is, if you stay at any of our hotels around the world you will earn 15,000 points for a week. Let us say you stayed in Ramada Addis, or at Wyndham, or the Wyndham Garden Langano, or at TRYP

by Wyndham, you will earn one or more free nights at any of the 8,000 Wyndham hotels around the world. It can be in Bangkok, Beijing, New York, Los Angles or in Doha. It can be a Wyndham Grand or Wyndham Days Inn. That is a really unique proposition that we can offer.

How do you see the potential of the hotel industry in Ethiopia?

We are excited, Ethiopian government officials say they are working to triple the earning from tourism by 2020. We are just existed to be part of that. We believe that the improvements over the last few years in terms of infrastructure and the ongoing airport expansion are great signs for that. And they are leading down the path and everybody is excited about it. That is why we see more foreign investors are inclining to invest in Ethiopia like never before. An article in the Wall Street Journal two months back talked about how Ethiopia used to be an investment place for the NGOs and now it is an investment place for private equity.

We are not alone in believing this. We are a huge fan of this and we think we can assist. We think that the global power of

Wyndham Group is going to help us to reach that goal.

any of the regional states of the country?

Why did Wyndham Group decide to work with Santa Maria Real Estate & Hotels PLC which is going to open three Wyndham brand hotels? and with ADM Business PLC, which inaugurated the Ramada Addis at the end of July 2016? while there are a lot of property developers in Addis Ababa.

Of course, we would love to.

As we grow very fast especially when entering a new country, we partner with the right people.

Before signing those agreements

Can we say Wyndham is under negotiation with Ethiopian property developers to add more Wyndham brand hotels in Ethiopia?

We are always talking and we do things when there is opportunity to grow the Wyndham brand in addition to the four brands which we have in the country.

But we do not talk about the deals that are not signed yet. But we do see great movements.

Ethiopia used to be an investment place for the NGOs and now it is an investment place for private equity.

we spent about two years on negotiations, and the big part of that was understanding with whom we are partnering. When you look at Abel Sahlemariam of Santa Maria he is such a humble, generous, moral, and ethical person, and that is the type of partnership we want. We looked at a partner not only with the best builders but also with the best people. After the long negotiations we felt we found partners who are going to stick with us during good and bad times for the years to come, just like a marriage. We really had some ups and downs in the past and we stayed strong. And we are really confident with the two partners we have here.

Do you have a plan to add more hotels here in Addis Ababa or in

We have 12 additional Wyndham brands to go. So this is certainly an opportunity for growth. There is an opportunity for growth in the economic segment; there is an opportunity in the meetings business sector. For instance we bought the Dolce brand a year and half ago. This brand is the best Meeting, Incentive Travel, Conference and Exhibitions (MICE) business in the world with global meeting planners ranking it first. That is why we decided to buy it.

We think we are good and Ethiopia is a good market especially when we consider the government business deals, NGO business deals and international and African businesses, so we think we can do different things here.

Do you have a target number in terms of the hotels you are planning to have in Ethiopia?

I do not have a specific number.

It is opportunity driven. There is certainly growth in Addis and all over the country. So it is about finding the right partner in the right location, and we certainly want to capitalise on the number of the opportunities there and we are going to go look for them.

What special and unique features, facilities and services will Wyndham bring to the Ethiopian hotel industry?

When we look at the interior looks of Wyndham hotels that we will open in Ethiopia, I am not sure that Ethiopia has such types of products. I have been told by local experts that the designs that we made for our brand hotels in Ethiopia have not been matched within the local market. In fact there are great hotels here in Ethiopia, but these are new and game-changer hotels. They do not only change the game by looks and feel, but it changes the way guests enjoy their stay. That is what we really want and the travel business is all about the experience.

So when we look at our global travellers, it is an emerging middle class, it is the younger generation which some people call them the millennials. They are looking for new things, for new experiences in the local culture. What we do and what we believe is that there are brands which need to have a consistent grade around the world. What I mean by that is Wyndham Garden in Langano should not be the same with Wyndham Garden in Munich or New York or Tokyo. It should have a local essence with connectivity to the brand, because you want to have a local brand and local experience when you travel

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Eminence Spotlight: Interview

I put a map against anybody. I love this portfolio, our teams, and the support we bring from our global perspective combined with local partners. I am very confident that we are going to do well.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

In the Ethiopian hotel industry there are some challenges mentioned by industry insiders. Scare caliber of human resources is the major one and Wyndham is joining the business within this environment.

So as a coping mechanism what are you planning to do about this?

Daniel Ruff (left) with Abel Sahlemariam on the signing ceremony of the three more Wyndhan brands. around the world. It does not matter if it is domestic travel from Ethiopians or for international travellers from America, Europe or China - they want to have a local feeling.

I think what you are going to see with us, what we really do well, is we bring the global level of services, standards and quality and combine that with that local touch. So I hope that Ethiopians feels that the Wyndham Garden Brand, Wyndham, TRYP by Wyndham and Ramada Addis Brands are both Ethiopian and Global brands. And I think that is the difference that we are going to bring.

Ramada Addis is your first brand in Ethiopia that was inaugurated and became operational very recently. You did not see and analyze its performance which might push you to decide to add more brands. You are actually bringing three more brands to the country. What forces helped you to decide on reaching that decision?

It is because we have full confidence.

We have done this time and time again.

We are experts of entering into a new market. Just a few years ago we had four hotels in Turkey; this summer that number has reached to 50. And that is what we do when we look to big markets.

Turkey is a great example where we

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found great local partners, and we were successful in becoming the biggest hotel company in Turkey. I expect we will be the biggest hotel company in Ethiopia too and I think we should be. So I have no hesitance ever, Ethiopia is a great market with great people and great opportunities with our local partners.

What do you expect from these partnerships with ABH Business and Santa Maria in opening these four hotels?

I think it is growth. These are two partners who are committed to the hotel industry and the Wyndham brand. And we are also committed to them. I think we are going to see four very successful hotels from the start, and I look forward to seeing how we can find more opportunities and growing options.

As we know that other big international chained hotels have joined the business in Ethiopia and some others are also coming.

How do you see the competition with these hotels and what are your plans to win the market and your competitors as well?

There is an international competition in every market we are in. But we are hugely confident in our brands and loyalty programmes, and in our systems and partners. When I look at the four hotels we are talking about in Ethiopia,

It is an opportunity we see in many markets and we actually love it. And I love the fact that we can impact local communities and work with them by training people. What is amazing about the industry is, you do not have to have a university education to get a job in a hotel. We provide jobs to people all over the world and give our employees opportunities to grow through the hotel and ultimately travel around the world.

So imagine how it is exciting when young Ethiopians who got the chance to start at one of our hotels as an entry level and continue to work. Who knows 10 years from now, this person could be managing a hotel in Paris, China or New York.

As an industry insider what do you suggest to the Ethiopian government and industry players do in order to lift the quality, standards and other services in the hospitality industry?

So far I think they are going into a lot of steps, but I think they have to work on building the brand i.e. Ethiopia. We are happy to do that with them. We need to educate the world that this is an exciting, interesting and safe place to come and visit. This is a great step for attaching our name in building the brand “Ethiopia.�

The brand will be built successfully by a partnership between the private and public sectors; from the private sector we are right here. We believe in Ethiopia and we are looking forward to working closely with other private sector industries here in Ethiopia, and with the government on anything we can do. Because we know that we have great short, medium and long term success stories here

Continued from: P. 9 the greater advantage of expanding chained hotels is for local hotels, as these internationally chained hotels are contributing trained manpower for local brand hotels.

“If you look at the top level management members of local brand hotels, most of them are former workers at Sheraton, Radisson or Hilton,” said Neway.

Even if both local and internationally branded hotels are expanding in the country, the hotel industry of Ethiopia and its business is not yet fully exploited, according to Gezahegne.

Neway agrees with Gezahegne’s assertion saying: “The increase in the number of hotel rooms is not matching with the tourist flow coming to the country, so that is why we need to add more brand hotels in our hotel industry which have the capacity of bringing over 150 rooms.”

During the 2015/16 fiscal year a little

over 979,000 tourists visited Ethiopia helping the country to earn 3.5 billion birr. This number has gone up from 740,000 tourists of the previous year of 2014/15 fiscal year with 3 billion birr earning.

Still the government expects to have 2 million tourists every year.

“Chained hotels can potentially increase the number of tourist flowing to the country as many of these hotels have 40-50 million members of their loyalty membership programs. And they will be capable of bringing their members to Ethiopia,” Neway explains.

“At the same time these hotels provide high quality services which cost a bit higher, so that the revenues which the country gets will also increase,” he added.

With all its positive effect there are some concerns that chained hotels might somehow affect the business of local brand hotels.

“As a temporary effect the international chained hotels may minimize the business of the local brand hotels as the chained hotels have loyal customer groups. So those tourists who used to be customers of local brand hotels may book at those hotels as the chained hotel have reservation centers in the tourists’ home country,” Zenawi Mesfin, general manager of Intercontinental Addis a local brand 4 star hotel, explains.

Neway predicts the competition will get tougher, “The number of operational chained hotels will in-

crease year to year as many of them are in the pipeline, so when their number increases, the standard in the industry will grow equally year by year and local hotels will try their best to compete with the chained hotels,” Neway noted.

According to Gezahegne the government expects many more international brand hotels to join the sector. So, to be competent in the market the local hotels should work a lot according to the stakeholders of the industry. All agree that local brand hotels should analyze themselves and work on their capacity building and management towards lifting up their quality services in order to be competent.

Ronald from Ramada suggests that local brands should look carefully at their core principles which guide their brand management and adjust some of their practices accordingly in terms of location, quality, value for money principle, reliability, liability and linkage to social media and advertising.

But according to Neway strong efforts should be exerted from both local hotel owners and the government to maintain that the local brands to be competent in the market. He asserts that local hotel owners should work on quality and standards from the beginning of the building, design, safety and standards.

On the other hand the government should facilitate the investment environment for hotels for instance duty free tax privileges, loan provision and access to land for construction of hotels. So that the hotel business of the country will be strong and have a positive impact for the tourism industry of the country, according to Neway

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 15

Eminence Spotlight: Society

Many Ethiopians believe that autism is an illness or curse, but the fact is that it is a mental disorder present from early childhood. It causes problems forming relationships and communicating with others. People who believe autism is an illness often lock up their children rather than sending them to treatment centers. Even if they decide to send them to an autism center for treatment and an education, they will not easily get the chance. There are only three operational autism centers in Ethiopia.

The Eminence’s HELINA ABRHAM, talked with parents of autistic children, autism center owners and psychologists to explore what society is suffering from and what should be done to curb this problem.

Tsega Yekunamlak used to be a fulltime graphic designer until she discovered that her son Nolawi is an autistic child. It took her three years to find out her child is autistic. Tsega describes her son’s behavior as always angry, not being able to communicate, having little or no eye contact, and having a limited attention span.

First Tsega couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her son. She thought her child’s speaking ability was impaired but she took him to regular school anyway.

“After seeing his difficulties in communicating the teachers in the school told me that my child has hearing problems.

And they advised me to send him to special school that specifically treats children with hearing problems,” Tsega recalls.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

It was hard to take her child on public

transportation using taxis and buses, since Nolawi cried all the time. Other transportation users told her to leave. Additionally Tsega couldn’t leave him with anyone because no one understood Nolawi’s behaviors.

At her wits end she started researching her child’s symptoms on the internet. Finally she found out that her child might be autistic. So she took him to the hospital and received confirmation. Following the diagnosis Tsega’s child could not get the help he needed right away.

Nolawi was forced to wait three years before he could join Joy Autistic Center, the first autism center in Ethiopia. Children had to wait a long time on the waiting list until their turn reached before they could attend Joy Center. This is not only Tsega’s story but rather a story of thousands of parents and their autistic children.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) one out of a 100 children lives with autism.

Daniel Mulugeta, a Child Psychologist who has treated autistic children for the past four years, explains that autism is not an illness rather it is a disorder.

Autism spectrum is a neu-

16 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016

ron developmental disorder that is caused by differences in how the brain functions.

Children with autism may have difficulty with communicating and interacting.

They withdraw from social activity and tend to have behavioral problems. Signs of autism begin during early childhood and usually last through a person’s life, according to Daniel.

Some of autism’s characteristics are common among children on the spectrum; others are typical of the disability but not necessarily exhibited by all children on the autism spectrum. Children with autism invariably have communication difficulties in one form or another. There are children with autism who speak fluently; others whose speech is impaired to varying degrees, while some repeat what they hear and others are unable to speak at all.

Of those who can speak, they often use language in a very limited or unusual way.

According to research there is no direct cause for autism. Stress, environmental pollution, and consumption of inorganic food are believed to be the major contributing factors. And there are four level of autism: mild, classic, severe, and profound. Most often, a child with mild autism has hardly recognizable symptoms.

Most parents in Ethiopia don’t easily know their children are autistic. They think it is a curse or a mental illness; so they chain down their children. Some, on the other hand, see their child’s symp-

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Shortage of

Means Some Families Have To Wait For Therapy tom, do research and discover their child is autistic, like Tsega, but they are unable to get help since existing centers have 400 to 500 children on their waiting lists. As a result, by the time Autistic children on different academic and enter- the center accepts tainment activities at Nehemiah Autism Center the child he/she may have passed the right age to get the proper help and treatment.

This is happening because the Ministry of Health (MoH) gave little attetion to Autism Spectrum Disorder. For instance, the Ethiopian National Mental Health Strategy from 2012/13 to 2015/16 indicated the prevalence of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, childhood mental illnesses, and dementia but fails to show the number of autistic individuals in the country.

So autism does not have a proper prevalence indicator.

Mengistu Wolde, Health Sector Reform Head at Policy Plan Directorate at MoH stated that MoH has not addressed autism yet because it was giving priority for serious diseases such as TB, malaria and HIV. He added, “But now we included the Autism Spectrum with the rest of disabilities, under the Non-communicable Disease Department, and we have developed a National Mental Health Strategy to address t h e

challenge.�

As a result, parents face challenges raising an autistic child and struggle to accept that their child is autistic, which hurts the child’s potential development. In order for a child to get the proper developmental support, parents have to first accept and allow the child to access facilitates. They need to send their children to places where they can get special treatment and education or to autism centers.

For that matter the number of autism centers that exist in the country is limited to just three. The first autistic center, Joy opened in 2002

by Zemi Yunus after realizing her son was autistic. When Zemi first opened the Center she had little knowledge concerning autism, and she found children in severe condition which was difficult to treat at the time. Moreover, there are few professionals in Ethiopia who know how to treat autistic children.

Joy accepts children with classic, severe and profound level of Autism. Currently, in the Joy Center there are 80 children getting six kinds of therapies: speech, sensory integration, occupational, movie, music and animal therapy. As to the skills Joy provides academic and socialization skills training.

Joy had succeeded in having five children join regular schools and is currently planning to mainstream two more children to regular school by next year.

In addition, Zemi took part in establishing one autism class in seven governmental schools which embraces 20 children each. She also contributes trained teachers and teaching aid equipment for those schools.

The other center Nehemiah Autism Center was established in 2011 by another mother who knew her child was autistic. She tried to take her child to Joy Autistic Center but at the time there were about 463 children on the waiting list ahead of her child. So Rahel Abayneh, decided to find a solution by opening Nehemiah.

Nehemiah became operational with six children, but now 40 children attend. The Center teaches autistic children basic life, academic and social skills. Within the past five years Nehemiah managed to send five children to regular school, according to Rahel.

The third existing center is Ryan Autism Center which was established by Abdulkerim Salim. Abdulkerim opened the Center two years ago with three children including his own. But now 25 autistic children are getting treatment at the Center. The activities the children engage in at Ryan are basic and academic skill trainings.

But these operating centers face challenges including financial constraints. In order to survive they are struggling to get finances by themselves. Currently Zemi is getting support from individual and international donors. Plus the government has provided her with a 5,000 square-meter plot of land for construction of an international standard center for children and persons with autism. And on the 2,000 square meter land, Joy plans to build a center of excellence that includes hydrotherapy and more advanced therapeutic equipment with the main aim of contributing to helping children with autism and its effects

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 17

Hospitality 3600: Hospi- Tourism

Worth the Trip: Bale Mountain National Park

Bale Mountain National Park located 400 km southeast of Addis Ababa, contains a spectacularly diverse landscape and is one of the parks housing endemic Ethiopian wildlife, including Nyala, Menelik’s Bushbuck (Tragelaphusseriptus meneliki) and Ethiopian wolves. The area attracts local and international visitors because of these diverse wildlife and plant species. But this park has been recovering over the past years from a fire caused by natural and manmade accidents which led the area to be registered as a tentative heritage site. The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA travelled to the park to discover the park and what the authorities are doing to tackle the problems left over from the fire.

Ethiopia is known for its ample natural resources including its flora and fauna. These natural resources are distinct attractions in the national parks and sanctuaries of the country. One of the parks that is rich with these natural resources is the Bale Mountains National Park. The park is located 400 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa in the Oromia regional state.

The park is filled by impenetrable jungle and endemic wildlife which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has nominated as a tentative heritage site. Bale Mountains National Park was established in 1969. It is the largest park in terms of size having a total area of 2,150 square kilometers.

The park is surrounded mainly by juniperstrees that makes a dense indigenous forest.

A visitor will breathe cold pure air accompanied by the smell of the aromatic plant species, when walking into the forest. Soon the visitor will spot some of the famous and endemic Ethiopian mammals.

The park is home to Nyala (Tragelaphusangasii), one of the well-known endemic animals of Ethiopia. The wonderful thing about these shy mammals is that they graze in groups, and each group has one alpha

18 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016

male to protect the females. The male Nyala becomes the leader among his peers if he wins a fight to be a leader. But after taking over his leadership he will lose his leadership position if another stronger Nyala beats him.

Nyala is not an aggressive animal and often avoids interactions with humans. It runs away when it sees visitors or hears their voices and stares off into a far distance.

Going down the park the next animals a visitor might see are Menilik Bushbuck and warthogs (Kerkero). Unlike Nyala the latter is not a shy or fearful animal. It could chase or fight if the visitor gets too close to it. Kerkero does not spend nights in the jungle rather it spends the night inside underground holes. The holes are amazingly large and seem to be dug and made by human beings but the Kerkero make the holes by digging the land using their tusks.

The park is also home to about 68 species of mammals including those endemic and endangered. It also houses 256 bird species.

On its bird life resource, the Park accounts for 57 percent of bird species in the country and is considered the fourth best African birding site. In addition to its wildlife, the Bale Mountains National Park also ac-

counts for 40 percent of the country’s medicinal plant species.

Within the Bale Mountains National Park there are five ecological zones: Northern Grassland, Northern Woodlands, Heather Moorlands, Afroaliphain and Harrena Forest. The Northern Grassland is located between 3,000 and the Afroaliphain Zone which lies between 3,100 and 4,377 meters above sea level, another well-known endemic Ethiopian animal, the Ethiopian wolves (Key Kebero), is found.

Unlike Nyala the ecological zone where the Ethiopian wolves are located is not a dense forest. A bare field that resembles a desert with unique shallow plant species is where it found. It actually has cold air and is home to the Ethiopian wolves. One of the reasons the Ethiopian wolves like this place is because of the presence of the large rats that can weigh up to 26 kilograms in the area.

A visitor can safely pay a visit without any fear of animal attack either in Northern Grassland or in the Afroaliphain but not in the Harrena Forest. The Harrena Forest is not a safe place to stay because lions inhabit into this dark jungle.

Even if there are no camping facilities at the top of the Northern Grassland, there is

Photo by: Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO)

an overlook in a point where some tourists camp.

According to the head of the park, Shamil Kedir they are planning to include camping facilities in the near future but until then, tourists can safely camp at the Northern Grassland’s overlook since there are no dangerous animals in the zone.

There are accommodations at the park. But, they do not have the view from the overlook. The facilities are more like a university dormitory with one kitchen around the rooms. The accommodations cost between 20 dolars and 70 dolars a day based on their size.

The park is also constructing other facilities including a visitor center which is made from environmental friendly construction materials and displays the wildlife resources of the park. With these facilities the park got about 10,000 tourists during the current fiscal year allowing it to earn 1.4 million birr in revenues.

Even with all the beautiful landscape and endemic wildlifes the Bale Mountains National Park has several problems. The park is very sensitively exposed to bush fires which are caused by friction of trees during strong winds. The major activator behind

accidental fires is a tree scientifically named Erica [a genus of the flowering plants in the family Ericaceae] commonly used for bonfires at the Ethiopian traditional holiday named Meskel (finding of the true Cross).

The Northern Grassland is full of the Erica tree which by its nature is highly vulnerable to accidental fires. When the trees get dry they create fire through friction caused by the wind. The park’s administration has organized a task force in all Woredas [districts] and zones to address this and other hazards but the large size of the park is still a cause of much difficulty.

Yet the challenge is not only nature. Intentional fire by the inhabitants in the surrounding Woredas of the park is another problem. The surrounding inhabitants who are mainly agrarian often encroach on the park to expand their farms.

There is also an over-grazing, seasonal illegal settlement of pastoralists in the park as well as some kind of amalgam between wild animals and domestic animals owned by the surrounding inhabitants. This especially affects the mountain wolves when they mix with the dogs that disseminate rabies to the endemic mammals.

Considering these challenges the park is

educating inhabitants about nature as well as the benefits it could provide them. It is also vaccinating domestic animals to stop the spread of rabies, according to Shamil.

“We are also working to create a sense of ownership among the community by creating employment opportunities for the residents. So far we have created employment opportunities for 1,261 locals in the area,” he said.

Bale Mountains National Park cannot be registered under UNESCO’s permanent heritage sites list because it is not free from human settlement. This is evident from the growing farmlands within and around the borders of the park. A 2011 study indicated that about 3,700 households having a total of 25,900 people are living in the surroundings of the park.

There are some who argue the park could have been registered under the Simien Mountains National Park. But other experts argue this is difficult because the Bale Mountain National Park has unique ecological nature with exceptional resources.

One of its exceptional resources are the rivers which rise in the national park area, contributing to five major rivers: the Wub, Wabi Shebele, Welmel, Dumal and Ganale

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 19

Hospitality 3600: Facilities and Accommodation

Le Grand Rêve: Bringing a small taste of Belgium Addis Ababa is experiencing growth in international restaurants. This is mainly due to the increasing number of foreigners visiting the city for different purposes. Le Grand Rêve, a Belgian specialized restaurant is among them. The Eminence’s FREHIWOT GEBREWOLD had been to the restaurant and shares her experience regarding the restaurant’s uniqueness, the food and its service.

Wagagen Abera (Lily) and her husband Ken Willockx used to live in Dubai, UAE before they moved to Ethiopia. While living in there, the Ethiopian Belgian couple came to Ethiopia for a vacation. They also had a chance to dine in different cultural and international restaurants. That was when they realized that there is an opportunity in Ethiopia especially in the capital Addis Ababa to open an upscale restaurant.

“When we visited Addis Ababa, we had a chance to dine in different restaurants. We went to Avanti and Castelli and that’s when we realized that there is a great opportunity for high-end restaurants in the city,” said Ken. Their business idea was further supported by the boom in tourism and hospitality sector of the country. In 2010 Wagagan and Ken came back to Ethiopia and opened Le Grand Rêve, the first Belgian Restaurant to the country.

“I studied marketing and that is my profession. I didn’t have any idea about either cooking or running a restaurant. My husband is a professional chef. We got into this business because of him,” said Wagagen.

Wagagen added, “However I really enjoy dinning in a fine-dining restaurant and I always wish Addis Ababa to have that as well. This is the main reason for us to open the restaurant here. We want the people to experience fine-dining. Besides, we want to encourage people to be outgoing.”

Located behind Hulet Shih Habesha Restaurant, Le Grand Rêve offers a very classy atmosphere. The fact that one side of the wall is constructed with only window lets ample light to the interior. In addition

20 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016

to that the light green and white painted wall makes the restaurant even clean and bright. The brown leather chairs make an eye-catchy color comparison together with the clean white table clothes.

The chairs are arranged to accommodate two or four people. However, since the restaurant is spacious, it is also possible to make group arrangements as per the required number.

The bottom of the staircase that leads to the upper part of the restaurant (which is going to be a bar) is used as a shelf. Different cooking books are placed on the shelf. It is a great opportunity to learn recipes while dinning.

Beautiful green plants fence the exterior which adds up to its ambiance and gives a fresh breeze especially during the sunny season. Since the restaurant is not located by the side of the main road, there is almost no traffic which allows guests to sit outside and dine without worrying about dust or people asking for alms.

“The place is very clean and with little pedestrians which makes you feel like it is your very own special place. It’s not noisy and relatively quite which makes you feel like you are at home. It’s well furnished as well so I like it,” said Dr. Akpaka Kalu, a businessman living in Addis while enjoying his Sunday brunch.

From Tuesday to Saturday the restaurant serves a la carte while the restaurant’s famous brunch is served during Sundays.

“I come to this restaurant once a week. Today is my first brunch experience here. But I do prefer to come for lunch during the weekdays. My office is not far from here.

Besides, I believe this is the best restaurant in town. The quality of food, the menu is excellent and well prepared, you can be granted for healthy and quality of the product, the meat is tender and well cooked and presented well. Besides, the managers are very good. This makes it my favorite restaurant,” explained Denys Toscano, Ambassador of Ecuador to Ethiopia.

Ken spends most of his time in the kitchen as he is the main chef. However, he comes out of the kitchen now and then to check on the customers and to observe their feelings about the meal that he prepares.

“The response from our customers is very nice. I am a kind of chef who wants to come out of the kitchen now and then to check on the guests. I want the guests to know what they have been served and to also get their comments about it,” elaborates Ken. Ken started cooking when he was 12 years old. He then went to cooking school and enhanced his knowledge. During his spare time and on weekends, he used to cook in different restaurants even while he was a student. Ken added, “I love challenges and I like cooking all kinds of food.”

Among the many European and specifically Belgian dishes, the steak in Le Grand Rêve is chosen by many. One steak along with a bottle of coke costs 300 ETB and if it’s a glass of wine, the price goes up to 500 ETB depending on the customers selection of the wine. “The local meat here is very good. The potential in this country is very huge,” noted Ken. Le Grand Rêve’s selection of wine is also admired by many of their customers. In the middle of the restaurant there is a wooden shelf on which there are selections of wine bottles.

The restaurant has both local and foreign customers. Dr. Akpaka Kalu shared his experience while dining in Le Grand Rêve, “Usually I don’t eat much. But I always enjoy the food in this restaurant. It’s my third time here in the last one and half month.

The food is good and that’s why I keep on coming back. The service is good. The staff is very friendly. They ask you if you like the food and so on and that’s good.”

Photo by: Dawit Tolossa

Ambassador Denys also said that the restaurant offers one of the best services in town. He added, “I prefer everything in this restaurant. I sometimes have salmon and chicken on another time and then beef. At the end of the day, I enjoy every-

thing. However, if I have to be specific, the tenderloin is excellent. Regarding service, they have some good waiters and some of them are not. If we compare the standard of this restaurant with others in town; this should be the best. Somehow they are better trained.”

However, for Ken and Wagagen getting trained staff remains a challenge. According to Ken his plan was to have many branches by now. But this couldn’t happen as there is a huge shortage of skilled human power.

Ken explained: “I cannot blame chefs if they don’t know how to cook. There is no proper schooling and that’s the problem.

Besides, this lack of knowledge creates lack of confidence in them.”

The other challenge the couples are facing in running the restaurant is lack of inconsistency on the product they get from suppliers. Starting from chicken to cream and butter and some ingredients for their pastry.

Le Grand Rêve imports about 80 percent of the ingredients they use from abroad. This is mainly because they couldn’t get the level of quality they wanted in the country. “I don’t want to buy imported stuff. I would like to have everything locally sourced. It’s more beneficial for me. It’s cheaper and better in quality. But the suppliers don’t do it properly,” elaborates Ken. Wagagen added, “The biggest problem in this country is lack of consistency. What’s good today is not tomorrow. This is mainly due to lack of passion for the work and as the same time not looking to the future.”

They both agree that the supply is improving from time to time comparing with what they had been facing six years ago. They suggest that the local farmers and suppliers need to be trained well on how they should supply their customers. Besides, there has to be regulation and control methods on items.

For Wagagen and Ken, these challenges didn’t make them loose hope. They both agree that the challenges are making them stronger. Starting from cooking till serving they almost do most of the things on their own. Together with their 20+ employees Ken and his colleagues cook more than 40 dishes on average every day. Currently Le Grand Rêve’s Sunday brunch is very famous. Besides, the place is convenient for different small family gatherings, birthdays, engagement celebrations, business lunches, dinners and the likes Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 21

Hospitality 3600: E-Depth

Addis Ababa

Hotel Owners Association: Building Resilience within the Industry The hotel business in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is growing fast as the city is becoming one of the top tourist destinations in Africa. These hotels have formed an association some 19 years ago to stay strong and overcome their challenges in the industry. Currently the Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Association (AHA) has 90 member hotels and performing well despite its gaps. The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA analyzes the performance of the Association since its establishment to look into its major success stories and failures.

It can be said that the Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Association (AHA) has been going through lots of ups and downs since its establishment almost two decades ago in 1997. But it seems this year has been a successful one for AHA as it realized its long-term dream, to issue a hotel guide publication disributed free of charge to its members on spot.

The publication, which includes detailed information about its member hotels, has played a great role in promoting member hotels and Addis Ababa at the Berlin ITB, the largest international trade fair, which was held on March 9-13, 2016. During the fair AHA distributed 150 copies of the guide.

“There were antagonistic relationships among some hotels and the remaining hotels were reluctant to join or stay on as members,” Fisseha told The Eminence.

Before reaching this level and expanding its scope, AHA which was formerly named as Ethiopian Hotel & Restaurants Employers Association, had faced several challenges trying to cater to the needs of its members. One of its major challenges was that its 20 members were divided among each other, according to Fisseha Sahelle, Executive Secretary of AHA’s Board of Directors and General Manager of Empire Addis Hotel.

But this was not the only problem of the Association. By and large, the association develops in conjunction with the members’ development. Since the hotel business was not as competitive as to threaten the market, most hotels had doubts of the advantages of joining the Association. But as time has passed, things have changed and AHA has begun to address this problem by expanding its members and widening its scope of intervention. But then

22 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016

it faced another challenge of addressing all of the challenges from its members as it was experiencing capacity constraints.

Finally in 2004 it got itself into order and elected its board of directors for the first time by drafting an article of association. Before reaching that level, the Association had faced budget constraints which extended to push for seeking aid from the Africa Initiative. Even though it was less active before 2004, by 2001 it had helped its members in advocacy when the member hotels were troubled with cash register machine and Value Added Tax (VAT) compliance issues. As a result it saved 14 hotels from shutting down

membership and have no idea about the role of the Association,” Dagmawit Shoaferaw, marketing manager of Foyat told The Eminence. Her hotel prefers to solve its electric and network interruption challenges on its own. by the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority.

The Association became stronger when it elected the existing board members in 2006.

The number of the members rose to 59, and for the first time during the tenure of this board, its revenues from membership fees increased at the same time. Before 2006 the membership fee was 1,500 ETB per annum for all hotels.

Currently the fee is monthly and it is calculated based on the number of rooms a member hotel has. For instance a hotel with over 201 rooms will pay 1,200 ETB per month.

As a result the Association managed to increase its annual revenue from 20,000 ETB to 500,000 ETB. AHA rented its own office at CMC and hired a management staff when it left its former office at Ambassador Cinema which was not paying rent to the government.

Currently AHA has 90 members and two more hotels are in the process of joining. It exceeded its plan to reach 80 members. Furthermore it’s goal is to reach 120 members by the end of 2016.

The Association may face challenges in attaining this as there are some hotels that do not know about the role of the Association.

And also some underestimate the importance of being a member despite efforts made by the Association to inform them by sending its marketers to talk with the hotels.

One of the hotels that is not aware of AHA performances is Foyat Hotel, a new hotel in Bole area. “We have not thought about

Board members of AHA on a meeting with member hotels

Perhaps this gap in promoting its works to non-member hotels could be attributed to the Association, but there are member hotels which are not yet satisfied by the performances of AHA. Hailu Assefa, general manager of Cyan City Hotel, a three star hotel at Atlas area, is one of them. He is unhappy because the Association does not call its members for meetings to discuss the challenges they are facing. The hotel sector is suffering from the disagreements between the profession and the practice, according to Hailu.

But for Fesseha this would be impossible as the Association cannot ask every hotel about their problems and resolve individual problems. Still, doing that is very necessary, according to Hailu, who mentioned that the owners’ interference in the industry is affecting the hotel business in general.

“Most owners hire their relatives who are not professionals, forcing professionals under them to change their profession,” Hailu said, suggesting the Association should aggressively work on training the owners.

As a solution, according to Lud Abiy general manager of AHA, the Association intends to take batches of hotel owners and managers to the Netherlands so that they can experience the hospitality industry outside Ethiopia.

In addition, according to Lud, the Association is working on giving trainings for professionals in the hotel industry to tackle shortages of trained human resources and to build human capacity of member hotels. It gives trainings to managers, owners and other employees by working with a company named PUM Netherlands Experts.

Since last year PUM has sent experts to the Association. So far 20 trainings, including marketing, online penetration, and food and beverage service have been given to owners, managers and other employees. In addition to PUM the Association has partnered with GHH, a Dubai-based training company to further enhance skills within the hotel sector.

“The trainings are given because the sector is in short of professionals. Even if many students are graduating from different universities and colleges, they are not practically qualified.

So it is important that the Association gives a crash course for the students and arrange apprenticeships at hotels,” Lud says.

In protecting the interest of its members the association has 15 seats in the Ethiopia Tourism Transformation Council which is chaired by the prime minister and within the Tourism Transformation Board.

“This is a key for the Association to have a say and influence policies that affect the interest of its members,” Lud told The Eminence.

Gezahegn Abate, International and Public Relations Director at Ministry of Culture and Tourism, testifies that the Association has played a role in protecting the interest of its members during the latest star rating system made by the ministry in collaboration with the World Tourism Organization.

“It had been involved by observing the process to avoid bias. And also the Association is the one that recommended the rating to be done by foreign experts,” said Gezahegn.

Having all the aforementioned success stories, the Association has still failed in meeting some of its targets including: maintaining standard services, expanding the types of its membership, working with other tourism stakeholders, increasing its revenues, developing destinations, extending tourist’s length of stay, and bringing international conferences.

As a long-term plan the Association aspires to establish a federation to assist hotels in regional cities to establish associations. It also plans to publish industry reports every three month, but could not be realized until now though it had planned to do so before the end of 2015.

The publication will help the hotels to get information about the industry and compare and check themselves with the market.

Lud attributes hotels’ lack of willingness to provide data and their poor data management system as the major reasons for not launching the publication.

To grow more and become strong, according to Kumneger Tektel, managing director of Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group and former board director of the Association, the Association must do two major things: intensive finance campaigns from international financers and draft an active marketing strategy for the benefit of its members

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Cultural Panorama : History and Diplomacy

Ethio-Israeli Relations: Re-exploring ancient ties Ethiopia and Israel have long standing strong ties in several areas including historical, religious, diplomatic, political and economical. Beyond that these two nations enjoy unique ties through the Beta Israel [Ethiopian Jews]. On top of that in June 2016 Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel was in Addis Ababa, becoming the first prime minister of Israel in 30 years to visit Ethiopia. The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA, reports what steps the two countries’ historical and diplomatic relationship has gone through, on what bases and what the two countries are hoping to achieve from their future relationship.

The informal diplomatic as well as societal relationships of Ethiopia and Israel dated back 3,000 years with the visit of Ethiopian Queen Sheba to King Solomon of Israel according to the old Ethiopian Book of Kebre Negest.

Since then the two countries have strong ties in different areas including socio-economic, religious and diplomatic relations.

To this effect among many Ethiopian elders, it is common to hear them evoking ‘Ye Isreal Amalak’ while praying which means ‘The God of Israel’. In addition, over 7,000 Ethiopian pilgrims travel to Jerusalem, a city of Israel which is considered as holy land among the Christians, Jews and Muslims. On the other hand around 140,000 Israeli tourists visit Ethiopia ever year.

At the same time there are Ethiopian Jews who live in Ethiopia such as Bethlehem Gebrahiwot and her Israel citizen husband Henok Gebrahiwot (MD) who came back to Ethiopia after living for a long time in Jerusalem. The couple established a local NGO named Bete Sayda which is working on health and education.

Jews are believed to have migrated to Ethiopia in the 870 A.D before the destruction of the last temple, following the directions of the Nile Basins according to some historians from Yemen. Since the time they emigrated and established their settlement in the Northern parts of the country, these Ethiopian Jew groups

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have been following the old books and rituals of Judaism. They were disconnected for years from other Jewish communities which make them uninformed of the late books, Talmud and Meshina.

According to Betelhem, these two countries have strong bonds. She testifies that she was in Israel when ‘Operation Solomon’, an operation that moved more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel within 24 hours during the down fall of the Derg Regime, took place. And the hospitality of the Israel people to Ethiopians was distinct than they did for Jews who came from other parts of the world.

“It was us the Ethiopian Jews who was there to help the new immigrant Ethiopian Jews, but the Israelis were the one who were hugging and kissing them with their kibe (A traditional smelling hair oil) while we were not close enough to them,” Bethlehem recalls.

“I didn’t see the same hospitality from Israeli Jews towards Russian Jews who account for one million of the total 8 million Jewish population in Israel or for others,” she added.

This hospitality towards the Ethiopian Jews was accompanied with other exclusive privileges of owning houses, getting loans, access to higher education and reduction in the years of military service, according to Bethlehem.

“After we returned to Ethiopia we opened the

first Hebrew language center. Amazingly many people including people from churches joined our school. Later we added a history class.

Then we observed our students were more eager to attend the latter. Without going further this is enough to show how the Ethiopian communities have a strong tie with Israel,” Henok shared his experience.

Many grounds can be mentioned to explain this strong societal tie of these nations. The resemblance in the rituals of Judaism and Ethiopian Orthodox Church can be said one of them. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has inherited many rituals from Judaism including the rituals of temple, the three court structure of the interior structure of the church, the dressing style of the clergy and others.

“The history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church begins with the synagogue [a building used for Jews religious services] then turned into church and now we have 50,000 parish churches. And the reason why the church stood non-disintegrated is, because it maintained its Jewish roots,” said the late Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church during the 4th All African Israel Day in June, 2010, strengthening the above assertion.

The second ground is related with the Ethiopia Jews as a bridge. While the true origins of the Jews in other parts of the world have to be still clarified, the Ethiopian group was ascertained 400 years before. There are also some who

While the two people have this kind of long aged historical bond, their political diplomacy is not as aged as their people to people diplomacy. It was in the 1956 that the two countries established formal diplomatic relationships and Israel opened its second largest embassy in Addis Ababa next to New York.

“By the time a lot of activities have been taking place in the embassy including military trainings and other technical support,” Belaynesh Zevadia, Israel Ambassador in Ethiopia told The Eminence.

But that did not last long because the two countries suspended their diplomatic relations in 1974 along with other African states mainly due to the Arab-Israeli war.

According to Zelalem Birhanu, director of the Middle East desk in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that happened because Ethiopia had been pressured by Arab nations as well as the Eritrea issue and wanted to be impartial towards both sides.

“But as a principle we and the African Union member countries believe the Palestinians have the right to determine their fate by their own and this is always our stand,” Zelalem noted.

However the relationship again resumed in 1989 with new cooperation areas, while the

http://www.thetower.org http://www.geneticlitracyproject.org

http://1bp.blogspot.com/ http://embassies.gov.il/ explain the strong tie between the two nations with the housing of the lost ark of the covenant of Moses in Ethiopia.

former interaction area was mostly military support. After the resumption the main focus of their relation was on ‘economic diplomacy’ with cooperation in agriculture, technology and infrastructure.

horticulture. The second largest horticulture investing company next to Holland is owned by an Israeli investor, In addition, 200 Israeli companies obtained licenses to invest in Ethiopia.

Since the resumed relationship, the early July’s Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel visit to Ethiopia was the greatest milestone for the two countries. During his two days stay he met Hailemariam Desalgne Prime Minister of Ethiopia and discussed on their diplomatic relationships.

While the Ethiopian government aspires to get technical support from Israel, the Israel government in exchange expects the diplomatic support of Ethiopia both in regaining its observer status at the African Union and to grant support within the United Nations.

“It was a landmark visit and we have discussed how to get more technical support and scientific advancement. Negotiating on the basis of mutual benefit were conducted, there is a lot we have to learn from Israel. They are experienced in technology in agriculture (growing seeds in arid and semi-arid areas). We also need their technical support in technology and security,” Zelalem said.

Netanyahu’s presence was not only for diplomatic relations rather to improve the two countries’ commercial and economic interactions as he came with 70 member Israeli business delegation.

The companies showed interest to engage in agriculture, mining, water irrigation and ICT sectors.

Currently there are around 53 Israel companies operating in Ethiopia engaged in chemical industry, construction, heath, mining and

“It was in 2002 that the late Libyan President, Mohammed Gadafi lobbied members of African Union using money against Israel to lose its observer status in AU. So the main visit of our prime minister is to discuss with Ethiopia to support his country in regaining this status and also to get Ethiopian vote in the Security Council,” Belaynesh explained.

But for Henok Gebrahiwot (MD) who studied Jewish History and Ethio-Israel relations, the Ethio-Israeli political relationship was not balanced unlike the strong societal relations mainly due to the voting behavior of Ethiopia.

“Ethiopia tends to vote against Israel many times,” Henok commented.

But this does not sound right for Zelalem mentioning the voting behavior of Ethiopia on its principle i.e people’s right to determine their own fate by their own

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Cultural Panorama : Traveling Ethiopia

Harar:

The ancient walled city that appeals to both spiritual seekers and hedonists Harar is the only city in Ethiopia which is surrounded by a wall. Sanga Ber, Erer Ber, Fallana Ber, Shewa Ber and Buda Ber are the five gates of Harar that let visitors and inhabitants in and out of the city. This City is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ethiopia due to its ancient history and architecture and the residents’ way of living. The Eminence’s FREHIWOT GEBREWOLD, visited this ancient city and presents this.

Harar is one of the historical cities of Ethiopia. The city has succeeded in preserving its history and tradition, and as a result earned its moniker ‘‘The living museum where the past embraces the present.” Harar Jugal the wall that surrounds this historical city was registered by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2006 as one of the World Heritage sites of the country.

This Wall was constructed by Amir Nur bin Mujahid in 1551-52. The main reason for the construction of the wall was to protect the City from invaders of the time. The wall covers a total area of 48 hectares and has a total circumference of 6,666 cubits. The wall is four meters tall and is between 50 and 75 centimeters thick. While the 6,666 circumference represents the number of verses in the Holy Quran, the five gates are related with the five pillars of Islam.

Islam is the dominant religion of Harar. Because it has many mosques, Harar is considered as the fourth most sacred Islamic city in the world after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. In fact, the people of Harar accepted Islam eight years before the people of Medina which makes the society among the first to follow Prophet Mohammed.

There are 82 mosques inside Jugal. What’s unique

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is that, some mosques are situated within an average of a 100 meters distance. The inhabitants say this is for having every family member in the mosques for prayers. The mosques are witnesses of how the people of Harari are determined and respectful to their religion.

In addition, in Jugal there are 438 Shrines, Awaaches as the locals call them. The Shrines are where Islamic scholars are buried. This shows the town’s very rich culture and history towards the religion of Islam. The city is also called “The City of Saints.”

Its location has made the city a commercial center for Ethiopia and Middle Eastern countries. The biggest market, Gidir Magala is also the oldest market in Harar. It is a place where one can find almost everything, starting from everyday consumer items to cultural dresses and jewelry and household items. The people of Harar go to this market place not only to sell and buy things but also to chat and socialize.

Harar is the second city after Axum in East Africa to mint its own coins. The coins were made from gold, copper and bronze. The different coins of Harar are now exhibited

at Sherif Harar City Private Museum and Harari Cultural Center.

There are four museums in Harar. One of the museums, Sherif Harar City is a privately owned museum where Harari cultural songs, manuscripts, old Islamic books and archeological findings are displayed. The Harari Cultural Center is owned by the community.

The major items on display in this museum include wooden household commodities, Quran learning and binding materials, coins and other artifacts.

Apart from the museums, the place where many tourists visit is the Mohammed Ali House. This house is said to have been con structed during the Egyptian occupation of the city. The building served as a resident for the Turkish Consul in Harar and then as a commercial center. People now visit this building because of its artistic wooden arts.

Currently the building is under renovation by the Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA).

Photo by: Frehiwot Gebrewold

Harari’s traditional houses are different in that they are uniquely decorated. The walls of the houses are covered with different utensils and colorful basketry. Harari women play a prominent role in keeping their houses clean and beautiful. They are the ones who make the colorful basketries. When hanging these baskets on the walls, one has to know their precise places as each and every basket has its own specific place.

For those who are interested in visiting archeological sites and caves, Harar is the place.

Mural arts of diverse animals are found in Kimeit and Olad sites which are situated 10 kms from the city. One of the pieces of rock art, Seqa Sherifa, is also found in Harari Region, 15 kms from Harar. The site is discovered during the first half of the 20th century.

Aw Kokohey, Aw Said Ali and Aw Hakim are some of the caves in Harar.

Hyena and eagle feeding are two major activities that are performed by both local or foreign tourists and visitors. The eagle feeding takes place in Gidir Magala, the traditional market place. People put meat on their heads and hands so that the eagles fly over them and take the meat. Many people enjoy this.

The hyena feeding is scary; however, it is one of the reasons many people visit Harar.

The hyena feeding started in Harar many years ago. According to Harari residents, when it gets dark hyenas come out of the shadows and collect the garbage in the city.

Over time, people started handfeeding the hyenas and it has now become a show and an activity to be enjoyed by many visitors.

Harar has the most pleasant climate. The temperature of the town is between 17.1oc and 20.2oc throughout the year.

The average

annual amount of precipitation is about 750 to 1,000 mm, and the mean amount of rainfall is 850 mm. Because of that, walking in between the walls of the town is very enjoyable.

The people of Harar are very welcoming. As long as one respects the culture of the people, their religion and way of living, then Harar is a great place to live.

The city is currently experiencing a construction boom especially in building hotels, lodges and traditional guest houses for visitors and tourists. Currently, many people stay at Ras Hotel when visiting this historical city.

Though Harar doesn’t have an airport, a visitor can fly to Dire Dawa and then drive to Harar which is 58 Kms. Additionally, buses and minibuses travel from Addis Ababa and other towns in the country to Harar every day

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Cultural Panorama : Art and Literature

Dire Dawa’s March band:

The Last Vestige of a Proud School Tradition It was common for most schools to have a student marching band back in the day, but now it can be said that the trend does not exist anymore. The main reason being that, teaching music has been cut as a subject from the educational curriculum of the country. But Dire Dawa City Administration Education Bureau established and maintains a marching band which is performing well. The Eminence’s KALEAB HAILU took time with band members and an official from the city education bureau to explore more about the band.

Photo by: Frehiwot Gebrewold

band named Dire Dawa Education Bureau Students March Band.

“There used to be marching bands in abundance during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I. However, the Derg regime restricted youth movements through various sanctions and as a result extracurricular activities such as marching bands, scout programs and the like began to fade away,” said Daniel Tadesse, core process owner of the curriculum department in the Dire Dawa education bureau and conductor and instructor of the Dire Dawa students’ marching band.

Members of Dire Dawa Education Bureau students Marching Band performing on the book fair that was held in Dire Dawa.

Music used to widely available as part of the education curriculum during the imperial regime and was supported by the government. This created an opportunity for various schools such as Teferi Mekonnen and Menelik II secondary schools in Addis Ababa to have their own music programs and march bands.

This practice was also common in other regions of the country including

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in Nazreth (Adama) with Gelawdewos School marching band, in Dessie, Wollo with Weyzero Shene School marching band and in Harar with Medhanalem School marching band were among them.

Presently, music is not included in the curriculums of most schools and school marching bands do not exist at all. The city of Dire Dawa though is an exception to this as it has a marching

The marching band was operating at a school level with minor instruments and started to perform in the city at different celebratory occasions. After witnessing the benefits of the band the education bureau wanted to make it a regional program.

The bureau head of that time Fuad Mohammed approved the plan of making the program at a regional level and under the supervision of the city’s administration. It then became the Dire Dawa Education Bureau Students marching band in 2007.

The administration cabinet approved 1.01 million birr to purchase music

Currently, the band has four clarinets, four alto saxophones, three tenor saxophones, two trombones, four trumpets and four major drums. Students are recruited to perform in the marching band from seven public schools in the city. The members of the band are selected from 5th grade and above who have ranking between 1st and 15th in their academic performances.

“Band members are recruited from public schools because performances may come in the middle of the school year and to get permission to be absence from the private schools might be a bit complicated,” Daniel explains.

“Moreover, the public schools have two shifts and the private schools only have one shift, so that also tightens the rehearsal schedule needed for the band,” added Daniel who joined the band in 2009 when he was a teacher in Kezira primary school.

The Dire Dawa marching band is the only complete student marching band in the country having a wide array of instruments, drums and trombones. The marching band allows public school students in Dire Dawa to learn music and have a bright future in the music industry.

Gelila Gezahegn, 12, is the youngest member of the band. Despite her age, standing among the first in line, Gelila beats on her drums strapped to her little body with a confidence which is commonly expected from a professional musician. She has been playing the drum in the marching band for the past two years.

“I chose to play the drum because it goes with my height. As I am a bit short and the drum doesn’t need me to be taller than I am now,” Gelila told The Eminence while smiling.

“The music skills I obtain from playing in this band are very important to my future life because I plan to have a music career after I graduate from college,” she added.

The band is helping the youth of Dire to acquire musical skills. Henok Tatek, 14, is one of those reaping the benefits. He goes to Mariam Sefer Primary and Secondary School and he plays trumpet in the band.

“I play with the band because I have great passion for music and I want to be a musician when I grow up. I am acquiring the necessary skills for my dream. Apart from that, I spend

most of my time practicing my music so I refrain from engaging in inappropriate activities around my neighborhood,” he said.

As a norm in most Ethiopian families, there is a wide misconception that music deters young musicians from attending school. Music is considered a distraction from their school work rather than a productive hobby. But this is not a problem with this particular marching band, according to Abdusemed Mohammed, head of the Dire Dawa Administration Education Bureau.

the bureau pays that rent out of the retained 30 percent.”

Unfortunately, the Band is facing challenges with the lack of accompanying brass instruments and professional drums are lacking the most.

The shortage of educated musicians to train the children is also another problem. “This marching band should be supported because it has various benefits. If there is no support to the band to fill in the missing professional instruments

“Most people think that these students will overlook their education, focusing on the music. But there is a basic criterion that requires students to keep up good grades to continue in the marching band. A student will be expelled if he/she scores low grades. So, the students have to perform well in both their academic education and the marching band as well,” he explains.

Daniel supports Abdusemed’s assertion saying, “We guide our musicians on how to effectively utilize the 24 hours in a day. Their schooling is a priority because their education is very crucial for their success in life. Because of this, students that have been left behind more than once will be cut from the band line.”

The same goes for Henok, trumpeter in the band, “If my grades get lower I know that I cannot continue with the band, so I always attend classes and study to maintain my good grade not to separate from my passion, music,” he told The Eminence.

Apart from academic performances, discipline is also a necessity in playing in the students marching band. These young musicians should not miss class or do not have discipline violation records at their schools.

The Band charges a modest amount of 5,000 birr to perform at various events in and around Dire Dawa. In the past the Band was not charging to perform but now it has started charging to support the band with 70 percent of the performance fees while the 30 percent is retained by the education bureau.

The bureau, however, doesn’t use the retained amount, according to Abdusemed. He explains, “The 30 percent is retained for some necessary expenses of the marching band. For instance, the band uses the railway sports club arena for rehearsals at a monthly rent of 3,000 birr. So,

Photo by: Frehiwot Gebrewold

instruments to make the band a semi-complete marching band.

and other challenges as well, the future of the band might be compromised,” Daniel noted.

With respect to this, the education bureau has submitted a proposal to the cabinet office requesting a budget to address the challenges.

“If it is possible, the cabinet will try to squeeze the proposal request into the reserve budget for this fiscal year. But if not, I am confident that the proposal will be included in next year’s budget,” Abdusemed said

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Made in Ethiopia : Life Style

Summer Summer Camps Camps www.addisfortune.net

Encouraging Children to Open up to New Experiences

Unlike schools, summer camps keep the children busy with more of entertaining activities and sports as it is seen in the pictures.

Families like Zewede Mamo, have a very busy lifestyle and often take care their children in their home during the summer months- a period where students take a break from their academic engagements. So families like Zewede prefer to send their children to summer camps, places where the children can spend their days playing and undertaking different activities with their peers.

While schoolchildren could have spent their time engaged in different activities during this season, the usual trend in Ethiopia is that they either play in the neighborhood or become idle around home. But with the introduction of new leisure centers like summer camps in the capital, this trend is now undergoing changes.

Parents especially those who lead a busy lifestyle like Zewede, are now seeing summer camps as one way of protecting their children from bad influences that comes from lack of parental follow up, but not all of them believe so. Others who do not lead a busy lifestyle also bring their children to summer camps out of pressure and competition.

Not only Zewede, the businessman, but also

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his wife finds it very tough to stay at home with their children, so they brought their daughter to summer camp because of her own pressure. “Sometimes I might even work during weekends. So does my wife,” he explained.

Mesert’s teenage daughter, Loza is happy with her time at Coach Carlos’ Summer Camp which is located at Welo Sefer. She said it is worth spending the summer at a camp than sitting at home watching movies.

Even if his major reason is his busy lifestyle Zewede decided to send his daughter to summer camp, because he wanted her to relax as she sat for the 8th grade national exams. He believes it is good for his daughter to interact with new people at the camp other than the friends she knows from school.

“I improved my basketball playing skills after I joined the summer camp and also managed to lose some weight,” said Loza. Her friends Nekodimos Solomon and Natan Gizachew also agree with her.

“She has been stressed the whole year due to the national exam. But after she joined the summer camp she is getting very active and happy,” Zewede explained the changes of his daughter.

“It is not that easy to manage your children this time. They ask you a lot of things looking at their peers. And as a parent it is hard to say ‘no’. Even if you say no they spend their time at home sitting, eating and watching movies which gets them overweight and dizzy,” Meseret Yirga a housewife with plenty of time to follow up her daughter reasoned.

“Even though I have a basketball court at home, here it is different as we play as a team which helps me to perform well,” Nekodimos explained.

Hence it seems the inclination of these teenagers that nowadays the summer camps are gaining popularity in the city. Coach Carlos Summer Camp is in fact a pioneer. Celebrating its 11 years anniversary, the summer camp’s branches have now reached five. This camp mainly focuses on sport activities such as table tennis, ground tennis, basketball, soccer, swimming and different gymnastics costing the students 2,250 ETB for a full day and 1,950 ETB for half day.

According to the manager of the Welo Sefer

Photo by: Sentayehu Bekele

Families in cities most of the time lead a busy lifestyle by spending their most time pursuing their careers. This pursuit eats into what little time they spend with their children. This gap can be more pronounced during the summer breaks when their children spend most of their time at home. To mitigate this gap, families are now sending their children to summer camps where the children spend their day engaging with different entertaining and sport activities.

The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA took time to explore the emerging summer camp trend and business in Addis Ababa.

branch of the camp, Dejene Tesfaye, the number of students who join their summer camps has increased this year to 100 from 70 last year. The total number of students in the five Coach Carlos Camps has now reached 700 students. With the increase in number of the students, the types of activities in the camp have also increased.

“Previously the camp was giving basketball training to students. But this time it has also included other activities such as tennis, gymnastics, swimming and language courses,” Dejene said.

Following the footsteps of Coach Carlos other summer camps are also joining the business. One of these is located at Bisrat Gebreal International School bearing the name BIL. It was established two years back targeting the Diaspora community who come in summer to visit their relatives.

As compared to the summer camp of Coach Carlos the type of activities in this camp does not focus in sport

activities. Equally it provides courses on painting, music, and academic courses of mathematics and formal English with a payment of 4,500 ETB with swimming and 3,500 ETB without swimming per student for a full day.

According to Biruk Teketel, general manager and co-founder of the camp the number of students who join BIL is increasing. According to Biruk last year the camp had 20 students but this time the number reached 40.

Biruk attributed the reasons behind the growing trend of bringing children to summer camps to the social media which is promoting it. And another reason he mentions is the changes in the thinking of the contemporary parents who believe summer camps help children to have fun and also learn skills.

The same as the Summer camps have the benefits of making the teenagers busy by different games and somehow helping time pressed parents from worrying about their children, which does not mean it does not have a side effect.

“Just like the good peers they interact at the camps they also may be introduced with teenagers with dangerous habit. The shower rooms, lockers and other rooms within the camps might also expose them to learn bad habits. But it is just thinking they can manage all these things by their own that is why I send my child to the camps,” says Mesert recognizing the negative impacts.

Her fears are also shared by Zewdie. But he thinks this could also happen at schools and he considers talking openly with his children about their day in the camp as a solution. But to Mesert this is not enough.

She recommends a serious follow up from the camp staffs on how the interaction of the teenagers goes and serious checks of the facilities in the camp like washing rooms.

“It is also very essential to make sure that the children are really attending the camps as they may stay out interrupting the games,” Mesert said.

These fears from parents are the major challenges for camp owners. “Some families have fears towards their children might learn bad habits in summer camps while we are actually trying to teach them good things,” Biruk complained.

In fact the fear of the parents is not groundless. Even though they see no special risks in summer camps than at schools some social workers like Hirity Yibaleh, an educational expert at GIZ who did her second degree in social work confirms it with higher degree.

“The fact that the teenagers have more time to socialize with each other and they are not busy with academic courses, so it may increases their degree of exposure to learn bad habits. But there is no special kind of risk in summer camps than at schools,” Hirity explains.

Regarding the mental impacts on the teenagers she said the refreshment of the students depends on the type of activities that take place in the camps. According to her if the main activities are music and sports the students will spend the summer pursuing activities that refresh their young minds and allow them to be active in the new academic year. But if the main activates in the camp are academic courses they will begin the new academic year with more stress, she concludes

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Made in Ethiopia : Fashion

Resurrecting traditional designs Most of the clothes worn by Ethiopians are imported or semi processed abroad. This is in contradiction from the former culture of the country which the country used to manufacture clothes locally with local garments. But Designer Wossene Hialu, owner of Wossi Design Garment, has made it practical in manufacturing locally made clothes for the local market in addition to selling them abroad. The Eminence’s FASIKA TADESSE took time with Wossene to learn more about her factory, vision and aspiration in the fashion industry.

During the Imperial regime Ethiopians used to wear traditional costumes made of woven cotton.

Both Ethiopian men and women wear this traditional costume called Gabbi or Netella.

seven years back after returning from California, USA and started manufacturing women clothing such as dresses, jackets, top bodies, leather wears, bridal wears, coats and pants and also buys.

Women often wear dresses (Kemis) and Netella with borders of colored embroidered some incorporating woven crosses. On the other hand men wear pants and a knee-length shirt with a white collar. All these clothes were made locally using local raw materials.

International fashion designer Wossene used to work at US based international fashion designing companies such as Ann Chery and California Girl Design, as a senior designer and also at Macy’s Department store.

But since the last couple of decades the costumes of many Ethiopians has changed with urban clothing which most of the finished garments are imported from different countries. These works were more or less exclusive for urban dwellers excluding inhabitants in the rural towns of the country who still wear those Ethiopian traditional costumes.

So that, in urban areas it is common to see women attired with modern dresses, pants and top bodies that are made from different imported garments. At the same time men wear imported pants mostly jeans, t-shirts, jackets and shirts those are also designed and sewed abroad.

But Wosenne Hailu, an entrepreneur and fashion designer, has targeted to compete with the imported urban wears by the clothes she manufactures locally. To achieve this goal she established Wossi Garment Design Factory

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According to Wossene as the market is a niche market her company offers a four package services. Her services include patterns, in which the garments are traced onto fabric before being cut out and assembled; grading, where the scaling of a pattern to a different size by implementing important points of the pattern using an algorithm in the clothing and footwear industry; sizing the process of creating a range of sizes for a single style and tailoring the clothes.

This is unlike many companies which only provide sewing services by receiving readymade garments.

She makes the clothes at her own plant located at Nifas Silk lafto industrial village which is situated around Saris Abo Church. She has hired 30 permanent staff to make the clothes after giving them a 45 days prior training.

“If I receive orders in bulk, I have a deal with the locals who have the skills of sewing to work

for me as they are always privileged to use my machines for their own works,” Wossene told The Eminence.

Most of the time she uses imported organic cotton from Egypt as locally produced cotton are not certified as organic cotton, according to Wossene.

She uses the cotton she imported as it is or by fusing it with Ethiopian traditional Tilet, an embroidered border which has different designs on it, based on the preference of her costumers.

Wossene who was crowned as Miss Addis Ababa in 1968 when she was 18, is selling her products both in the local and international market. From the local market most of her costumers are boutiques which order her products in bulk.

On the other hand she exports her products to Germany, Italy, Australia, Senegal and California in USA. In addition to that she once used the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) incentive to sell her clothes to the US. “Most of the local boutiques who order me to make clothes don’t accept my clothes with Wossi Garment label rather they provide me labels which say ‘Made in Italy’,’’ claims Wossene. ‘‘This is because they believe that they might not get buyers if the clothes have the ‘Made in Ethiopia’ label,” she added.

To showcase her products she has participated on several fashion and trade shows both locally and internationally. From the shows she participated on includes, Hub of Africa 2015, German Ethiopian Economic Conference (GEECON) in Cologne, Germany in 2013, Los Vegas Trade show in 2014, and in different shows that was held in California. Furthermore, she has her sample designs at California and Miami showrooms.

In addition to that she was a costume designer by designing all the clothes for Professor Haile Gerima’s much acclaimed movie Teza which was produced and recorded in Ethiopia and Germany in 2008. Moreover she supplies uniforms for different companies, worked the embroidered logos for companies such as Enat Bank and the Intercontinental Addis Hotel.

As a great milestone, since the past three years she has been supplying beach wears for a Los Angeles based company named Bantu. For the company she works on pattern, grading and sewing by receiving the garments from her buyer company Bantu.

“We supply the beach suits with 3.80 dollar each while they sell it with 59 dollars,” said Wossene.

In addition to the garment production she has been teaching fashion designing at Bahir Dar University for the past four years. Plus she gave a one month long training for 128 teachers from

government vocational training schools.

In terms of challenges she mentions several in the industry. One of them is, most of the people do not have the confidence to give her full package works rather only the sewing component.

Challenges at customs while importing machineries for her factory as well as sourcing raw materials for the production process are other challenges Wossene mentions.

The other major challenge which has forced her to go forward one step ahead, is shortage of trained human resource in the sector which causes a higher turnover at her company. To solve this challenge she opened her own training institute named Wossi International Fashion Institute (WIFI) in 2014.

“The main aim of establishing the institute was to bridge the gaps between garment industry’s needs for qualified workers,” explains Wossene.

To address the challenges of the sector in an innovative way, Wossi Garment Design Factory has established a sister company as an International Fashion Institute affiliated with M. Mueller & Sohn Fashion Design & Pattern Cutting System, Germany. So far 11 German students from M. Mueller & Sohn Fashion came to the School to give classes for the students.

Each of them stayed for six months in Ethiopia teaching as an internship.

The school receives those that are qualified by the Ethiopian education system and teaches them from level 1 to 4. The school provides training for six months for regular students and 1 year for par time students during night classes and weekends. The school has 380 fashion related books that are available for all fashion students around the country for free.

Currently the school has 65 students. The first batch consisting 27 students have finished their classes and they are waiting for their graduation ceremony.

“At WIFI we teach our students not only just how to design and create their fashion designs, but also every step of the process from creation to marketing to sales and so on, so that our students will have the skills and abilities to work within many areas of the fashion industry,” Wossene said.

Ethiopia has been a recent entrant to the fashion sector and faces many teething troubles, particularly with regard to quality, productivity, garment design and pattern making. This is basically due to the lack of qualified educated personnel in this field. So WIFI was established and is capacitating special modern private institution with special programs which are capable of producing qualified and problem solving designers, merchandisers and technologist, according to her Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 35

Photo by: Sentayehu Bekele

Made in Ethiopia : Architecture and int. design

Trying to capture all of Ethiopia: a Delicate Balance of Traditional Interior Design in Restaurants Checheho Cultural Restaurant is one of the well-known Ethiopian cultural restaurants catering to both local and international customers. The restaurant was opened two years ago as a second branch next to its Bahir Dar one. The Restaurant cooks Ethiopian traditional dishes. In addition to that its interior is decorated with Ethiopian historical people and their life style. The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA reviewed the interior design of the restaurant to report this.

Checheho is a name of a small neighborhood located between Southern Gondar and Northern Welo. Checheho was founded in the 5th century following the establishment of a monastery in the place. But the name Checheho is also used for a popular cultural restaurant which is located in Addis Ababa close to Bob Marley Square located around Imperial Gerji.

The restaurant was established two years back serving Ethiopian traditional dishes with an attempt of incorporating the historical, cultural and artistic values of the different ethnicities in the country combining all this in a rural house interior look. Even though its dominant features are traditional, the restaurant also mixes a sense of modernity as well.

Constructed with modern construction materials its exterior architecture is no different to most restaurants in the city with modern designs. So there is no way that one could get an impression that it is a traditional restaurant except reading the billboards on its rooftop and the gate that has a sculpture of countryside family gathered around traditional dining table having meal.

Unlike its exterior view once a guest gets inside of the restaurant; lots of traditional features will capture his/her eyes. The restaurant

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appears dimly lit for guests coming in from the sunny outside. So to compromise this there are lights inside the restaurant which are decorated using traditional materials.

The darker ambiance can be attributed to lack of larger windows that could bring enough light inside to the restaurant. The restaurant’s acting manager Bushye Girma showed The Eminence very small windows at the top corner side of the hall which he believes can bring sufficient light to the rooms. Lack of a larger window has also prevented the room from getting enough fresh air, it was noticed.

Interior designers recommend ventilation or a large window that could bring fresh air to restaurants. According to Haftom Asmelash, an architectural freelance supervisor at Ramada Addis Hotel, the windows in the restaurant, are neither enough to replace ventilation nor to bring light in.

“There is neither suffocation nor a smell of leather,” Genet said eating a Beyaynetu cuisine.

Other than ample windows the restaurant lacks sufficient fire exits as well. The minimum global standard for fire exit is, putting fire exits in every 20 meter width.The fire exit in Checheho is just one and located in the kitchen which can be said to be an exit for kitchen staffs during emergencies.

Checheho rests on 800 square meter plot of land and the unique thing about Checheho is that, it has mezzanine floors. The mezzanine floor give an option for customers to attend the different ethnic groups traditional music shows held in the restaurant either at the top of the mezzanine floor or below it.

According to Wondye Achamyeleh, owner and interior designer of the restaurant, the inspiration behind the mezzanine floor comes from the old homes of the monarchial families in Ethiopia.

“Such kind of architectural designs were common among the royal families of Ethiopia during the past. And I designed the restaurant in a way that can reflect these historical houses,” Wondye said adding other than history he also tried to signify that Ethiopia was a well civilized state and rich with different nationalities with unique cultures.

Looking upwards to the ceiling, the political leaders of the country starting from Queen Sheba to the leaders after the formulation of the modern Ethiopian state painted on leather capture the eye.

The paintings of the political leaders are seen in the center of the ceiling while the middle of the ceiling is decorated with portrays of the well-known war leaders of the country including Alula Abanega, Belay Zeleke, Abbajifar and others.

Whereas in the corners of the ceiling the dressing styles of the different nations and nationalities of the country are displayed on leather painting.

The restaurant tries to portray all cultures and great personalities of the

country not only in the ceiling but also in its wall in the form of paintings. In the left and right wing of the walls and the upper floor of the mezzanine the historical areas of the country such as the Axum obelisk, Fasilades’ Palace, the Konso landscape, the Tiya rocks and other historical heritage and sites of the country are painted.

In the walls of the lower mezzanine paintings of endemic birds and mammals of Ethiopia are on display. The restaurant also sculptures the traditional music instruments in a concrete art at these walls. The entry door of the toilets are designed by the portraits of the grass houses of southern peoples and in each parts of the restaurant the diverse cultures of the country can be easily observed.

Even if it is good to represent all cultures of the country in the restaurant, a minimalist approach would have suffice noted interior design experts like Habtom and Selam Tesfay project manager of a new hotel project at Atlas named Welde Hotel.

Photo by: Sentayehu Bekele

But a customer who The Eminence found eating with her friend at the restaurant during lunch time, Genet Zerihun, an employee at Ethiopian Airlines did not feel any sense of suffocation unlike Haftom’s fear.

no guarantee that the restaurant will be simple as everything is determined on how the interior designer tried to represent the cultures.

On the other hand both experts liked the colors in the restaurant which complement each other.

According to Selam, elements of the furniture and spacing between dining tables and chairs don’t meet the minimum standards of interior design.

The chairs, which are shaped to have a traditional design with sculptures of the different nations and nationalities of the country, are lined up in a narrow space.

All the furnitures of the restaurant has a traditional design with sculptures representing Ethiopian different cultures.

The two interior designers have a fear of many details of cultures and the things to represent may push the restaurant to lose its simplicity. Rather than multiplying the things to represent they believe, it would have been better to place the strong and common element of Ethiopian culture.

“The restaurant lacks a certain kind of harmony. It could have unified the common elements of the different cultures and created a rather simple interior design than representing all cultures separately,” Haftom commented.

“Even by taking the common elements, the restaurant could still create a sense of difficulty,” owner of Checheho, Wondye said. He accepts the view of creating harmony but he said even if their common element is taken and the elements are harmonized, there is

The spaces between one dining table and the other does not offer free passage for the waiting staff. Plus the chairs are shorter which make them inconvenient to sit on, and also the dining tables are not comfortable to eat as they are not designed in a comfortable way, according to the experts.

On the other hand cleanness of the raw materials used for the construction and decoration of the restaurant is also an issue.The restaurant used traditional materials like leather and different kinds of wood. It is a much known fact that unprocessed leather products produce a bad smell and are not easy to clean which triggers a fear in the mind of the experts.

But Wondye defends that saying, “Even if the leather products are not industrially processed, they are traditionally dried out to remove the bad smell and we clean it using solid cleaning items”

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 37

Made in Ethiopia: Unique Ethiopia

Celebrating

Fichee-Chambalaalla in Sidama: Glimpse of New Year’s Customs

By Gezahegne Girma (ARCCH) Photo by: ARCCH

The Sidama Zone belongs to the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Regional State of Ethiopia. The Sidama Zone is divided into 19 Woredas (districts) and two city administrations. It has 14 clans with a leader named Garo, and the clans are divided into various sub-clans.

In Sidama livestock rearing is widely practiced.

Enset (false banana), along with varieties of fruits and vegetables, are key staple diets of the area. Cash crops like coffee and Khat (chat) earn income for the Sidama.

The Sidama have their own rich cultural and historical heritages. Among these is FicheeChambalaalla Ceremony [the Sidama New Year], which has been celebrated annually for centuries. The celebration begins at the family and neighborhood level but moves to the community level in a cultural square traditionally called Gudumaale.

According to oral folklore the term Fichee is derived from the name of a Sidama woman called Ficho who got married and departed from her birthplace. Ficho kept on visiting her parents and relatives every year during the Sidama New Year bringing delicious food called Buurisame, prepared from the dough of Wassa (false banana) with butter and milk.

The dishes were feasted on by all the invited neighbors of her parents until she died.

According to the oral folklore, the neighbors who used to attend the feast named the New Year Eve, Fichee, to commemorate her, and this has stood ever since as one of the unifying symbols representing the Sidama Nation.

In Fichee celebration there are sequences that

38 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016

include a social event called la’o, which means observation. The Ayaanto, traditional weather forecasters, decide the date of the Fichee holiday by observing the movement of moon and the location of the constellation of the five stars, which are known as Busa.

This year’s Fichee-Chambalaalla was celebrated on July 1, 2016; however, the exact date of Fichee varies from year to year depending on the position of the moon and the stars. The Ayaanto announces the date of Fichee to the clan leaders and the leaders summon a meeting (Songo) to be held with the adults and elders of the community who are known as Chimeessa.

During the meeting, they thoroughly discuss the event and deliberate on proclaiming the date of the ceremony to the wider community.

The clan leaders go to the market places and hang sheep skin on their long spear to announce the date of the celebration. Afterwards, the first traditional event of singing and dancing known as Safote Ketaala kicks off. According to the tradition, the Chimeessas have 15 days of fasting (usura) before the Fichee celebration.

Nine days before the celebration, they sing and dance Safote Ketaala and break their fast.

On Kawaado, the date of Fichee, the celebration starts with the event known as hulluuka which takes place in the afternoon. At this event, each household prepares a door-like shape using fresh bamboo or Garambicho tree, and erects it on a free space in front of the residence. They let all members of the household as well as the livestock pass through it.

The head of the household goes first, followed by other family members and the cattle.

This cultural event symbolizes the entrance to a new year. Accordingly, the event shows the renouncing of all the bad things of the old year left behind and accepting the new with new thinking and good wishes. This day is known as Fitari.

In the evening of the Fichee holiday, buurisame is served on a clay pan known as Shaafeeta along with milk. It is feasted on communally. The feast kicks off by an individual in the community who has a higher social status, Chimeessa who utters words of blessing ‘Fichee dirunnidiroiillishinke!’, while scattering a few parts of the food. At this time, the others echo the blessing after him, stretching their hands in the direction of the served dish. The scattering of bits of food is a sign of thanksgiving to the earth for the gift of such bounty.

In such manner, members of the community go from one neighbor’s house to another and feast all night long. The dishes served on Fichee do not include meat because the holiday is also to wish the cattle a happy New Year. Even if there is meat prepared before the holiday, it is kept away from their home during the day.

The head of a household is not supposed to spend the night of the Fichee away from home.

Due to a great significance given to this event, every member of the community who has a

are equal participants in these cultural events.

fenced in to keep the cattle away until that day.

quarrel with someone is required to make peace before the holiday, as it is badmanners to begin the New Year without making peace.

On the first day of the New Year which is known as Kawaalanka, after Fichee, a ceremony of Chambalaalla is held.

During this event, warm water is served in an earthenware bowl early in the morning and the head of the household and family members wash their faces and rub their faces with butter served along with the water.

Chambalaalla means ‘Happy New Year’ in the Sidama language. On this holiday children go door to door to their neighbors and wish them a happy New Year, saying ‘‘Ayidde Chambalaalla!’’

The neighbors respond with words of blessing saying “iille! iile!,” wishing the children to see many New Years. They also serve the children buurisame dish.

On Chambalaalla the community feeds their cattle a salty soil, known as boole, by scattering the soil onto green grass.

On this day, children who are usually responsible to keep the cattle in the field are freed from the task. The heads of households keep their cattle in a grazing area, known as kalo, which is

On the evening of Chambalaalla, girls will beautify themselves and play traditional songs and dance known as Hore with their peers. Boys also play with their peers and, then join the girls to sing and dance Faaro.

After Chambalaalla the community spends two weeks with songs and dance. This creates opportunities for the youth to get acquainted with each other and to identify potential spouses.

During this time, brides come out to the public space while accompanied by their mother-in-laws and neighbors to meet their relatives and officially complete their bridal period.

On this occasion, all community members ranging from adolescents to elders come out grouped according to their respective clan to sing and dance the traditional song and dance known as Keetaala. In this traditional dancing, the front line is taken by the chimeessa, senior elders, and the back row by youths and children. The singing and dancing of Keetaala includes both praises and condemnations of leaders, based on their deeds.

Singers and dancers of Keetaala enter gudumaale [public gathering place] in turn and sit down to receive the blessings and advice from of their clan leader. There are horse riding and competitions during Keetaala. Women

At the conclusion of the ceremony (shaashiga), the type of Keetaala which signifies that the ceremony of Fichee-fulo or the end of Fichee is performed. At this time, community groups sing and dance along with their respective clans at Gudumaale and the celebration is concluded by words of blessing of the elders (Ficheejeeji, meaning “Long live Fichee”).

Fichee Chambalaalla has social, economic, cultural, and political significance and relevance to the environmental protection of the community. It promotes peaceful coexistence of the Sidama people and with other community members.

It promotes well being and good upbringing of children, respecting and supporting the elderly, having reverence for God and abstaining from lying and denouncing theft.

Among the Sidama people, trees that have grown naturally as well as those that have been planted by people in the surrounding areas of gudumaale and the public gathering places are not cut at any time. At the end of the Fichee celebration , community members are advised to protect the environment.

Because of its rich cultural heritgage the Fichee Chambalaalla has been inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity that was proposed by Ethiopia at the tenth session of intergovernmental committee for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage on December 2, 2015 in Windhoek, Namibia. It became the second Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ethiopia to be inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity along with the Meskel Festival

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 39

Reflection: Legal Corner

Telecom Services in

Ethiopia

By Tsewaye Muluneh

Thinking of coming to Ethiopia the very first thing you would want to know is how you are going to communicate with family members, friends and may be with coworkers in your home country. You may also wonder how you can smoothen your stay in Ethiopia by having communications with different people in order to meet your purpose of visit.

Do not worry, there is telephone and internet services provided for foreigners and travelers which will help them keep in touch with all aforementioned affiliates of you.

Once you arrive in Ethiopia it won’t be hard to find Ethio Telecom (Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation) offices where you can buy a subscriber identification module (SIM) card to get the service of a telecom and internet services.

In addition to the Ethio Telecom branches, there are also authorized agents who can sell SIM cards. You can recognize these shops with the notice board they put on their shops.

The former Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) was established by Council of Ministers Regulation No. 10/1996, and is the authorized

40 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016

operator of mobile and internet services.

To buy SIM cards you need to take your passport to the nearest Ethio Telecom shop or to authorized sellers. After reviewing your valid passport and taking your photo the sellers will let you fill a form including your personal detail information. Finally after doing that you will pay 30 birr and get your own SIM card with voice, message and internet services.

After inserting the SIM card into your telephone, it will automatically work for telephone services. But you need to call 994, Ethio Telecom’s service center, to activate your internet service.

In addition to Ethio Telecom shops and authorized sellers, travelers and tourists can get local prepaid SIM cards at some hotels as well as gift shops.

Once you have activated your SIM card you will get 15 birr free airtime as a gift. But after that you have to recharge your phone buying scratch cards that have values between 5 birr to 100 birr.

You can buy these cards anywhere starting from small local shops to supermarkets.

Exceptionally in Ethiopia the caller is the only person who is charged for making calls not

the receiver, who as well pays for receiving calls in many other countries.

Ethio Telecom has two air time charging rates for voice calls; peak hour and non-peak hour.

The peak hour is between 6:00am early in the morning and 9:00pm in the evening. And non-peak hour lies between 9:00pm to 6:00am in the morning. The peak hour voice charge rate is 0.83 birr per minutes and 0.35 birr per minutes during a non-peak hour.

Text messaging has a flat rate of 0.35 birr for a single text message.

Ethio Telecom has 2G, 3G and 4G mobile internet services and a subscriber pays 0.35 birr per mega byte while using these packages.

But as a discount customers are offered daily, weekly and monthly internet packages. To get these package services a subscriber should dial to *999# and follow the steps.

Daily package includes 25 MG, 55 MG and 100 MG, with 5 birr, 10 birr and 15 birr, respectively and weekly package includes 100 MG for 20 birr and 250 MG for 50 birr. In the monthly deal there are eight types of packages starting from 500 MG to 30 GB with a price range of 85 birr to 3,000 birr

Coming Back

Reflection: Dear Ethiopia

Home

BIO

Elias Aberra, a 52 year old husband and a father of two moved to USA in 1974 but he was in Ethiopia for three weeks in March, 2016 with his family. He was in Ethiopia from Minnesota, USA to visit his country and family after 42 years. Elias is a medical technologist at Boston Scientific for 17 years. During his stay, he was part of a voluntary group which gave medical treatments for over 3,000 people in Shashemene Ethiopia.

My name is Elias Aberra. Together with my family, my wife Carla, my son Eli and my daughter Nina, we spent three weeks in Ethiopia.

Most would say “What a nice vacation!” Well, the background to this story is that I am Ethiopian. I left the country in 1974 at the age of nine and went to America with my father Aberra Tabor who was a military colonel.

It has been 42 years since I had touched the soil of my homeland, my rich culture, seeing the faces of family members, some I remember and some I had never met. From the memory of 9 years old I didn’t remember the city being so busy and populated with people.

It is amazing to see the working flow of the city. I was very surprised at the levels of poverty, I thought I had prepared myself to some degree but it affected me more than I thought it would have. It is amazing how the people coexist.

I have two younger brothers Eskinder and Tewodros living in Addis Ababa. The day I saw them was overwhelmingly emotional. I no longer speak Amharic and their English is limited. Despite the language barrier, the strong family bond was bigger than the language barrier.

I had many people who interpreted for me. I met a countless number of family and made

amazing new friends.

During our second week in Ethiopia, my family and I served as members of a medical mission in a hospital located in Shashemene, Ethiopia.

The medical mission was run by Agape Med (Ethiopian Evangelical Church in St Paul, MN) and Christian Doctors and Dentist of Ethiopia in Melka Oda Hospital of Shashemene. Agape MED outreach ministries come to Ethiopia for the third time to provide services in 2014 and 2015.

With the group we treated 3,372 patients, of those, 1,336 were treated for eye related problems and over 700 of them were provided with eyeglasses. The dentists saw 172 patients and of those 78 had tooth extractions. The group performed major surgeries on 17 patients; 11 of them had goiters removed. In addition, 35 minor surgeries were performed during our six day stay.

I found myself in the midst of an amazing group of dedicated, hardworking and faithful people with one goal in mind. The goal was to medically treat as many people as we could while serving the Lord at the same time. I would have never imagined that as a group we would be able to assist and medically treat more than 3,372 patients in a week’s time.

After the week of volunteering in Shashamene

we spent time with family. We were able to experience culture dance, traditional food, Lions Zoo, a couple different museums including the Red Terror Museum and the Haile Resort we also went to Elias Church (the oldest church in Ethiopia as I was told).

The food is amazing, we were able to spend time with family, my wife learned how to make a couple traditional Ethiopian dishes, my daughter learned how to roast coffee.

When I was a child my grandmother owned a hotel in the 1970’s, the hotel still exists, and it is run by my brother it’s called Zinash Hotel.

The people are hard working and I found education to be a number one priority.

Now that I’m older I realized that I had missed out on a lot such as my native language (I no longer speak Amharic) my family, culture and family traditions. If given the opportunity I would love for my children to spend their summers in Ethiopia so they could not only learn the history and culture of their family but also be a part of it.

I plan to return to Ethiopia in 2 years to visit family, friends and volunteer with Agape MED. I liked the beauty of the country side, the food, culture and history. The people of Ethiopia are so giving, kind, patient and very humble, I can’t tell you how proud I am to be able to say I’m Ethiopian and I’m Home!

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 41

London has fallen London Has Fallen is a 2016 American action thriller film in a sequel to Antoine Fuqua's 2013 film Olympus Has Fallen, and stars again Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart directed by Babak Najafi and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt, Chad St. John and Christian Gudegast., and Morgan Freeman, with Alon Moni Aboutboul, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Jackie Earle Haley, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Sean O'Bryan, Waleed Zuaiter and Charlotte Riley in supporting roles.

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Directed by Zack Snyder and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is a follow up to 2013's Man of Steel and is the second installment in the DC Extended Universe.

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At 42 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016 ETB/movie only

For more information call: +251 116 639900 or +251 116 171010

Food Recipe Needed ingredients •2 tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil •1 large green pepper, cut into strips • 1 large red onion, cut into strips • 2 medium tomatoes, diced • mushrooms, cleaned and quartered For the spice mix (Awaze sauce) • 2 teaspoons Ethiopian berbere (red pepper) • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced • 1 teaspoon white wine (substitute with lemon juice) Direction

Ethiopian Sautéed Mushrooms with Onions and Peppers or Ingudai Tibs Recipe

2. Add onions, peppers and tomato.

www.veggiebelly.com

http://cate5.com/

1. Heat butter or oil in your largest skillet 3. Cook on medium high heat till the vegetables have softened a little, about 4 minutes.

4. Then add mushrooms. Crank up heat to high.

5. Mix all ingredients for spice mix and add up the mushrooms.

6.Sauté on high for about 3 minutes or till mushrooms are done.

7. Add salt at the end.

Garnish with cilantro or parsley. Serve with rice, bread or Ethiopian Injera.

Enjoy!

Sudoku

Tourist Corner

Name: Virginiah Gichangi Age: 28 I am from: Kenya

I have been in Ethiopia for: One week I am in Ethiopia: To visit Addis Ababa An Ethiopian concept or way of thinking you do not understand: I do not understand why the Ethiopian people do not integrate English to their language like other African States. I lost my key in my hotel room and asked the cleaner if she got my key. But she just kept saying Okay.

Something that has been hard to find here but easy to find in Kenya: Ethiopians are welcoming but they are a bit shy to get close. They hold back and take time to communicate.

Something that has been easy to find here but hard to find in Kenya: Leather shoes, bags and similar other products, the leather is really genuine.

Your least favorite thing in Ethiopia: The street children and street adults. They keep saying something I don’t understand.

Your favorite Ethiopian dish; I really do not like Ethiopian dishes.

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 43

ENTERTAINMENT: CLASSIFIED Best Halls in Addis Ababa Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Available Rooms: 12 Accommodates: From 30 - 500 People African Union (AU) Available Rooms: 40 Accommodates: From 35 -2, 500 People Sheraton Addis Hotel Available Rooms: 9 Accommodates: From 40 -450 People Hilton Addis Ababa Available Rooms: 8 Accommodates: From 20 -650 People Radission Blu Addis Ababa Available Rooms: 2 Accommodates: From 12 -120 People

Places for Retreat Kurifitu Resort & Spa Location: Bishoftu (Debrezeit) Things to do: Restaurant & Bar, Swimming, Kayaking, Spa, Rooms Kurifitu Resort & Spa Location: Bahir Dar Things to do: Restaurants, Rooms with Lake Tana View, Fireplace, Swimming, Spa Adulala Resort Location: Bishoftu (Debrezeit) Things to do: Restaurants & bar, Spa & Gym, Bungalows, Horse riding, fishing at Babo Gaya Lake & much more African Vacation Club Location: Langanoo Things to do: Restaurant & bar, Swimming, Kayaking, Spa, Rooms, Horse ridding, Game Zone and Different Beach Games Yaya Village Location: Sululeta Things to do: Restaurant & bar, Horse Riding, Rooms & High Attitude training Liesake Resort and Spa Avanti Blue Nile Hotel Location: Bahir Dar Things to do: Bar and Restaurant, Rooms with overall city view, massage

Immerse yourself in Ethiopian Music and Dance Fendika Location: Kazanchis Time: from 7:00 PM- Mid night 2000 Habesha Location: Bole Time: from 7:00 PM- Mid night

Location: Piassa Holy Trinity Cathedral Location: Arat Kilo

Beautiful Scenic and Wildlife in Ethiopia

National Museum Location: Amist Kilo

Caribo Resturants Location: Mekinisa Specialty: Caribbean and African cuisine

Park (Anebesa Gebi) Location: Sidist Kilo

Panoramic view of Addis from Entoto Location: Entoto

Hangout Spots Edna Mall/ Bob and Bongos Things to do: Watch box office movies, Skating, basket ball, cafés, 7D movies Lafto Mall Things to do: Read your favorite books & enjoy hot drinks Balageru Coffee Things to do: Read your favorite books & enjoy hot drinks Bilos Café Things to do: Some of the best pastries in town

Night Life in Addis Gaslight Night Club Location: Sheraton Addis Club Illusion Location: Next to Ambassador Theater Black Rose Location: On Boston Building Champion Bar Location: On Boston Building Liquid Lounge Location: Next to Intercontinental Addis Hotel

Simien Mountains National Park Location: Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region Some of the animals that can be found: Gelada baboon, Simien fox & Walia Ibex Nechisar National Park Location: SNNPR Some of the animals that can be found: Burchell’s Zebra, Grant’s gazelle, Guenther’s Dik-dik, Anubis Baboon & Grey Duiker.

Awash National Park Location: Southern part of Afar Region and northeastern of Oromia Region Some of the animals that can be found: Beisa oryx, Hamadryas Swaync’s Hartebeet Omo National Park Location: SNNPR Some of the animals that can be found: Burchell’s Zebra, Gerenuk & Kudu Mago National Park Location: SNNPR Some of the animals that can be found: buffalo, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, hartebeest, leopard, lion and zebra

Bale Mountains National Park Location: Oromia Region Some of the animals that can be found: Topi, Lelwel Hartebeest, Bustards, Hornbills, Weavers & Starlings

Suba Lounge Location: Wollo Sefer on Ethio-China road

Your Home Away from Home for Your

What to see in Addis Ababa?

Ethiopian Korean War Veterans Association Location: Afincho Ber The largest open market in Africa Location: Merkato The gold jewelry market

44 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016

Chez Fasil Restaurant and Bar Location: Meskel Flower Specialty: Specialized in Nouvelle & Fusion Cuisine German Restaurant Location: Near Japan Embassy Specialty: German food and beer Kuriftu Diplomat Restaurant Location: On Boston Building Specialty: “The ultimate global cuisine” Hahn Khuh Restaurant Location: Atlas Specialty: Korean Aladdin Location: Near Japan Embassy Specialty: Middle Eastern

Some of the best Coffee house Tomoca Coffee Abissiynia Coffee Alem Bunna

Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National Park Location: Oromia Region Some of the animals that can be found: Great White Pelicans and Flamingo Yangudi Rassa National Park Location: Afar Region Some of the animals that can be found: Beisa Oryx, Dorcas gazelle, gerenuk and Gravy’s zebra

Fendika Club Location: Kasanchis

Castelli Location: Piassa Specialty: Italian Restaurant

Gambella National Park Location: Gambella Region Some of the animals that can be found: Nile Lechwe,White-Eared Kob, Roan Antelope, and Whale-headed Stork

Club H2O Location: On Yolly Building, “Chichiniya”

Gravity Lounge Location: Next to Bole Medihanialem Church

Al Mendi Location: Meskel Flower Specialty: Arabian Restaurants

Four Seasons Location: Bisrat Gabriel Specialty: Japanese, Thai and Indian

Ethnological Museum Location: Sidist Kilo

Ethiopian traditional clothes and jewelry market Location: Shiro Meda

International Cuisines in Addis

Extended Stay Beer Garden Inn (Guest House) Total Rooms: 21 Location: Bole Medhanialem Road near Edna mall GT Guest House (Guest House) Total Rooms: 13 Location: Kirkos kifle ketema, 200m in from Dashen Bank on Sierra Leone Street Yeka Guest House (Guest House) Total Rooms: 14 Location: British Embassy across the street from the Bio-Diversity Institute Addis Guest House (Guest House) Total Rooms: 12 Location: Bole road 5 minutes from Bole International Airport

“Please let it be noted neither the editorial team nor the company is liable for any errors or mistakes on the sources of information. The list is in no specific order”.

PHONE SERVICE Toll Free Information Service Federal Police Commission National Operator Fault Report Dial Up Internet Pre Paid Mobile Service/Bill Inquiry/Lost Mobile Registration/ Number Change Information Broad Band Customer Service PSTN Service Voice Mail

PRIVATE HOSPITALS 997 916 998 994 900 994 980 980 908

COURRIER SERVICE DHL EMS(Ethiopia) Federal Express TNT Skypok UPS Trans Express Ethiopia

011 662 16 00 011 515 20 72 011 618 63 83 011 551 41 54 011 662 13 09 011 551 41 54

UN United Nations Development Program United Nations Children Education Fund United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

011 663 35 82 011 518 40 00 011 551 72 00

BANK Abay Bank Addis International Bank Awash International Bank Bank of Abyssina Berhan International Bank Buna International Bank Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) Construction and Business Bank Cooperative Bank of Oromia Dashen Bank Debub Global Bank Development Bank of Ethiopia Enat Bank Lion International Bank Nib International Bank Oromia International Bank United Bank Wegagen Bank Zemen Bank

011 552 88 51 011 557 0502 011 557 00 00 011 551 41 30 011 618 57 32 011 158 08 67 011 122 87 55 011 551 23 00 011 552 27 59 011 467 18 03 011 467 40 87 011 551 11 88 011 550 49 48 011 662 60 00 011 550 32 88 011 557 21 13 011 465 52 22 011 552 38 00 011 550 11 11

AIRLINES British Midland (BMI) Egypt Air Ethiopian Airlines Emirates Kenya Airways K.L.M Royal Dutch Lufthansa Saudi Airline Yemen Airways

011 665 04 94 011 156 44 93 011 665 66 66 011 518 18 18 011 551 42 58 011 552 55 41 011 551 56 66 011 663 81 37 011 551 50 76

FIRE BRIGADE Station Menilik II square Station Addisu Kera Station Mekanisa Station Nifas Silk Station Akaki Station Megenagna Station Bole

011 156 70 40 011 466 34 20 011 276 91 46 011 442 55 63 011 434 00 96 011 663 03 73 011 664 85 80

POLICE STATION Police Information Federal Police Commission AA Police Commission

Addis Cardiac Hospital Addis Hiwot Hospital Bete Zata Hospital Landmark Hospital Hayat Hospital Kadisco Hospital Broad Band Customer Service PSTN Service Voice Mail

011 663 47 20 011 618 04 49 011 551 41 41 011 552 62 29 011 662 44 88 011 629 89 04 980 980 908

COURRIER SERVICE DHL EMS(Ethiopia) Federal Express TNT Skypok UPS Trans Express Ethiopia

011 662 16 00 011 515 20 72 011 618 63 83 011 551 41 54 011 662 13 09 011 551 41 54

PUBLIC HOSPITALS Black Lion (Tikur Anbessa) Hospital Menilik II Hospital Ras Desta Hospital

011 551 12 11 011 123 42 72 011 155 33 99

LIBRARY Academy of Ethiopian Languages Addis Ababa Municipality Library Alliance Ethio-Française British Council Economic Commission for Africa library German Cultural Institute Italian Cultural Institute J.F Kennedy (A.A.U) National Libraries & Archives

011 551 59 26 011 155 01 11 011 155 02 13 011 155 00 22 011 551 72 00 011 155 28 88 011 111 34 27 011 111 04 33 011 551 62 47

ART GALLERY Asni Gallery Ersas Art Studio Goshu Art Gallery Gigi’s Afro Asian Design& Fine Interiors Makush Gallery

011 123 32 44 0913 66 02 30 011 661 03 97 0912 20 43 37 011 552 68 48

Sudoku Answer

TOUR AND TRAVEL Eminence Social Entrepreneurs Koreb Tour Operators Kibran Tours Plc Rainbow Car Rental and Tour Services

011 823 71 82 011 662 3179 011 662 62 14 011 371 79 40

PHARMACY Abader Pharmacy Bata Pharmacy Ethio German Pharmacy

011 662 43 97 011 655 21 34 0911 20 94 88

ONLINE CLASSIFIED 2 Merkato Latest Ethiopian Tenders and Bids Buy and Sell ( Ethiopia) Gulit Online Market Mekina Online Car Market Kaymu Whats Out Addis?

www.2merkatos/ tenders buysellethio.com wwww.gulit.com www.mekina.ney et.kaymu.com Whatsoutaddis.com

991 916 011 157 21 21

Issue 22 - August 2016 - The Eminence | 45

Ziway www. haileresorts .com

Tel. +251 462 208 444/7300 (Hawassa) +251 464 412 828 (Ziway) +251 930 108 484/85 (Shashemenne) Sales office Bole Road, Alem Building 1st floor Tel. +251 116 630 155 (Addis Ababa) Email: reservation@haileresorts.com mkt.haileresort@gmail.com

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48 | The Eminence - Issue 22 -August 2016