My Day at the Gates Foundation, The Black Lyon Hospital and the ILAE. (Monday, May 6)

We started the day with a breakfast briefing with Haddis Tadesse, the Gates Foundation Country Lead for Ethiopia. He shared all the projects underway across the country. The projects include work in the areas of water, heath and education.

Haddis has an interesting background. He was born in Ethiopia, attended boarding school in KY and Lancaster, PA in the US. He has been involved with Seattle Public Service for some time. Gates hired Haddis because they wanted an expert on Ethiopia. Haddis gave me a good perspective on the state of the country and what the future holds. Ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world which is one of the reasons China is invested so heavily here. Haddis predicts that in 10 years Ethiopia will be a very different country.

Example of Chinese investment in Ethiopia

This young man (Haddis) is SHARP! Really, he is a "bad brother".  Ive never met President Obama, but I can imagine Haddis as a young Obama, confident, full of great ideas and with strong goals for the country. I told his wife to prepare herself to by the "First Lady of Ethiopia" and she laughed out loud!!

Gates Foundation Briefing with Haddis

Haddis and I visited the Black Lyon Hospital, the largest public hospital in Ethiopia. He had not been back to this hospital since he received vaccinations some 30 years ago. At the hospital, we visited the Women's Oncology Center. They have two radiation machines for all of the country. One of them was down and patients wait an average of 5 months for their first treatment. There is a 2,500 student medical school linked to the hospital.

My best experience of the day was a reception held in honor of ILAE (International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia). The Academy has a unique offering in that it aims to train FUTURE LEADERS of Ethiopia. Not doctors or engineers, but LEADERS! They recruit the top students at the best schools while they are just getting off the ground. This work definitely aligned with Haddis' vision in preparing for the future of Ethiopia.

I so enjoyed interacting with some of the young people. Despite their circumstances, they have confidence that I never had at the age of 13-15 years old.

Below is a pic of a student who declared her intention to be the Prime Minister of Ethiopia! She spoke of gender equality, using their natural resources for the benefit of the country and healthcare issues. By the way, her Mom passed away and she lives with her neighbors. Hers is an amazing story of resilience. It brought tears to my eyes. Truthfully, she had me at gender equality. If I could vote for her, I would!

With the future prime minister. :-)

Reception Room at Hotel Taitu

BTW the event was held at the Taitu Hotel, the oldest hotel in Ethiopia, built for Queen Taitu by her husband. I wonder if I can get my husband to build something for me???? :-)