GOOD NEWS

 

Ahead and the Getachew Bolodia Foundation (GBF) signed a Memorandum of

Understanding on Thursday, August 24, 2000 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to start

a joint Bursary Program for medical students at the three medical colleges in Addis Ababa, Gondar and Jimma.

 

According to the Memorandum of Understanding, Ahead will sponsor 18 medical students who will receive a bursary of 30 Birr ($5.56 Canadian) a month each for three years. The GBF will administer the Program on behalf of Ahead. The total cost of the Bursary is 21384.00 Birr ($3945.36 Canadian dollars) over the next three years. Ethiopia provides free university education, including boarding to medical students. It is hoped that the Ahead bursary will meet the academic needs of the medical students.

 

The agreement between the two voluntary and non-governmental organizations

is a result of extensive discussions and a series of negotiations held over

the last few months in Addis Ababa and through regular correspondence. The

partnership between the two organizations is perhaps the first linkage

between Ethiopians in the Diaspora and a non-governmental, voluntary

organization in Ethiopia.   

 

The signing ceremony was held at the Imperial Hotel in Addis Ababa in the

presence of members of the Getachew Bolodia Foundation, Canadian Embassy

officials, faculty and staff of the Addis Ababa University, a representative

of  Partnership African Canada, and Ahead members.

 

Ahead member, Captain Haile Belai who represented Ahead during the

negotiations in Addis Ababa presented a cheque for 7128.00 Birr to GBF,

representing the first installment of the Ahead bursary. Subsequent payments

will be made to the GBF each year in September, according to the Memorandum

of Understanding.

 

Captain Belai said, at the ceremony, that the bursary was a modest gesture

from Ethiopians who received free education in their country but had to

immigrate for different reasons and never had the opportunity to serve their

country or pay back the people who invested in their education.  He also

mentioned the fact that as Canadian citizens, members of Ahead also found a

conducive culture of compassion and sharing in their adopted country,

Canada.    

 

The GBF also runs its own bursary program for medical students.  Recipients

of Ahead bursary will be selected using a set of criteria which the GBF

applies to its own program.

 

Ahead will post information about its bursary recipients in the near future

(Stay tuned).