Samuel Getachew

Our Honorable Friend in Canada

Written by Teddy Fikre

Friday, October 30, 2009

Samuel Getachew

Samuel Getachew is an amazing guy.   His spirit, enthusiasm, and dedication to the Ethiopian community is unquestioned.  Beyond that, Samuel is also a rising star who is well on his way to making history in Canada.  Before he reached the age of 30, Samuel had the “audacity” to run for the House of Commons in Canada.  Undettered by a setback, Samuel then went on to start Friends of Ethiopia and works on amazing projects such as sending decommissioned Canadian  ambulances to Ethiopia.

Mike Endale and I met “Sammy” last year when we traveled to Columbus Ohio to volunteer for the Obama campaign.  Sammy was a  ball of enthusiasm, he knocked on doors endlessly, talked to any and every stranger about Obama, and even tried to convince a couple of Ron Paul supporters to vote for Obama instead.  For someone I met for the first time, I could tell that Sammy was a man of ambition and a man of action.

Sammy and Hope

So it is no coincidence that Sammy was determined to “win” all of the art work from ETHIOFEST.  Anytime someone would bid on an artwork, he would outbid them within an hour.

“As the auction closed earlier today and we have been awarded all the arts and the gabi except one, I want you know to know all of these arts will be treasured here in Canada” stated Samuel Getachew.  “We will hang all of them at City Hall in Toronto during Black History Month giving all the credits that is due to the Ethiopian artists.  We will also find a better way to use them in the future to further promote our culture and mutual interest”

Thank you Sammy, you prove once again that you are a man of action.  You truly are a Friend of Ethiopian-Americans for Change, more importantly, you are a Friend of Ethiopia.

Art by Solomon Asfaw

Art by Solomon Asfaw

Art by Solomon Asfaw

Art by Dilip Sheth

Art by Munit Mesfin

Gabi by madeinethiopia.com