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An Introduction to The Ethiopian Tree Fund Foundation

Ethiopian Tree Fund Foundation is a non-profit professional organization incorporated in the State of Virginia, United States. This Organization is created with singular task of reclaiming the land of Ethiopia. This challenge has become more urgent after the recent major forest fire that devastated one of the last remaining virgin tropical forests in the southern part of Ethiopia. To meet this challenge, ETFF, plans to work in close cooperation with government ministries and educational institutions, UN agencies, such as FAO, research universities worldwide and NGOs, and other world organizations and people of goodwill who identify with this mission.

ETFF is free of any religious, ethnic, or political affiliation. It welcomes the membership and contributions from any individual or entity, which supports the program of reforestation in Ethiopia. Most importantly, ETFF would like to join hands with Ethiopians in Diaspora to reclaim the land of our forefathers and rehabilitate it. ETFF is Co-Founded by Dr. Badege Bishaw and Mr. Demissew Gedamu. Its founding members have established ETFF upon the approval of statutes of the organization. Membership in ETFF includes the widest possible representation of persons of Ethiopian origin, and friends of Ethiopia from anywhere who support its objectives.

The ETFF bylaws contain the objective of the foundation, membership responsibilities and administrative organization will be Co-Chaired by Dr. Badege Bishaw and Mr. Demissew Gedamu. Dr. Bishaw will head the executive committee in charge of the reforestation and all scientific branch of the foundation, and Mr. Gedamu will head an executive committee responsible for entire cooperation, logistics as well as technical issues of the foundation. The remaining positions of the executive branch are the treasurer, registered agent and secretary, which are appointed by the president of the foundation, Mr. Demissew Gedamu.

The main office of the foundation is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.Membership to ETFF is open to all but most importantly to persons of Ethiopian origin and friends of Ethiopia who uphold the objectives of the organization. Members in good standing are those who continue to support the mission of the foundation and fulfill their membership obligations. Ten-dollar monthly membership dues per person are expected to be paid on semi-yearly basis. Membership dues can be paid directly on line and members can monitor the activities on line.

ETFF members who reside in principal cities around the world where a significant number of constituent group live, may be organized in accordance with relevant by laws issued by the foundation. Such chapters may be headed by elected chapter convener whose responsibilities would be to co-ordinate chapter activities and act as liaisons with the foundation’s headquarters.

As we enter the new millennium, we need to recognize that all of us share a common purpose, obligation and duty to our country and fellow countryman. To achieve this unity of purpose we need to recognize that we are a diverse nation with a common mission of making Ethiopia a great and prosperous country. A mission of transcending antagonism and overcoming conflicts and establishes consensus to create a better life for our fellow mankind.

Deforestation and desertification of our land has become a national crisis. We all have our personal experiences in this regard and shared these stories with each other. But most particularly from those of us that grew up in the country side and who have gone back to visit our childhood village and have come back invariably in shock, at the condition we have found our birth places; areas where once was covered with trees and thick vegetation are now barren rocks and where once there was an overflowing river is a dry river bed.

This is an urgent call for action and time is running out. Our country is dying, but for that matter maybe our planet is also dying. By saving a small piece of earth we can say we have done our share to save the beautiful and most fragile planet-Earth. The Israelis have achieved a significant success in the area of reforestation and we should learn from their experience. Most of Israel was once an arid land with no or very little trees and vegetation, today Israel is the only country in the world with an annual net gain of forestland. This was achieved through the concerted reforestation effort of the Jewish community living in US and the rest of the world

Even though we are constantly overwhelmed by the news of the numerous and enormous problems that our fellow Ethiopians face on a daily bases, that finding ways to reverse the degradation of the ecosystem could be at the heart of finding solutions to most of our national environmentally caused problems, such as; draught, erosion, starvation, malnutrition and disease.

My massage is to every one but most importantly to Ethiopians and persons of Ethiopian origin. As part of our mission we envision to explore the unlimited possibilities of enjoying and protecting the wild places of our home land; to practice and promote the responsible use of the land and it’s ecosystem and garner all of our resources to reforest our land, enlist fellow Ethiopians and other people of goodwill for the protection and restoration of the quality of the natural human environment.

We all remember the old Ethiopian saying “Dir byaber anbessa yaser” meaning “if one can gather several rolls of knitting wool, one can tie up and incapacitate the mighty lion”. So, let’s join hands to conquer the deserts and dry lands that were ones lush with trees and wild vegetation and repopulate them with the wild animals that ones roamed the jungles of Ethiopia and with the many beautiful and indigenous birds that piped sweet music to our ears. We can do it!

Thank You and God bless Ethiopia

The Founders: