Words that have been used
to describe the late Honorable Dr. Senedu Gebru include Resistance
fighter, philanthropist, educator, feminist, patriot, author, teacher
and mother. History may
remember her foremost as the first woman elected to Parliament, but her
contributions to this nation were so many and varied, she
could rightly be considered Ethiopia’s Renaissance Woman of the 20th
century.
Although it might seem like more Ethiopians from abroad are moving back to Ethiopia than ever before, it is also true that the much greater outflow of Ethiopians leaving the country in search of better opportunity abroad, continues unabated.
Written by Melaku Sahlu - Horizon Ethiopia Staff Writer
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
If you have experienced fits of rage, bouts of hair pulling and fast
flying objects while trying to use prepaid calling cards to place calls to , you need to read this article!
Walk into any Ethiopian grocery in and one of the more common questions
you’ll hear is, “YETEGNAW CARD NOEW TIRU?” (Which card is better?) reflecting a common bond of frustration from the
experience of using prepaid calling cards. The cards will claim a theoretical number of minutes that you can talk when calling . But is it
possible to actually talk 52 minutes on a $10 card? Maybe so, but for that to happen, you will have to achieve an immediate and problem free
connection (to avoid the black hole where minutes slip into), make only one phone call on that card (to avoid the connection charges per call)
and have a card with billing rounding of 2 minutes or less (most common is 3 minutes!). Oh and did I mention that the stars also have to line up
just right to encounter this most unusual of circumstances? In reality, periodic maintenance fees, exorbitant minute rounding on billing and bad
or dropped connections all conspire to rob you of buckets of minutes giving you much less than what you paid for. Not to mention frazzled nerves
in the bargain.
Now this is all frustrating even if you
were pressing a single button to make your call, but of course you have to punch in the 800 number, a 9 digit PIN and 14 digit phone number to
initiate each connection. If you generally require an average of 3 tries before a successful connection, then you’ve punched in 82 digits
for one phone conversation and it’s common to encounter even higher failure rates resulting in finger strapo for days later. By the time
you finally get through, you’ve lost a good chunk of your minutes into the aforementioned black hole and are so aggravated by the
recording which says...“We’re sorry, all circuits are busy now. Please try your call again later” – that you are
simply grateful to hear a familiar voice, lost minutes be damned.
Sure, you could call customer service when you encounter these problems but that would imply spending more
time talking to them than those you really want to talk to. This would be where the hair pulling comes in and in fact, there is a theory
attributing the high incidence of thinning hair amongst hot blooded Ethiopian men, to this very phenomenon (Just kidding – for the record,
most of my hair remains intact). But reaching out to your loved ones is not optional so for too long we’ve swallowed our rage,
gritted our teeth and borne the frustration in order to do what we must.
Enter VIP Communications. Last year, after a particularly frustrating experience, I was
ready to simply call my long distance provider and pay the higher rates to avoid dealing with calling cards. Then I stumbled across a novel
telecom firm providing a prepaid international calling service that has put me on cloud nine. It’s a service that every Ethiopian in the
should know about. First great feature: When you sign up, you get one, permanent PIN number. Then if you call from a recognized phone number,
Caller ID means you NEVER have to enter the PIN. No maintenance fees? Done. Trouble free and crystal clear connections? Done. The complete
elimination of the black hole where minutes irretrievably disappear? Done. Real rates that represent an excellent value for your money? Done. To
be completely frank, I was already sold by the first feature. But together with everything else, I’m not just a user –
I’m also a disciple. Several friends I told about the service are similarly enamored of it and anyone who tries it will not only have a
dramatically improved experience but will probably end up saving money as well. And guess what? Another feature that may possibly be the
most compelling one yet – saved speed dial numbers that you can access with a simple press of the * on your keypad along with the speed
dial location!
Welcome to the world
of 3 digit dialing to your loved ones in .
To sign up for service, visit EmergentGlobal.net and click
on the image under the title “Overseas Calling Simplified”. Mention (or select) “Emergent Global” as a referrer at
sign up and get $5 worth of free calling minutes.
Meti Yilma is a radio show host, poet, writer, MC, one time tv
personality and a number of other things besides. Including, a top 4 finisher in 2006's Survivor Africa.
Sehin Teferra
is a freelance trainer and consultant with an academic background in
international development and gender equity. She has written since her teens, and invites your comments and
thoughts on her observations.
There is no question that there is a lot of agricultural investment occurring in Ethiopia right now. The question is how much of that is being initiated by Ethiopians?
Despite a global downturn in real estate prices, it seemed like Ethiopia's market was impervious to it all. But there are signs which point to an inevitable downturn in the near future. Just how far down prices will go is anybody's guess.
After emigrating abroad, going to school and then opening a successful business in London, it only took a vacation to Tewodros Tadesse's hometown of Hawassa to convince him to leave everything behind and move back once and for all.
ESAI celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Horizon Ethiopia would like to congratulate them on their achievements through the years and wishes them another decade and more of continued success.
He’s broken every record he’s ever gone for so what mission are we talking about? Here’s a clue…it has absolutely nothing to do with sports.
Internet connection rates take another dive.
Coffee Round Table held at Hilton right after EAFCA 2010 and ECX's launch of Direct Specialty Trade.
There is no question that there is a lot of agricultural investment occurring in Ethiopia right now. The question is how much of that is being initiated by Ethiopians?
Despite a global downturn in real estate prices, it seemed like Ethiopia's market was impervious to it all. But there are signs which point to an inevitable downturn in the near future. Just how far down prices will go is anybody's guess.
After emigrating abroad, going to school and then opening a successful business in London, it only took a vacation to Tewodros Tadesse's hometown of Hawassa to convince him to leave everything behind and move back once and for all.
ESAI celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Horizon Ethiopia would like to congratulate them on their achievements through the years and wishes them another decade and more of continued success.
