“All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine”. Socrates.

A gathering of divine souls, souls driven by the higher purpose of humanity, contribution and selfless giving, souls that please by doing for others and resonate the pleasure of kindness and compassion. One of our guests, a well-known change agent herself said, if more institutions of this nature that stand to inspire the human race existed, remarkably would our current situation change. Enthusiastic, eager and full of great expectations of how the event would eventually turn out, attendees of the night gave a graceful presence to welcome our Women of Excellence.

AWiBers say, this Women of Excellence event that is held once a year is about celebration, celebration of the accomplishment and contribution of these remarkable selfless women; applauding for their unshakable commitment, thanking them for the continued love and compassion to humanity.  Scattered in different corners and welcoming spots of the evening, stirred by the fruits of hard work, AWiB board members were receiving appreciations and admirations from the guests whose face lit up by the well-organized reception. Guests reflected that the event brought insight and encouragement to step in to the path of purpose. They were also excited to see a growing culture of appreciation. They were encouraged and enlightened to witness the life experiences and stories of these exceptional women, which might have otherwise seemed too good to be true, if only heard but not witnessed. W/ro Mulu Haile said the gathering of those beautiful people to appreciate their work was a unique tradition that needs to be nurtured and strengthened. She, with a smile on her face said, the fact that a man recognized her at an airport because of the media exposure AWiB provided, brought a feeling of acknowledgment for her efforts.

The art gallery that was organized also attracted attentions and raised strong mind provoking questions inviting the artists and board members for answers and yet also begged for more questions.

The evening was lively; our guests were chit chatting among their circles in their tables at times of live entertainments only eager to know what comes next. Brightened by huge smiles on their face, we captured the continuous round of applauses and long lasting standing ovations in appreciation and firm confirmation of the concentration and devotion portrayed by our Women of Excellence.

This year’s event was distinct by its nature as a new category of life time award was created to honour Dr. Jember Teffera, who quietly yet profoundly impacted her community. Her life was dedicated to transforming the lives of Ethiopia’s impoverished communities for more than three decades. In her acknowledgment of Dr. Jember’s work, Tsigie Haile, last year’s Women of Excellence awardee, said with great appreciation that her story is not sufficiently told as portrayed by the media as the woman chose to use low profile while undertaking her heart-warming generosity.

W/ro Mulu Haile, pin pointed Dr. Jember as her role model mainly because of her continued commitment.

Dr. Jember, enthusiastically, received the award from Nahu and acknowledged the effortless contribution of her team.  We applaud Dr. Jember for her kindness and relentless commitment.

Conversation with the Women of Excellence 2013

Melika Bedri is one of the senior executives at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia serving as the first ever female Vice president of Information Technology. She has dedicated almost 30 years of her career to the organization serving in a multitude of roles over the years. Melika attributes the support of her family as key in both her professional, educational and personal success. She is passionate about constant learning and her philosophy is always centred on the principle of always learning and investing in knowledge.

In the conversation, Melika said sarcastically “answering the question of Men’s contribution in my life is not at all easy”, her smile and sarcasm was accompanied with laughter from the audience. Her husband’s contribution however was beyond appreciation as he was the back bone in supporting the family when she underwent carrier developments.

Melika strongly reminded the audience that supporting females helps the family as it sets the foundation for children’s education. For that, she says her husband’s contribution again shines out. She also sincerely acknowledged the incessant support of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

Mulu Haile’s vision to work for the community was realized in June 1998 through the founding of Mission for Community Development Programme (MCDP). The philosophy behind Mulu’s organization and its approach for integrated development is to look at multiple problems experienced by impoverished communities.

Mulu with astonished and grateful tone thanked AWiBers for organizing such an impeccable event that motivates and recharges energy to those who are already in action. Mentioning that we are not accustomed to appreciating those that exist, she commended the team to continue the culture of appreciation and putting to the fore ground role models. She also recognized the political as well as economic impact this event would bring by increasing women participation at the national level.

Sara Mohammed opened Next modelling school, up on her return from France, where she studied fashion illustration. She organizes fashion shows 3 times a year. The school was the first of its kind with the aim to empower women through equipping them with designing, sewing and related skills. In the conversation, Sara accredited her mother for her mentorship and generosity.

Sister Tibebe Macos’ passion is to rescue those who are marginalized, forgotten and neglected. A small project that started helping 25 people to survive has today grown to more than 30,000 equipping the beneficiaries to become self-sustainable.

Sister Tibebe, an inspiriting woman, said in the conversation that bringing out the potential of youth as competent citizens is inevitable, if more women leaders are to be born. She warned that the main responsibility of capacitating thus falls on parents/guardians.

Yeteneberesh Nigussie, A co-founder of an Ethiopian indigenous organization, Ethiopian Centre for Disability and Development (ECDD), set up to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in different development programmes, including economic empowerment. The organization was set up in 2008 in collaboration with her colleagues for the purpose of ensuring that the concerns and voices of people with disability are incorporated in different agendas. Yetnebersh, a strong and inspiring young woman, emphasized on the will of individuals to make a choice. She said it is up to each individual to make a choice between good and bad, between the right and the wrong, life’s directions, one’s personalities and who we need to become.

The defining moment, which was eagerly awaited for, was accompanied by long standing ovations with reflective smiles and a feeling of shining appreciation from the side of the spectators. Our Woman of Excellence 2013 Sara said in the most grateful tone “we are all gathered here tonight as heroes”

AWiB’s effort was highly renowned by the audience and the speaker of the night, first lady of Ethiopia, Roman Tesfaye, who stated that in the ever changing world AWiB members have created a platform for developing the opportunities already taken by women entrepreneurs.

An extraordinary night it has been! It was a night that brought people from different spheres of life together, despite their differences. People united in their dreams to bring about change and in their dreams to serve selflessly and tirelessly.

We express our deep and heartfelt gratitude for those of you that joined us in this event.  AWiB celebrates and applauds the Women of Excellence.

“All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine”. Socrates

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