What a great joy and delight to see a charismatic and appealing people who inspire the entire human person. I am so thankful and grateful for your specail interest to leave behind intelligent marks of changes in the lives of your beloved our poeple who remained behind in economical development of his fellow poeple due to political stagnation.
I am so happy for what you have done. We shall all work together to bring some thing which is sustainable. Your dream is the dream and vision of all good willing people who dedicate their entire life to upgrade poverty striken people who lives on subsistence economy of hand to mouth cycle.
In fact, I am eager to forward you the action plan, I am reviewing it properly. I will forward you as soon as I finish the reviewing process.
Thank you.
God bless!
Guelay May 16, 2006
Dear Rev. Abba Tesfamariam,
Greeting in the Lord Jesus whom we love.
It was my pleasure to read your letter in which I was so much delighted. Indeed, I have to congratulate you for your generous heart that loves the welfare of our people that faces painful events so frequently. Certainly, our people are under severe poverty that cannot fulfill hand to mouth subsistent economy. I have read your articles that you publish in the website. I was much moved; it is all what I have seen in the land of IROB, the forgotten people, politically so much abused, who are waiting to see the dawn. The Irob woreda remained behind of any developmental activities due to political negligence.
In fact, as you know, we do not know what will happen about the border demarcation. If God is with us, who can be against us?
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your open-mindedness and ready to share with me your visional development activities of our people. I am so grateful of you. I am ready to forward you the short term and long-term development plans of our organization. I do believe that God is behind of any humanitarian activities. If we unite together, we can do something good to our people. We who live here in Addis Ababa (Gulemkada and Irob) are so much united into the extent of founding humanitarian organization to bring something good to our people. We had fundraising event in Auxum Hotel on the 19th of April, 2006. It was good. It is the desire of our organization to unite with our brothers and sisters who live in Diaspora.
I WILL FORWARD YOU MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION and ITS DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES.
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Yours truly,
Guelay
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia May 10, 2006
Dear Abba,
Selam! How is every thing going on? I am having some hope and receiving good news from IDA about some progress made: here is included the forwarded message from Kahsay Debessu, an active member of IDA (Irob Development Association). By the way, he graduated with distinction as the second outstanding student in Makelle University, and now he's a lecturer there. That's a great news! You will find on his e-mail that two Irobs made donations and he would like to know if he could acknowledge their contributions on www.irrob.org, and how?
Another thing I'd like to share with you: Dr. Ann was in Ethiopia in January; I've arranged a meeting for her with IDA via my brother Alema in Mekelle because she told me she will be staying there for a while; she met them and had a nice discussion with them.
As a consequence of her meeting with the members of IDA, on her way back to Addis, she introduced IDA to one person known by his name Dr. Yohannes, I don't know him personally, but he accepted her request and travelled to Makelle to meet them: what a great commitment! As Kahsay mentioned on his e-mail, he became a member and is ready now to assist IDA with all possible means he can.
I think Dr. Yohannes works for PACT (http://www.pactworld.org) & CRDA (http://www.crdaethiopia.org/index.php), as Dr. Ann told me in her e-mail; you can visit their web sites above. They are extremely relevant organisations to ours (IDA) and so important as well is to have someone from them to stand with us in order to achieve great success!
I will update you with the progress from my side. Yesterday, I had warm discussion with the head of "The Hunger Project" (http://www.thp.org/), the German Office, in telephone. He invited me to see him at the end of next week in Hamburg; he is very much interested and hope it will be great meeting too! I am waiting the IDA to send me back the frame work document I sent them for revision, I just knew yesterday that they are through with revision, and they are going to send me soon; so I hope I will hand it out to this gentleman during our meeting next week and hope that he will appreciate the content.
It would be great if you could visit the web sites and project sites from the Millennium Development Goals, and please do so! There are some opportunities to exploit. I am so sad that the Irobs there couldn't come together for this specific cause! It should have nothing to do with all other attitudes and views: the IDA cause should be very neutral from any kind of political or other views; it is all about development only! And the only eligibility to act as a member is to being an Irob native and/or friend of Irob people, nothing else! Any way, please don't worry too much if things is not doing well for the time being. But, please, don't give up. Certainly, your efforts should not be ignored because you're trying to bring every one of us together for a communal cause! I'm confident that It will work because IDA only cares about the betterment of Irobs; and I hope that no one from Irob intentionally negates this wish, which will make us soon to come and work together.
Sincere regards,
Tesfay from Germany
Sir,
My name is Ziade Hailu from Irob and currently working in Addis Ababa. It was only recently that I was told about this great site you are managing to serve as a forum for all intersted individuals and groups about Irob case.
I was extremly delighted to know there are some brothers and sisters of ours that are so much intersted in Irob case and bring it to the world. I just want to assure you that since what you are doing is what we are supposed to do, we shall be at your side no matter what.
Since Irob is one of the most affected areas the need of support for the locality is clear.
Sir, keep the good work you are doing.
Yours in Christ Ziade Hailu
Dear Rev. Tesfamariam Baraki
Thank you for the prompt response to my latest e-mail and for the information. Sorry for what happend. I am a law-abiding person. I know the proud, hardworking and tenacious people of Irob. I am very sorry for the man-made and natural disasters which have affected them. I thank you again for your efforts to alleviate their condition.
I will soon contact my bank. The contribution I make is very modest - just a token of solidarity.
Wishing you the best,
Asfaha
Dear Fr. Tesfamariam,
Hope you are keeping well. Here we are not too bad. Summer has started. It is great to have sun shine. The project you have started is interesting; we were looking at it with Chirs. We are willing to support in what ever we can. Hope you don't mind if I give some comments or ask some questions, may be you already have been asked about it. Who will be responsible for the project back home? Will the present Government allow people to run this project just for Irob people? Is there any specific area which needs immediate support or is it in general? Even though we are not great in contacting, we will make effort to keep in touch. This is all for now. Keep up the good work you are doing.
With love and prayers,
Chris and Saba
United Kingdom
Dear Father Baraki,
It was a pleasure meeting you at the reception yesterday for the novices of the Missionaries of Charity.
I explored your website and indeed it is a fine one. The slide show on the funeral of Pope John Paul II was very moving. The plight of the vulnerable populations in Irob, Ethiopia, has brought in to the forefront of my consciousness their struggles and suffering. Father, along with my prayers and financial contribution (which I will gladly do what I can), how else can I assist you and IRROB? I am in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry, and could possibly solicit companies in my industry to donate necessary medications. In what other way may I possibly help?
God Bless!
Bob Regan
Dear Sir,
It is my great pleasure to send you my e-mail of my great appreciation that you have managed to organize such a development association for the people of Irob!
Wishing you all success I remain
Truly yours,
MODOSHA
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to congratulate you for your very much successful web. I was eager to establish some kind of links with any body that cares much with the destiny of the Irob community!This is the golden opportunity. I am one of good wishers to the Irob community for whom I have a high regard. I have witnessed the selflessness, hospitality, courage and resilience of the Irob community which I admired greatly. I am always concerned about their plights, however, I would like to keep in touch to help the development endeavours of Irob by all possible ways. For the time being, as I am a graduate student, I just felt the need to pay homage to Irob.org by dispatching an article which I presented at the 15th Conference of Ethiopian studies, in Hamburg, where I aired my position on the impacts of the Ethio-Eritrean demarcation, and its effects to the peace-loving Irob. I believe they deserve the global protection as endangered communities! The key to Ethio-Eritrean peace process lies in respecting the human, democratic and citizenship rights of the Irob people in full! So, if you find my article of any help just I here by attached it to you! Best wishes for my lovely Irob society.
My Name is Gaim Medhin Giday. I have been residing in London for the last three years and so. I have been looking at the www.irrob.org website for the last few months. I am gobsmacked to see how detailed and useful information are posted on the website, for those who are interested knowing something about our little and beautiful community. It is encouraging and promising for our bright future and above all it is good source of information to turn too, for those of us who have little knowledge about our own community. My main reason of taking time to write you is to thank you for your effort and to assure you that the job you are doing is becoming an inspiration for those of us who had little knowledge about our own society. Keep it up and all my best wishes for the success of IRROB charity organization.
Yours Sincerely
Gaim.
Dear brothers,
We in TDA -Sweden have gone through your project on helping the Irob people by providing an ambulance service so that people can be saved urgently and swiftly in the big medical centres of Adgrat and Mekelle and why not in Adua. We are aware of the fact that TDA, though a grassroots organisation of the people of Tigray, has not been active in carrying out projects in Irob. Therefore, members of TDA has now decided to donate some amount of money for this holy idea of ambulance provision to the Irob community, Tigray, Ethiopia. Could you please send to us your account number so that we can transfer the money as soon as possible?
Best regards,
Dr. Yohannes Kiros Chairman of TDA-Sweden
19 February 2005
Dear Abba Tesfa Mariam,
We in the Danish Ethiopian Association, * having been made aware by your excellent website of the plight of the Irob people, * fully convinced that your organisation is the best to deliver the donation * and that the donation will be invested in appropriate development programmes
wish hereby to confirm the donation of US$ 1,000.00 payable to your organisation as soon as the payment system is re-established.
Please accept our appreciation of your selfless and untiring contribution to lessen the tragic suffering of our people. May the Good Lord bless and crown your efforts with success.
On behalf of Danish Ethiopian Association
Karin Zekiros, chairperson Merry Christmas
23 December 2004
