Champion of Change
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White House honors Nini Legesse
Nini Legesse is the president of a dynamic non-profit organization called Wegene Ethiopian Foundation (WEF) which she founded with the help of her friends and family members in the year 2000. Wegene has supported 28 impoverished families (8 of which are now self-sufficient) and enrolled over 75 homeless children in schools as a result of sales of baked goods, handmade clay figurines, doll designs and Nini’s poetry books. She has also successfully recruited hundreds of members who pay monthly dues which directly support Wegene’s cause. Each year, Nini spends countless hours knocking on neighborhood doors sharing Wegene’s vision and mission while realizing her dream of eliminating poverty through education.
While visiting a remote village in the Jimma area of Ethiopia in 2006, Nini noticed that the only local school had been ruined and abandoned, forcing the area’s children to walk two hours each way to the nearest school. In response, she spearheaded a project to build an elementary school for the area. By organizing various Wegene fund raising activities, Nini helped raise money for materials and construction. After four years of effort and commitment, the school building dream was a reality. On February 26, 2011, the elementary school was inaugurated and presented to the local people to manage and oversee.
In addition to her commitment to Wegene, Nini works full time and is a mother of three school-aged children. She first arrived in the United States as a 17-year-old Ethiopian immigrant and later became a naturalized citizen. Nini received her bachelor’s degree from Berea College and her graduate degree from Ball State University. She has been working as a patent examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office since 2001, where she earned the Bronze Medal Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
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| Time now in Ethiopia |
Ambassador Imru Zelleke interviewed - ETHIOPIA.ORG 
Lij Imru Zelleke, retired Ambassador of Ethiopia, dedicates his life to the national cause and the well-being of his countrymen. Politician, diplomat, orator, negotiator, writer and above all,committed humanist and patriot. Throughout his life, he has actively participated to key historical events, both at home and abroad, acquiring thus a keen insight into the political and social affairs of the world. His writings reflect an unconditional passion for his country and a wealth of historical and political knowledge.
Leslie Lefkow is senior researcher and Horn of Africa team leader for Human Rights Watch's Africa Division. She has specialized expertise in investigating abuses in armed conflict, humanitarian crises, Sudan, and the Horn of Africa. She has conducted investigations for Human Rights Watch in Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Before joining Human Rights Watch, she worked for humanitarian organizations in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone. Lefkow is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Bryn Mawr College.
Fikre Tolossa, Ph. D., is a poet-playwright, critic, essayist and educator. His latest book entitled,The Hidden and Untold History of the Jewish People and Ethiopians, as well as his original songs that he himself has composed and plays on the Kirar, will be released soon to the public at large. His film in English, “Multi-colored Flowers” was featured with great resonance in the 
Professor Getatchew Haile, Ph.D., F.B.A., is Cataloguer Emeritus of Oriental Manuscripts and Regents Professor of Medieval Studies at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library of Saint John’s University, 
Pursuant to the International Genocide Convention and the Declaration of Human Rights, and on behalf of the victims and survivors of the Ethiopian Genocide of 1935-1941, the Global Alliance for Justice - the Ethiopian cause seeks an apology from the Vatican along with acknowledgement, equity, justice, and fair compensation for the Ethiopian people from all concerned, and for the UN to rightfully include the genocide of the Ethiopian people in the annals of its historical genocide records and archives, in order that this long-ignored and untold story may be preserved, for a future world humanity.
Theodore M. Vestal has been a member of the faculty of Oklahoma State University since 1988, serving in the Department of Political Science, where he has been a professor since 1995, and in the School of International Studies. On 1 August 2008, he was granted the title of Professor Emeritus of Political Science. Professor Vestal teaches primarily in the field of constitutional law, with an emphasis on civil liberties and civil rights. His research interests include public law, contemporary Ethiopia, and international education. Dr. Vestal testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa in 1994 on "Ethiopia: The Challenges Ahead."In 2002, Professor Vestal was awarded a research grant from the Oklahoma Council for the Humanities to write a book about U.S. foreign policy and attitudes towards Africa generally and Ethiopia specifically as seen in the North American travels of Emperor Haile Selassie.
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