99march/april 2013

s e l a m ta m a g a z i n e C o n g r at u l at e s t h e a f r i C a n u n i o n f o r f i v e D e C a D e s o f P r o m o t i n g Pa n -a f r i C a n C o o P e r at i o n .

Celebrating 50 Years of

afriCan UnitY

cover to come

T h e i n - f l i g h T m a g a z i n e o f e T h i o p i a n a i r l i n e s

Tracing the rich history of Ethiopia's

Orthodox icons.

Lifting the Veil

march/april 2013

| Aboutselamta

ContributorsSelamta — meaning “Greetings” in Amharic — is published bimonthly on behalf of Ethiopian Airlines by JourneyGroup+C62, LLC.

JOuRnEYGROuP+C62, LLC418 Fourth Street, NE TK Building

Charlottesville, VA 22902 Office #102

U.S.A. Bole Road

+001 434 961 2500 (phone) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

+001 434 961 2507 (fax) +251 116 180365 (phone)

ExECuTivE GROuPmanaging director Philip De Jong

executive editor Amanuel Mengistu

creative director Greg Breeding

EdiTORiALmanaging editor Diane J. McDougall

photography editor Phil De Jong Jr.

associate editor Jodi Macfarlan

sr. writer/photog. Ron Londen

writer/researcher Hope Mills

researcher Kalkidan Mulugeta

editorial assistant Tsega Negussie

dESiGn design director Mike Ryan

digital director Zack Bryant

production designer Lindsay Gilmore

PROduCTiOnproduction director Brad Uhl

lead developer Josh Bryant

production/sales Belsabe Girma

printing Emirates Printing, Dubai

EdiTORiAL BOARd Mengistu Adelahu

Philip De Jong

Diane J. McDougall

Amanuel Mengistu

AdvERTiSinG JOuRnEYGROuP+C62, LLC

international sales

Azariah Mengistu

TK Building

Office #102

Bole Road

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

+251 116 180365 (phone)

+251 116 180367 (fax)

azariah@C62media.com

As the continent’s premier carrier and a member

of the prestigious Star Alliance, Ethiopian Airlines

brings Africa to the world and the world to Africa.

Selamta does the same, celebrating the adventure of

travel, the vitality of Africa’s role in global business

affairs, and the richness of culture across all of

Ethiopian Airline’s many, varied destinations. This

complimentary copy is yours to keep.

While every care is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher and Ethiopian Airlines assume no liability for error or omissions in this publication. All advertisements are taken in good faith, and the opinions and views contained herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. All copyrights and trademarks are recognized. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without written permission by the publisher. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. © 2013.

north america sales

Sam Voelkel

418 Fourth Street, NE

Charlottesville, VA 22902

U.S.A.

+001 434 961 2500 (phone)

+001 434 961 2507 (fax)

samv@journeygroup.com

V o l u m e 3 0 | N u m b e r 2

LIN

DS

AY

GIL

MO

RE

/ J

OU

RN

EY

GR

OU

P

tim bascom is the author of Chameleon Days, a memoir about his childhood in Ethiopia, as well as a number of travel pieces — including about his honeymoon going awry in London, finding unexpected peace at an Indonesian temple, and understanding his father better through a shared trip to the ancient churches of Lalibela. He teaches creative writing at the University of Missouri. See “Spirits in Paint” on p. 22.Rooted in: Iowa (USA)Can’t travel without: “A 20-year-old green travel holster that has been everywhere with me — from Nepal to Swaziland. It hangs from my belt and gives me quick access to my passport, extra cash and a notebook."

lolis eric elie is executive story editor for the AMC show “Hell on Wheels,” author of Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the heart of barbecue country, and producer of the PBS documentary ≠≠≠. His food writing has appeared in Saveur, Gourmet, Food Arts, The Oxford American and the Art of Eating. See his profile on Ethiopian chef Marcus Samuelsson on p. 34.Rooted in: New Orleans (USA)Can’t travel without: Noise-canceling headphones. “I can hear in-flight movies more clearly or pretend to be listening to music if I want to tune out.”

gediyon kifle is an award-winning photographer who has traveled throughout Africa, Asia and the United States photographing subjects ranging from food to music to lifestyle. He collaborated with Marcus Samuelsson on two books, En Smakresa: Middagstips and The Soul of a New Cuisine, which received the James Beard Foundation Award for Best International Cookbook. See “Marcus Samuelsson” on p. 34.Rooted in: Washington, D.C.Can’t travel without: “My camera.”

candace rose rardon is a travel writer, photographer and sketch artist from the state of Virginia (USA). She recently completed her master’s in travel writing from London’s Kingston University and celebrated by driving an auto-rickshaw across India. Thankfully, she lived to write about it. See “Joy Ride by Rickshaw” on p. 42.Rooted in: Delhi, IndiaCan’t travel without: “My sketchbook.”

roxanne robbins spent a majority of her career in Washington, D.C., as a public relations specialist and sports journalist reporting on-location from the White House, seven Summer and Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl and the Little League World Series. Roxanne now directs Tukutana — the nonprofit she founded to provide resources for East African children and communities. See “Bases Loaded” on p. 48.Rooted in: Kampala, UgandaCan’t travel without: “Packing cubes, to neatly compartmentalize the items in my check-in and carry-on luggage.”

Tsedenia Tadesse

Henok Teferra

8 selamtamagazine.com

The Power of Friendship

Uganda’s Daniel

Alio pitches in the

first inning of a

consolation game

against Gresham,

Oregon (U.S.), at the

2012 Little League

World Series. Uganda

won 3-2.

selamtamagazine.com48

BRUSHING NERvES ASIDE, 11-YEAR-OLD DANIEL ALIO

focused on one goal as he stepped to the plate: reach

first base without getting tagged out.

Alio got his wish — and more.

“When I made contact with the ball, it just

went automatically and kept going,” Alio says

months later from the 11,500-acre sugar plantation

in Lugazi, Uganda, where his school is located. “It

went toward the big cameras in the outfield and far

beyond the fence.”

As it turned out, Alio had hit a two-run homer —

one of baseball’s greatest feats — before a crowd of

5,827 wildly cheering spectators. Alio was represent-

ing Uganda as part of Africa’s first-ever team to cross

the ocean and play in the 2012 Little League World

Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

“The fans watching our game applauded so loud-

ly,” Alio recalls. “I was full of great happiness as I

rounded the bases. When I reached home plate, my

team lined up to congratulate me.

“People seeing the first African team — they were

so happy. Even though we lost that game [3–9 to

Panama], people wanted to take our photos and have

us sign autographs. The people said, ‘Oh, you have

won our hearts.’ It was amazing.”

Little League Baseball is the largest organized

youth sports program worldwide, with nearly 200,000

teams registered across more than 80 countries. Of

these teams, only 16 qualify for the annual World

Series in Williamsport. At the 2012 tournament,

eight teams came from the United States (baseball’s

L o a d e dBases

Uganda holds its own against the world — in Little League Baseball.B Y R O x A N N E R O B B I N S

MA

TT

SLO

CU

M /

CO

RB

IS

49march/april 2013

birthplace), with eight other teams traveling from

Canada, Chinese Taipei, Curacao, Germany, Japan,

Mexico, Panama . . . and Uganda.

Alio’s team is called the Lugazi Mehta Little

League Team — sponsored by the Mehta Group and

by Richard Stanley, a retired American business-

man who, since 2002, has helped develop baseball

in Uganda. Stanley served as a coach for the Uganda

team at the 2012 World Series.

To earn a spot in the tournament, the team

needed to clinch the Uganda National Championship

and then acquire funds and legal documentation to

travel to Kutno, Poland. In Poland, they had to win

the Mideast and African Regional Tournament.

“When we arrived in Poland, it was a dream come

true,” says Henry Odong, 35, the team manager. There,

the boys surprised even themselves, defeating the

United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait to win the

tournament.

This was an especially significant accomplish-

ment, Odong says, because the Lugazi Mehta Little

League Team consisted entirely of Ugandan play-

ers, whereas the teams they played were composed

mostly of American children whose parents work in

the Middle East.

With those wins, the team was on its way to

the United States. Once there, the 11 boys and their

coaches were showered with media coverage, parades

and visits with Major League players.

The journey was not just the result of one team’s

success, however; instead, it marked almost two

decades of effort for Ugandan baseball.

Odong fell in love with baseball in 1994 — when a

visiting American brought the sport to his secondary

school in Lugazi — and he’s spent the past 19 years

advancing the sport in the area. During his lunch

breaks at the engineering company where he works as

a store accountant, Odong solicits sponsorships and

seeks permission from school administrators to teach

baseball to their students.

Even in a football-loving nation, Odong says he’s

found that once children try baseball, they’re hooked

— hooked on the sensation of hitting the ball and

watching it fly, of diving to catch the ball, of sliding

The proud Lugazi

Mehta Little

League Team

traveled from

its own club

facility (at right)

to Williamsport,

Pennsylvania

— the first-ever

African team to

compete in the

Little League

World Series.

(AL

L)

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

UG

AN

DA

LIT

TL

E L

EA

GU

E B

AS

EB

AL

L

50 selamtamagazine.com

(AL

L)

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

UG

AN

DA

LIT

TL

E L

EA

GU

E B

AS

EB

AL

L

51march/april 2013

De-liv-er-ing

the Africa Avenue, opposite to Alem Building200 meter inside, near to Robel Plaza

P.O. Box: 23689Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel: +251-11-6670202

Fax: +251-11-6670201 Email: marketing@friendshiphotel.com.et

Website: www.friendshiphotel.com.et

Friendship international hotel

Delivering the Difference!

Friendship International Hotel where you can always experience a high level of personalized service and a memorable stay.

This Addis Ababa upscale hotel is an exclusive new property offering spacious and tastefully furnished guestrooms, complete with state-of-the-art-technology.

Located at the heart of a metropolitan city, Friendship International Hotel is a walking distance from most of Addis’s business centers and a stone’s throw from Bole international Airport.

Friendship Hotel Selamta ad.indd 1 1/29/13 6:12 PM

into bases. “The whole thing is very interesting,” he

exclaims.

Although Odong worked his players hard over the

years to grow in their ball skills, he was never sure

that one of his teams could make it to the pinnacle

of baseball success: the Little League World Series. “I

told the boys, ‘Even if we don’t get to go to America,

let us continue playing because we enjoy the game.’”

So when the team found itself in Williamsport in

August 2012, Odong was thrilled beyond his wildest

dreams. The trip marked a milestone in Ugandan

baseball. Before, he explained, “Ugandan children —

including me — who played the game had nowhere

to go.”

But now? “It’s possible that some of these young

athletes might even develop into professional players

one day.”

“Wherever we’ve introduced baseball, kids are

really willing to play,” he says. Indeed, there are

currently 27 active leagues playing in Uganda, 16 of

which are chartered with Little League Baseball.

While young people in Uganda take immediately

to the game, some parents and school officials are

more hesitant, because they are not familiar with

the sport. “To build understanding,” Odong explains,

“we are hosting training clinics on how to coach and

umpire. We want to educate adults in the game and

attract their support and involvement.”

One headmaster whom Odong has already won

over is Geoffrey Nuwagaba of Mehta East Primary

School, where several of the Ugandan Little League

players are enrolled. Nuwagaba credits baseball with

putting their 1,315-pupil school, community and

nation on the map.

“To me, it was a miracle that some of our students

were able to travel to the United States,” Nuwagaba

says with a broad smile. “I’m the headmaster and I

don’t even have a visa.”

“Henry [Odong] and baseball brought prestige to

our school,” he adds. “We are now known from Lugazi

to America.” In return, the school is providing free

education to all Little League World Series players

who attend.

“We see ourselves as African ambassadors,” Alio

says. “The series was not about winning the whole

thing but about making history. We were the first

team to ever represent Africa in the [Little League]

World Series. Some people there had never heard of

Uganda. Some people had heard of Uganda but did

not know where it is.”

The future seems bright for young baseball play-

ers in Uganda, as fields, equipment and coaches

increase across the country. Odong is hopeful, too,

that as Ugandans participate in international tour-

naments, they will spread enthusiasm for the sport

when they return.

For now, though, he’s keeping his eye on next

year’s team . . . and setting their sights on August 2013

in Williamsport.

Tom Agaku (second

from right) and his

teammates cheer

after Uganda wins a

consolation baseball

game 3-2 against

Gresham, Oregon.

“ W e s e e o u r s e Lv e s a s a f r i c a n a m b a s s a d o r s .”

MA

TT

SLO

CU

M /

CO

RB

IS

52 selamtamagazine.com

“ W e s e e o u r s e Lv e s a s a f r i c a n a m b a s s a d o r s .”—Daniel Alio, 11 years old

MA

TT

SLO

CU

M /

CO

RB

IS