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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.
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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.
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V o l u m e 3 0 | N u m b e r 2
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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
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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.
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51march/april 2013
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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 .”
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“ 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
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