Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself

Good Afternoon!

I immigrated to the US in the 1960s, and for the first time, after thirty plus years of absence, I visited Ethiopia in 1997. Since then, I have been traveling to Ethiopia at least twice a year, and more frequently the last couple of years. What I discovered in Ethiopia is a country completely devastated with war, hunger, disease, poverty, illiteracy and above all, a country that is paralyzed with bureaucracy due to the lack of an effective management system.
Once I identified what needs to be done, I started to ask myself, what can I, as an individual, do to alleviate the problem?

First, as an individual, I can adapt and transfer the management knowledge and skill that I have acquired during my working life here in the nuclear industry. This will make the public sector effective and efficient, and eliminate the bureaucracy. This is a lofty Goal. It is a big elephant. It already took me 5 years to get through the deep skin of the bureaucracy. I never gave up. I am making progress now.

Second, by synergizing my effort with people of the same vision, we set another ambitious goal to bring about a meaningful impact to the economic development of the country that should take a decade or two. We established the Ethiopian Knowledge and Technology Transfer Society. By being a catalyst or conduits, we are helping those Diaspora Associations and friends of Ethiopia who want to get involved in actions to get engaged. We are shipping books by millions and by 40-ft containers.
I am currently synergizing my effort with California State University, under the leadership of President Hughes, to mobilize US Universities' Presidents and Chancellors and Ethiopian North American Health Professional Association to get support from all over the world to realize our vision of establishing World Class Ethiopian - African American University and Ethiopian-African American University Hospital.

Let me tell you, the ground is swelling. As of today we have partners and Honorary Founders of 36+ Universities' Presidents and Chancellors. Partnership is open to all, Our target is to partner with a minimum of 60 Universities to partner and open this world class University and hospital to serve the whole Sub Sahara region as a whole.

You can join us by contacting California State University, Stanislaus, Project Ethiopia. Turlock, Ca 95382.

The reason why I started talking about what I am doing is simply to let you know that any one of us, if focused, organized, positive, flexible, and proactive, without question, can make a difference. It is a call of duty. Ethiopia is calling us!

Let me now talk about the new age. The Knowledge Age. Currently society is in the middle of a sharp transformation. A transformation from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Age, i.e., the rearrangement of values, beliefs, social and above all, economic wealth. It is an age of unlimited
wealth where God wants every nation to be rich.
Knowledge is rapidly becoming the world's primary and most precious resource in creating wealth, while replacing land, energy, labor, and capital. The elements for rapid economic growth for underdeveloped countries are education, entrepreneurial culture, and above all close ties and network with their overseas expatriates and friends, for access to their capital, trading and financial network, and above all access to their acquired knowledge.

What this means is that people don't have to live anymore where they want to make a difference. Thanks to teleworking, telemanagement, telemedicine, school on line, video conferencing, etc.

Now let me differentiate the knowledge workers in Ethiopia and the Diaspora. Knowledge workers in Ethiopia are people too. In fact, most of them, are highly educated. Knowledge workers in Diaspora are trained people.

Education is theory. Training is practicality. Training is concerned with the development of skills that will be used for social and economic development. Training is focused much on procedural knowledge - how to, skills based. Even if we have the training and skill for knowledge work, it will get obsolete fast. Diaspora are fortunate to be right where the action is taking place to acquire and keep current of these ever changing working systems and processes. Ethiopia is blessed to have so many of us here in the first world that can be conduits and catalysts for transferring this new wealth called knowledge, but only if we are willing and act upon it.

First, let me talk about what is the Primary Ethiopian need. Second, what is the Diaspora can offer in response to Ethiopian need. Third, why the Diaspora don't get involved in the rebuilding of Ethiopia. Fourth, how the Diaspora can get involved if they choose to do so.

What does Ethiopia need from the Diaspora?

What Ethiopia is lacking is exactly what we, the Diaspora, are having. It is a perfect match to collaborate and bring about high performances and results. What they need are standardized, integrated, consistent, and a uniformed approach to doing things. What Ethiopia needs from us are those effective policies, systems, processes, procedures, methods, tools, and techniques that we have acquired during our daily professional working life here in the US You know which ones
they are? They are those binders on the shelf behind your office chairs. Those manuals, program directives, procedures. Those Quality Assurance/Quality Control manuals, those computer programs, performance manuals, and even those forms and work sheets that you personally are using in your daily professional work life.

Those health codes, building codes, insurance codes, banking codes, traffic codes, even notary public codes, literally across the board in every discipline. That is how those Chinese engineer and scientist friends of mine were doing at my former job. Every time Calvin Yip goes to China for a vacation, the manuals that were on his shelf disappear. I was wondering why?

Our brothers in Ethiopia know what has to be done. No question in my mind, they want to do the right things right. Don't you believe it that they are holding back. It is just a challenge to change deeply rooted culture, let alone not knowing or not having the proper tools. Give them a proven practical system or methodology that you personally have practiced at your job, and take it upon yourself to get it going. That is all! Folks, trust me, it can be done. Let me emphasize again, what they want. They want someone to show them the practical working systems on how to do it.
Training is about taking what they have -- their strengths and building on them by adapting the skill we have acquired during our daily work. That is what the country needs from us. What they are lacking are trained and skilled people, and we are those trained and skilled people.
Folks, Ethiopia is calling us.

Now, why some Diaspora don't get involved in the rebuilding of Ethiopia:

1. Some of us don't want to look back. We don't have any good memories. I say to you, Just take one more look. Things are different.

2. Some of us just do not know the realities on site. We have not been there for a while.

3. Some of us are totally disoriented by the noisy minority. I say to you make up your mind based on facts.

4. Some of us, could not make that paradigm shift, and reorient ourselves to the current realities. We are still engaged in the same rhetoric that we inherited from the 60s and 70s era.

5. Some of us do not agree with the philosophy of the current regime. This is fine, we all have the right to disagree. In fact it is healthy. What is not right though is when we resort to directly or
   Indirectly condemning the country as a whole, hoping that it will further our causes. That is not right. It is not right to discourage or hinder help that is designed to reach the poor people of the country.

6. We can continue the struggle for whatever cause we stand, but what is wrong is trying to stop the flow of support for the economic advancement of the country, hoping that it will create mass confusion.

7. Some of us are simply sick and tired and do not want to get through that bureaucracy. To overcome this, we need to be determined. What is determination? If a stumbling mountain is on our way, determination means go Around it! Over it! Under it; and if still the mountain is there, fine, Let's go through it. Determination that just won't quit--that's what it takes. Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of that roadblock that lay before you. Folks, the difference between the impossible and the possible lies in your determination. We the Diaspora can bring about the turnaround situation.

8. The majority of us are simply not aware that we can make a difference, but we are ready to contribute if only the opportunity is there.

How do all these issues manifest themselves? We give Excuses.We're critical. We blame and complain. We are skeptics and procrastinators.

Minority of us give excuses, excuses, excuses We give all kinds of excuses, but if we really want to contribute we can find a way how to do it, and if we do not want to do it, it is just as easy to find all kinds of excuses. Nothing is impossible. There are always ways to do anything we want to do. What I am saying is an excuse is a fabrication and simply putting it, IT IS A LIE. I am not saying that everything is right in Ethiopia. What I am saying is two wrongs do not make one right.

Minority of us are critical, critical, critical

Of course we are always at liberty to criticize, but before we criticize the country I wish we could visit the country first. That way it will be a constructive criticism based on a first hand information.

The easiest thing a human being can do is criticize another human being. Should we hold back our support because we do not agree with the current system? I am going to repeat what I said earlier. I cannot condemn the whole country just because I do not agree with the current environment and the current regime. It is almost a sin to prohibit the poor people of Ethiopia to forbid from sharing the good Lord's creation of unlimited wealth that he made available through knowledge resource.
Mahatma Gandhi said in a gentle way, you can shake the world.

Minority of us Blame, Blame, blame

Yes, there are times when legitimately there is a fault. Blaming, however, is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless how much you blame, you will not succeed in changing the situation or whatever it is that is making you unhappy. It SHOULD have
been this, It SHOULD have been that, SHOULD is a waste of time.
If you want to change it, first understand the real problem with its root cause, come up with solutions, agree on the corrective action and be a part of the implementation process.
When we are just engaged in blaming, we give away our power. We can get discouraged due to many things. When we blame somebody else and stop trying, then that is a failure. To find a fault is easy, but it is difficult to do it better, and it can be done.

Minority of us complain, complain, complain

It doesn't need any brainpower to complain, but doing something positive will help the situation.
If we have the time to whine and complain, then we have the time to do something about it.
Someone said, You can't stop the rain by complaining.

Minority of us procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate:

Folks! If we are waiting for that absolute moment when everything is ready, let me assure you, we will never begin. If we are waiting for that moment when the environment in Ethiopia is as democratic as the Western World, let me assure you again that we are going to wait, and wait, and grow old, and then we'll die. That time will never come in our life time. We will never get anything done.

Let me quote Emperor Haile Selassie here. Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the
voice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph.
What he is saying is Waiting is a trap.

By the way, How do I know they are the minority? Simple. It is the basic 80/20 Pareto Principle.

• 20% of the population owns 80% of the wealth
   

• 20% of the workers do 80% of the work
   

• 20% of the motorists cause 80% of the accident
   

• 20% of drinkers consume 80% drinks
  
  therefore,

  20% of Diaspora make 80% of the noise.

In conclusion let me say this. It is easy to sit down and take notice, what is difficult is getting up and taking action. If we want to be part of the solution, we must first visit the country to get first hand information, then we can make the decision on how we can get involved. If each one of us perform our duty as an individual, irrespective of the other guy next door, and if each one of us transfer our own acquired knowledge for the respective organizations, then it will be right for the whole Ethiopian organizations. What this means is, you can change your corner of the territory-and if enough corners change, then Ethiopia will start to look different.

Mother Teresa said, If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. If we just stop whining and bickering and get engaged in action, together we can make a difference.

Thank You

Sioum Gebeyehou

"The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat." -- Napoleon Hill