As a part of my ongoing effort to help provide Ethiopian adoptees with a fuller picture of the positive aspects of Ethiopia, here is another installment in my series about notable Ethiopians.

Addisu Gessese is the manager for the music giant Ziggy Marley and has held concerts all over the world. He was in charge of the Africa United music concert at Meskal Square in Addis in 2005, and took the concert all over Africa.

Addisu left Ethiopia in 1972 when he was 18, and has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. Along with his work in the music industry, Addisu has a long history of investing in Ethiopia. He built over 20 schools in Oromia region with money he had raised. He plans to build more schools in Amhara and Tigray regions as well.

With the help of friends, Addisu built a four-story hotel called The Lion's Den. Addisu also runs a 700+ acre farm where he grows corn and soybeans and employs 80 permanent and 800 part time workers. Although Addisu currently alternates between living in Ethiopia and living in America, at some point in the future he would like to be back living in Ethiopia again fulltime.

Addisu and his brother, Zelleke, plan to hold a concert to help celebrate the millennium. Various internationally renowned singers will be performing at the concert, and the aim of the concert is to help Ethiopians celebrate their diversity and to send a message of peace.

Addisu hopes that his example will encourage other Ethiopian Americans to think about ways they can help in Ethiopia. You can read more about Addisu Gessese here. If you know of other famouse Ethiopians, email me (click on *Contact Mary*, at right) and let me know who you think we should feature next.

Other Notable Ethiopians:

Meseret Defar

Rebecca Haile

Dinaw Mengestu