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Chip Wilson Shares His Journey to Ethiopia
I arrived very tired in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia yesterday from Germany as I did not sleep. Dad, Brett, Noel and I were met by the Addis driver and directed to a small five seater plane we took to Mekelle. The plane looked very sketchy and some work was done by the pilot to take water out of the gasoline lines before we left. The pilot was wonderful and gave us tons of confidence for the 2.5 hour ride (the commercial jet is 25 minutes but only flies once a day).
Chip visits dass school in Atsemba, Ethiopia
Our pilot told us Addis was a mess because there was an African convention in Addis and Kadafe from Libya had his six personal planes at the airport and security was at its highest. As we arrived in Mekele it appeared as though our pilot would return with a wedding group but it turned out to be our welcoming party including the minister for education. We were ushered into a very large elaborate room for the “official welcome” (which was delayed because we all had to go pee).
We drove to our very respectable hotel and met our top notch professional and passionate staff of imagine1day. I cannot say enough about their level of education, their personal self interest in what they do and their excitement about what they do for others. We drove 1.5 hours to a school we had just finished building called Harnet. The kids had been in the school four days. I was moved to tears. Words could never describe the happiness and thankfulness of the teachers, parents and children. These people have nothing. And I mean nothing. Now they have something and a future. The Lundin Foundation (and I have never said this before but “Bless them” arranged for the irrigation and the fruit trees for the school to sell to be self sustainable. Separate sex toilets and hand washing facilities were also built.
A well was being dug by two men 16 feet in the ground and they had to go down another 32 feet and they were throwing the dirt out one shovelful at a time. An Olympic hammer thrower has nothing on these guys. Speaking of which, I can see why this country produces the fastest long distance runners in the world. These children run hours to school and back (in five feet of snow, uphill both ways!)
Went to see four more schools today and the work that is getting done is amazing. It is clear to me that the government is testing us by giving us the most remote communities. The roads have been built by the communities to show their desire to have a school built. Our proactive approach to enroll the PTA as the community driver really works.
Chip is greeted by the students of Harnet Community School
Our team, lead by Lul (whose goal is to become an international motivational speaker – and I believe him) has set up, water, sports, hygiene, business, building and plant committees to put the power in the hands of the community. The community takes responsibility for their own success.
We gave the community 30 dollars each in a bank account and they can use the money to create more money. They can sell the fruit from the fruit trees for 10 times their investment. I know we are in the dry season but the dust and the erosion is phenomenal. They keep the rocks in the fields to keep the soil from flying away. Ethiopia which used to be covered 40 per cent with trees is now only covered by three per cent.
I was honoured to meet the president (like our provincial premier). The government’s commitment to education is unreal. Fifty per cent of the state budget goes to education. It is easy to see why we picked northern Ethiopia as the place to effect world change. It is easy to see why Frank Giustra and Lukas Lundin put 100 million dollars into the Clinton Foundation. I have to say I am proud that we are the operators that do the work on the ground for the foundations. Very rewarding. Even the teachers are being taught the fundamentals of lululemon business success with goal setting and “self responsibility”.
This has been a life altering experience and if you ever get the chance to see an Ethiopian remote community you will have had one of the greatest days of your life.
-Chip Wilson
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Moved by Chip’s insight into his journey to Africa? Invest in the Atsemba Community School which will be opening the door to change for the entire community. A fully furnished, first cycle primary school with quality instruction in grades one through four, and clean private latrines will transform the lives of Atsemba’s 3,200 inhabitants.
[...] Speaking of Ethiopia, Chip Wilson of Lululemon fame, also one of the founders of imagine1day, recently wrote about his recent trip to Africa. Check it out on the imagine1day blog, HERE. [...]
This truly has left me touched, moved and inspired. We spend so much time in life thinking about ourselves that what Chip is doing is truly elevating people around the world. The act of giving back is the greatest gift of all.
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad I found it though, will be checking back soon to see what other info you have.