On July 11th, as a representative of WEF’s diaspora community outreach, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow Ethiopians in Houston, Texas who were eager to listen and experience, firsthand, Wegene’s mission. The event was held at Blue Nile Restaurant conference room at 6:00PM. The turnout was overwhelming, considering this was the event held in the heart of Houston.  Through a power point presentation, I gave an introduction of our foundation, our accomplishments over the past 18 years, and our future commitments. Following my presentation, attendees eagerly watched Wegene’ s official documentary which told the story of families who have been transformed by the foundation. In that moment, I witnessed many of the attendee’s eyes fill with tears as they listened to the suffering Wegene families experience due to the consequences of poverty. I also noticed the faces of attendees glowing while they listened to the recipients of donations list the goals they were able to accomplish with the help of Wegene. Attendees also had an opportunity participate in a Q & A session while owners of the Blue Nile Restaurant served dinner. On behalf of WEF board members and event attendees, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the owners and staff members of the restaurant for their outstanding and kind service.

Interacting with our Ethiopian community in Houston has given me a sense of optimism and assurance about planning additional events in the future. We enthusiastically welcome and thank our newest Houston members who signed on to join Wegene, bought Wegene’s crafts that were on display, and took their chances on raffle tickets to win ETA sponsored round trip flights to Ethiopia. I wish all our members and prospective members the best!!  Thank You Houston!!