"Political opinion should not be a factor not to help Ethiopia. We have to know that we are where we are and we have what we have because our people helped and educated us." Dr. Enawgaw Mehari

A: I was born in 1960 in Gojam, Ethiopia. I grew up in Amanuel which is about 30 kilometers from Debre Markos. I went to Elementary school at Amanuel and had my high school studies at Debre Markos. Then,   I went to Czechoslovakia to study medicine and went to North America. I studied neurology and I am a neurologist by profession. In 1999, I founded people to people, which a non-profit organization is working particularly on health care sectors. I have been coming to Ethiopia every year for the past 10 years.   

Q: What is your aim of coming to Ethiopia?   

A: This time, I and other members of people to people organization have come here to celebrate its 10^th year anniversary.   

Q: What initiated you to establish people to people?   

A: Obviously, as medical profession, I was quite aware that the medical challenges that our people face in particular with the challenges of HIV/AIDS and related diseases.  I asked myself what I could contribute to my people and this is like a small scale but a way of contribution a way of giving back to my country.   

Q: What are the major objectives of People to People?   

A: The concept of People to People is simple. It is from people to people. It is serving as a bridge to connect people in the Diaspora, Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopians, to the Ethiopian institutions and the Ethiopia people. So, it is just establishing the bridge in transferring knowledge and technology to close the gap, particularly in the health care areas.   

Q: So, to what extent, do you think, People to People has achieved its objectives?   

A: Obviously, the health care challenge is a huge challenge and it is complicated. But given the effort People to People has tried over the years, I think, there are significant contributions and we pretty happy about it. We work very closely with Addis Ababa Medical Faculty, with Ministries and with other NGOs. And particularly, People to People has managed to establish a very wide discussion forum where people can exchange their ideas and views. There are other services like a virtual clinic anybody in the world would ask questions and those questions will answered by experts within 24 or 48 hours. Through research, Peope to People has managed over 10 million USD in Ethiopia.    

Q: Could you brief us about the stakeholders and their contribution?   

A: People to People is a non-profitable organization that doesn’t have any affiliations with politics, religion or ethnicity. It is a voluntary organization and the only people who are hired as local people are who implement its activities. The stakeholders are the voluntaries and its Head Quarter is in Kentucky, USA.   It has sister organizations like People to People in Canada, Sweden   and so it is expanding world wide.    People to People has worked with different institutions just recently about a year ago has received a special consultative status from the UN. It has also been working with the WB. For example, People to People was an organization who managed to bring the anti-fungi medication that treats meninjits and fungal infections, which an opportunistic infection for HIV/AIDS and this medicine is today available for unlimited amount for the Ethiopian public.  People to People also brought delegates in 2001 led by Allis Johnson who has managed to establish social work at the post graduate levels: Master and PhD so that is significant.    What we do is we link institutions to institutions, foreign institution with the Ethiopian institution. Because we brought Dr. Allis Johnson to Ethiopia and we introduced her to the University she was able to get some funds to initiate the social studies at a master level. Then the dean of that has managed to expand it.  Today it is at the level of PhD.   

Q: What is the reach of this organization?   

A: Ethiopia is our focal point but we do have offices in Sweden, Canada and Finland. We have volunteers allover the world in Australia, England, Germany and France so it is worldwide.  It is internet based and the discussion forum has over 30 thousand, if we post now a case that would be distributed with no time to these members of People to People across the world.   

Q: What are the major performances that People to People have performed in Ethiopia?   

A: People to People has been working with the University’s Medical Faculty to develop a neurology program. As you may know, there are initially only from 5-10 neurologist in Ethiopia. So, People to People has been part and parcel to develop neurology program with the partnership of Black Lion Hospital Medical Faculty. Today, the neurology program managed to graduate the first batch, 6 neurologists. So, this like we have now 6 neurologists in addition to what we used to have.    This is a continuation program. People to People is helping to train and educating neurologists to the country. We do have a memorandum of understanding with the medical faculty to work together in evaluating first graduate courses. So, there is lots of exchange of ideas.  We do have also a boarding school for orphans. People to People is helping these girls.  We do have an extended family, orphans programs, the people in the Diaspora have sponsored these orphans and we provide a virtual clinic and anybody who has a medical question could get answer and get within 24 hours.  We have also a free clinic founded by People to People in Kentucky, America. Americans are helping us but we are also contributing and help people in America with this free clinic.     

Q: Is anything that makes People to People unique from other NGOs and CSOs?    

A: It is unique in the case that it is voluntary based organization. As a CEO, I am a volunteer and I don’t get paid to run People to People. I cover my expenses whenever I come to Ethiopia and not only cover my expenses but also actually loose so much money because I am not on my job. I have my own practices and that practice is not functioning when I’m here. So, this is unique. We serve as a bridge between the Diaspora and Ethiopia and that bridge is to transfer knowledge and technology and so that is really the essence of People to People from people to people, serving as a bridge to narrow the gap through education which makes it unique. We just want to contribute to our people because we believe that we have what we have and we are where we are because of our people. The people gave us the education and we think like it is our responsibility to give it back.   

Q: What is the system of identifying the beneficiaries?   

A: Well, we work with the University in partnership and we are trying to help the capacity of the institutions. However, in terms of the local activities, such as the boarding school, we have orphans girls who are more victims as they are subjected to the heavy burdens. So, we want to make a difference and give a chance for them to become what they want to become.    In this case, the local community is involving. For example, one can be an orphan and then may have some of the family members who could help so one of the identifying factors is the level of poverty. Educational standard is another one.  Our goal is to give them the opportunity so they won’t be abandoned on the street.    For the first time, Ethiopia is now producing its own neurologists and people to people has initiated that huge program. People to People as an international organization has also reached out the neurologists and institutions in the West.  It is helping them in galvanizing interests for them to come and teach. This is a significant role in medicine to build the local capacity so that we would have our own people to treat neurological disorders. Today, many people travel outside Ethiopia. By educating and creating programs and helping the local partners, we believe that solution has to come within. This is not something that we can buy solutions as commodity from the West. I think it has to come with in and we need to have indigenous solutions.  But to get an indigenous solution and to get an authentic solution, it is very important to build the capacity of the local institutions.     So, the concept of people to people is serving as a bridge and transfer technology and knowledge to Ethiopia and working together in partnership with the University and the Ministry of health so that we can make a difference. So, in some areas, we want to be a role model for others doing the right thing right. For example, the boarding school, that is where I was born and I went to that school and now  for me, to go there and tell them that the can be doctors,  engineers that I’m not a special that is the message. We want to be an example that one can make a difference.    

Q: You told me what People to People has allotted about 10 million USD here in Ethiopia,     

A: Not yearly, this is money like for example, when we bring people delegates to Ethiopia , they spent sometime, they go back to America and they apply to research , they get grants. The accumulation of that grants money over the time is over 10 million USD. This is not the money that we bring to the country every year. I want to give you an example how people to people bring experts and so they establish a relationship to the country and then that eventually brings money to the country. The typical example is the social work in 2001, we brought experts. One of the experts was Dr. Allis Johnson who is the dean of social work in Chicago. We introduced her to the president of Addis Ababa University. She went back and applied grants and she got grants and  with that money she started the social work program and she was able to produce about 40, if I’m not mistaken,  Ethiopians with Master programs. Those people are now leaders in the country whether it is in poverty reduction or expanding services in the social work area. Now, that program has training at a PhD level. So, in this case the role of people to people is to connect one institution to the other.    

Q: What system do you use in monitoring and evaluation so that transparency and accountability could prevail?    

A: We are subject to standard the regulations of the country just like other organizations in the country.  People to People is always getting audited and from that angle, we don’t have any difficulty and our goal is to be a role model by doing things right. It is not a huge organization in terms of financial capacity but we do have resources. For example, we work very close with Ethiopia Airlines other institutions. So, many institutions are willing to train some of the doctors from here. So, we were able to expose many doctors to the West. If we don’t have that partnership and if we thoroughly depend on money, it would require lots of money. But the institutions are willing to support the lodging, the food if I bring a doctor to here for short terms trainings. Because of the working relations with other organizations, it helps the capacity of People to People to carry out its own activities.

Q: Recently, the Ethiopian government has endorsed a new law for NGOs and CSOs, do you have anything to say about that?   

A: People to people is not affected by that.   

Q: - Why not?             

A:  Because like what I said we transfer knowledge and technology and I don’t think this is restricting that. I’m a neurologist and I bring other neurologists and we train doctors to become neurologists. So we don’t have any problem because of that. We simply bring scientists and we do have scientists from England and other countries so our work is not affected by that law.    

Q: Let’s move on to another points, what’s your evaluation of the changes here at home?    

It is a hard question but I can suggest in the healthcare area but I’ve to know the whole history. There is one saying that goes “one has to be see the whole elephant not the ears of the elephant” so that can’t comment on other issues but the healthcare is very much improved. There are so many important initiatives. If we are talking about the healthcare, in 19964 when the first medical school was established in Ethiopia,  the Ethiopian people by and large faced  huge challenges in the medical area and the initiatives I see now are encouraging. There is huge effort to produce more nurses and healthcare professionals in the country. I think that is good because historically the Ethiopian health care system was initially run by missionaries, diplomatic missions and foreign travelers. We don’t have a strong foundation in the healthcare system. Today, we have about six medical schools. I am from a school of thought that we need to start something, for example, the neurology program that we have already started is not one of the best like the neurology program in America or England, but somebody somehow has started something because there should be an alternative. If I say this is wrong, I should provide an alternative.    I have visited one of hospitals in Nazareth and that I was very impressed. The moral is high and they develop, for example, medical records and the things they try to achieve in different areas they have a back up now. They able to raise the budget from 1million to 5 million and I think if we replicate that approach to other parts of the country, I think, that is encouraging. It very important to understand the whole situation and as the same time we could see where we are. So, in the medical area, there is progress, and I think, the Ministry is doing its job. What interest me most are the facts on the ground that can bring changes to the many people, when I see Adama Hospital, I was very impressed and I want to see that kind of set up to many peoples of the country.    

Q: -Do you have any message to other Ethiopian Diaspora to contribute to their country?   

A:  My view is the Ethiopia that we love, the Ethiopia that we know, the mother land, if we think our people need to get a better healthcare, if we think our people need to have a better life; we need to be part of the solution. People can have different political opinions, views and ideas, but I think we need to ask ourselves like what can we do to help our people and we are where we are everyone we have what we have because our people helped us. So, what is the alternative? What is the solutions we have? What can we do together? I think it is very important that the solution has to come within. There is no a commodity solution that we can buy from America.  The solution has to come within and if it has to come within we need to part of the solution. Part of the solution means to give back. One can be a taxi driver, a medical doctor, a scientist or an engineer but just find an organization or an institution and work with that. Political opinion should not be a factor not to help Ethiopia because this is journey and this is a movement and in movement there is friction and if we are afraid the friction, we can’t try and just we stop.  My experience working for the last ten years is very fulfilling. It is so fulfilling. I don’t need to worry about the money I lose by not working in America for two weeks because I learnt a lot and I think we can’t just blame. If we don’t do anything, we just can’t blame others. We have to try and work together.