Dear
“Ye Jimma Lidjoch”
&
Friends of Jimma!
Your home town
and place of identity, Jimma greets you and wants to address her problems to her children -
to YOU!
As
we all know, Jimma in today’s Ethiopia is one of the least developed and deteriorated town,
even a joke was made on Jimma saying “when a town deteriorates, it looks like Jimma”, “ketema
siyarej Jimman yimeslal”.
It
is in deed sad and heart breaking to hear this while we know and knew that Jimma was one of the richest/harmonious/beautiful
and fast developing towns of Ethiopia.
Jimma was the fourth (when Eritrea was part of Ethiopia)
best towns of Ethiopia.
What
happened to Jimma? What went wrong?
Can
we unite and rebuild our beloved town?
Can
we bring a change?
Can
we bring back the Jimma we knew once?
YES, we can!
Recently,
two meetings/gatherings of "Ye Jimma Lidjoch" and friends of Jimma have taken place at the Ras Hotel in Addis Ababa. The objectives of both meetings were
to call upon "Ye Jimma Lidjoch" and friends of Jimma in Addis Ababa and elsewhere
in the country (even globally) and create understanding of the current retarded development and deterioration of Jimma and
to join our hearts, our hands, our money and our talent to re-establish Jimma, which once has been the center/paradise of
Ethiopia!
“Jimma
the town of beauty”,
“Jimma
ye Webet ketema”,
“Jimma
the town of Love”,
“Jimma Ye Fikir
Ketema”.
The meetings: It was declared on the first meeting (April 13, 2008) that
the city of Jimma administrative council and the municipality will organize a 10-12 days celebration on the occasion of the
178 years birthday of Jimma from 24 May – 4 June 2008. It
was initiated believing
that to create attention on Jimma's development parallel with the national millennium celebration. Therefore,
the first meeting was concluded by electing a committee of 9 persons here in Addis, as coordinating (the 178 years birthday)
committee. This committee which is a member of the larger committee of Jimma city was given an assignment to call for another
larger gathering of Ye Jimma Lidjoch and friends of Jimma in Addis Ababa.
In
April 26, 2008, the committee called/organized the 2nd meeting at Ras Hotel with over 500 attendees, the meeting
was very harmonious lots of sentimental speeches on Jimma made by both senior/elderly/religious and junior citizens of Jimma
and friends of Jimma. The messages were:
“We all LOVE Jimma!”,
“We are one people!”
“Jimma is our identity!”,
“We will help Jimma”
At
this meeting the deputy president of Oromiya Region, the Chief Administrator of Jimma Zone, and the Mayor of Jimma city were
present and all the three made speeches to the audience and have not only indicated the preparedness of the government to
lay out favorable conditions for investment for development in all spheres of socio-economic activities; But they also have
invited all "Ye Jimma Lidjoch" and friends of Jimma to associate themselves and practically involve in the development of
Jimma and the surrounding by contributing their resources as well as by inviting all those
concerned to integrate themselves in the betterment of Jimma. Action items were identified and one of
them is to create understanding on Jimma's current deteriorated situation among Ye Jimma Lidjoch abroad and call for help
in which ever way they can. And more importantly, to invite ALL "ye Jimma Lidjoch" an
friends of Jimma to participate on the 12 days long celebration in Jimma which will end up in a huge (nationally broadcasted)
fund-raising gala evening in Jimma, which will be attended by high ranked Ethiopian government, foreign government representatives
and very well known members of the social, religious, business, academic, etc communities.
A call for HELP!
Jimma
calls you, her child to help her come out from her difficult situation she is in now. She loves you and trusts you that you
will not let her go down.
If
you wish to make financial support:
Account Jimma development;
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia,
Jimma Branch in favor of Jimma
Town Administration,
Asphalt
Road Construction Project
Account
No. 32/82
