Thanks to the leadership and hard work of Marta Gabre-Tsadick and Demeke Tekle-Wold in their native Ethiopia, more children go to school; more families have locally grown food, roads, and the skills to earn a living; and a state-of-the-art hospital is available to all.  Marta and "Deme" have spent most of the past 15 years creating and expanding Project Mercy, a U.S. charity that benefits rural Ethiopians.  Their lifelong commitment to service and their tireless work to build a better life for their country truly make them Leaders in Action.

 

Both Marta and Deme were born in Ethiopia, but they met while they were attending college in the United States.  They returned home with a firm commitment to serve their country.  Marta, whose name means "servant," was asked by Emperor Haile Selassie to address corruption within the government.  In 1968 he appointed her to the Ethiopian Parliament, making her the nation's first female senator.  As Marta and Deme raised their four children in Addis Ababa, Deme first headed a vocational school and then managed a thriving export-import business in nearby Dire Dawa that employed more than 1,000 people.

 

With the rise of communism and violence in the early 1970s, Marta and Deme realized that the best way to serve their country and remain true to their ideals was to leave.  After living in Kenya and then Greece for a year, the family was sponsored by a church in the United States and immigrated to Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1977.  Initially, they created Project Mercy to help Ethiopian refugees who were living in refugee camps; today, their focus is on community development and self-help programs in the village of Yetebon, Ethiopia.  According to one village elder, "This was only a place for grazing cattle; now it is as precious as gold."

CASE FOUNDATION:  After being forced to flee Ethiopia in 1975, why did you decide to return to your homeland?

MARTA AND DEME:  We were involved in the idea of a better Ethiopia even before we were forced to become refugees ourselves. When the communists took over our homeland and during the point of our escape, we decided that we would not both work to earn a living. It was at that time that our hearts united in doing all we could to help other Ethiopian refugees get some sort of solace for their lives and to also one day return to our homeland to do everything we could to educate its future leaders in restoring its rich heritage.We were involved in the idea of a better Ethiopia even before we were forced to become refugees ourselves.  Read Q+A with the Case Foundation.