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DR. FISSEHA HAILE-MESKEL:

Fisseha Haile-Meskel, PhD

December 28, 1931 – October 31, 2022

A Life of Exemplary Character, Achievement and Service.

It is with profound sadness that Dir Biyabir announces the passing of Dr. Fisseha Haile Meskel, a legendary force behind the formation and success of Adheno, Dir Biyabir’s biggest project implementation partner in Ethiopia.  Dir Biyabir owes its existence and many years of success to the inspiration and practical guidance given by Dr. Fisseha.

Dr Fisseha was born and raised in Hirna, former Harer province.  His parents were thoroughly committed to the idea of education as a worthy aspiration and set high expectations of a college education for all their 10 children.  He had the nowadays increasingly rare privilege of getting a thorough traditional church education, learning enough to be able to serve as a Deacon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.   When a modern (secular) school was opened in Hirna, his obvious thirst and gift for learning pushed him to start pursuing it too.  At some point, he was advised to choose one path, and thus he picked the secular one, progressively attending schools in Asebe Teferi, Harer and eventually coming to Addis Ababa to earn a Biology degree at Haile Sellasie I University (HSIU), now Addis Abeba University (AAU).

He then earned two Masters degrees and a PhD. His first Masters was in Biology from New York University (NYU).  He had started his PhD program at NYU but heeded a call from Emperor Haile Sellasie to return and teach at what later became Gonder University.  He later moved back to Harer to teach young cadets at the elite Harer Military Academy.  From there, an opportunity opened up for him to pursue a PhD at University of Bergen in Norway.  He then returned to lead the Biology department at HSIU and to teach Genetics, Human Biology, and Parasitology. Dr. Fisseha established the first Museum of Natural History in Ethiopia at the 4-kilo campus of AAU, and published the first Amharic book on Ethiopian Wildlife in 1974. 

Dr Fisseha interlaced his PhD education with research in Ethiopia on Public Health.  He later earned his second Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan. After his academic career, he transitioned to working in Public Health institutions. For 15 years he served and led the National Health Research Institute (formerly the Pasteur Institute), transforming it into an institution of high intellectual caliber. He then retired as a public servant and took some consulting roles until he was asked to serve as Acting Director of Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), and to lead this then troubled institution back to it's original focus on scientific endeavors.  A task Dr. Fisseha brilliantly accomplished, even expanding the scope of diseases covered by this institution.

True to his nature (and that of his father's) as a man of strong work ethics, life after "retirement" opened a new shining chapter.  He was leading a committee to rebuild an ancient St. Gabriel’s Church in the village of Worq Gur in the Northern Shewa region.  The church had been burned down during the invasion of Mohammed Gragn over 400 years ago.  The church was magnificently rebuilt.  It’s rebuilding however, enabled himto  observe and appreciate the many challenges faced by the otherwise pious and humble community in this region, one of the poorest and most neglected regions in Ethiopia.  He resolved then that the committee and its networks should continue working on helping the community overcome many of these challenges.

The issues were manifold.  There was serious erosion and soil degradation.  They started off with planting trees to recover the soil and raise the water level.  The first round of seedlings were mostly lost since they had no care and protection after they were planted.  Dr Fisseha then designed a strategy to ensure the survival of the planted seedlings. The idea was to adapt the tradition of "Gudifecha" (adoption) of kids to apply to tree seedlings.  Thus farmers would "adopt" the planted tree seedlings, and if they cared well enough for them that they survived they are given some financial reward (as incentive).  This strategy, known as "Gudifecha of Trees", won a competition by the World Bank for being innovative.  This led to funding from the Irish Embassy in Ethiopia, a fortuitous opportunity which forced the hitherto informal committee to be formally organized to comply with the law.  And thus Adheno was born in 2003 as a legally licensed NGO with the formal purpose of being an Integrated Rural Development Association focused on the larger Northern Shewa region.  The word “Adheno” was taken from the name of the Church.

From this beginning, the area now has significant re-forestation with great improvement in the water level and its availability.  Adheno has built schools up to 8^th grade, with particular emphasis on girls’ education.   Adheno provides financial support for children that have been able to make it to high school but can only do so at a larger town away from home.  Widows are encouraged and organized for entrepreneurial activities to increase their income and get more independence.  Roads, footpaths  and bridges have been made for areas the locals have identified as inaccessible and risky.    These projects are truly life changing for what by now are families in the thousands.

What has started as an informal committee, is now a formal organization with significant support from community leaders, local governments, philanthropic organizations and donors.  Dir Biyabir is proud to be one of those who helps support and fund many of these projects and initiatives.

Dr. Fisseha has taken to heart his parents’ passion for gaining and spreading knowledge and education.  He has at least 30 papers published in major peer reviewed journals.  Taking his responsibility to share his knowledge he has written many articles on scientific topics in Amharic, making pioneering translations on many scientific topics.  

Dir Biyabir would like to offer comfort to the grieving family.  All of us are eventually called to the other side - at a time and place not of our choosing.  But few are so blessed as to be able to look back at a life of indeed such exemplary character, achievement and service as Dr. Fisseha Haile Meskel.