Gathering at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on September 23, 1999, were eight of the Haile Selassie students who were brought to the United States on the Pacem In Terris scholarships at La Roche College. They were all nominated and sponsored by the Haile Selassie Fund for Ethiopia’s Children, of which HIH Prince Ermias (in tie, center) is co-patron with his wife, HIH Princess Gelila Fesseha. Crown Council supporter Seyoum Aberra was on hand (left) to help greet the students, as was Ato Kifle Melaku (second from right), who was there to greet one of his sons, Abraham Kifle Melaku (extreme right), one of the scholarship winners. Other supporters of the Crown were also at the airport for what was an extremely happy occasion. Woyzerit Mestewwat Matewos Sugebo, one of two female scholarship winners, is shown second from left holding up the welcome sign which greeted the students as they arrived. The other students shown here are: Brothers Ermias Hailu and Endrias Hailu (wearing the Ethiopian tricolors), Amin Mohammed Yassin, Ana Fuad Ousie, Henok Mulualem Gebrehiwot, and Shakir Fuad Mohammed.
Eleven of Haile Selassie students chosen for Pacem In Terris Scholarships have arrived in the United States to start their studies. The students, who were all selected by the Haile Selassie Foundation for Ethiopia’s Children, will spend four years at La Roche College, in Pittsburgh, in the United States, graduating with Bachelor degrees. They have all committed to return to Ethiopia upon graduation to apply their learning to improving conditions in Ethiopia.
Eight of the students — shown here — arrived in Washington DC from Addis Ababa on September 23, 1999, en route to Pittsburgh, and were greeted at Washington’s Dulles International Airport by the Patron of the Haile Selassie Foundation, HIH Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia. The students were originally scheduled to go to La Roche’s new sister college in Texas, but this campus was not yet completed, and so the scholarships were transferred to the main La Roche campus in Pittsburgh.
Two of the 11 students who have arrived are from the Ethiopian diaspora: one from Germany, the other from Maryland in the US. Another student had already arrived from Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Crown Council Enderassé HH Prince Bekere Fikre-Selassie sent greetings to the students on their arrival in the US, and both he and Prince Ermias — along with other Crown Council officials — plan a special reception for the Haile Selassie student contingent when they have settled down in Pittsburgh. Prince Bekere has made education one of his key areas of focus within the Crown Council. Prince Ermias, meanwhile, has committed with Princess Gelila Fesseha, the co-patron of the Haile Selassie Fund for Ethiopia’s Children, to a regular schedule of visits to Pittsburgh — where he is also a Director of La Roche College — to provide support and counselling for the students.
