As the government has been in full gear to halt the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and rehabilitate people and institutions that suffer from the consequences of the pandemic, Ethiopians in group and individuals are demonstrating patriotic acts.
Business people have continued contributing in millions to the national and regional resource mobilizing committees; and some of them in real estate business have already dedicated their buildings and houses for medical test accommodation for free.
Individuals, particularly the youth have continued donation of sanitary materials and other supplies to the needy at local level. A number of house renters in Addis Ababa city and several other towns have either slashed the rent fee by half or exempted it altogether considering the dire conditions their clients have been at present.
In addition to committing financial supports, the private sector and the whole people are demonstrating their age-old culture of helping each other in several ways. As a typical showcase of Ethiopian consideration, artists in Addis Ababa last week visited and distributed sanitary materials to farmers in the outskirts of the city.
But the latter did not send them back bare-handed. They were accompanied by a truck full of dozens of sacks of Teff and other cereals to be handed over the city administration. This is how the long-established traditions of Ethiopians manifest at times of difficulty. And history will record all these and several untold gallant voluntary activities of Ethiopians are doing at this difficult time. Despite that, the public and the private sector are expected to do even more.
This is a good opportunity for the entire nation in fending off any possible threat and all stakeholders should nurture the practice for future experience. So, far the government is coordinating the public for resource mobilization. As the saying goes, strike when the iron is hot. This is the right time to lift up the motivation of all actors and further enable them to discharge their national and social responsibilities in responding to crisis of the current scale. It is important to nurture the popular saying, “Charity begins at home.” Though the support might not be enough to address crisis related to COVID-19, it will have far reaching implication on promoting humanitarian and charitable works that are highly required to be promoted in Ethiopia. All other institutions should also build up on the ongoing efforts and work on completely averting the pandemic as well as further solving social problems at home.
The Ethiopian Herald April 11/2020
