COMPILED BY BETELHEM BEDLU
Amsale Gualu was born in 1977 in Bahir Dar, at the capital city of Amhara State. When she was three, her family moved to Addis Ababa and got enrolled her primary school at Assai Public school and then attended her secondary school at Bole High school. She joined Addis Ababa University in the faculty of Science and Technology and earned her first degree in the field of Architecture and Urban Planning from Addis Ababa University (AAU)
Since her childhood, she had a desire of becoming a pilot. And in her freshmen year, she took an entrance exam to join the Ethiopian Aviation Academy (EAA) to receive aviation training. Unfortunately, she could not get the pass mark of the Airlines. She then took the exam again in her final year of undergraduate study. This time she succeeded in her efforts, passed the exam and joined the Aviation Training Center.
Captain Amsale joined the Ethiopian Aviation Academy in July 10, 2000, graduated two years later in November 26, 2002 as the number six female pilot and worked for eight years flying more than 4475 hours as a first officer before earning her Captain title in October 14, 2010 by flying an Ethiopian Airlines next generation Q-400 Bombardier Airplane from Addis Ababa to Gondar. The flight was her independent flight from Addis-Gondar-Axum then Addis.
She also led an all-women operating flights from Addis Ababa to Bangkok in 2015, to Kigali in 2016, to Lagos in 2017, to Buenos Aires in 2018, and to Oslo, Norway in March 2019 in the commemoration of the International Women Day (March 8), Though her first ever international flight was to Bangkok, Captain Amsale was the Commander-in-Chief of a first ever All-female operated flight Ethiopian Airlines flight to Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria in December 2017.
She is also the first female captain on the Boeing 767, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 in Ethiopia. Additionally Captain Amsale became the second African female pilot to command a Boeing 787. Amsale, during her interview with a media named ‘TADIAS’, said that travelling and discovering new places is part of her hobbies. She spoke how she enjoys staying physically active, doing yoga and occasionally swim. She also stated that she like design and decorating in her spare time.
Since she was a child, she was always curious about planes, and watching them fly. As to her, it was in her early childhood that she understood that the profession fascinated her. She uttered that said her parents are the first role models in her life as they were very supportive in all things, encouraging and giving her the confidence to achieve her dream.
Similarly, she always speaks those Ethiopian female pioneers who came before her including Muluembet Emiru, who was the first Ethiopian woman to flew an Airplane in the 1930 in a time where such things were unthinkable, and Catherine Hamlin (MD) an Australian Obstetrician, a Gynecologist, who came to Ethiopia in 1959 and settled in Addis Ababa dedicating her life to providing free fistula treatment for a poor woman suffering from early childbirth. Inspired her to dare and desire for the improbable and realize her dream.
Amsale further mentioned that she still practice Architecture as a hobby and enjoys it. Her biggest challenge she told the media that aside from being a working mother, is changing society’s perception toward women’s leadership capability. She also advise women and girls that being a girl or woman should not stop them from doing what they want, thus, to go after their dreams and fulfill their goals.
“It is not that things are difficult, but we do not dare to try it in the first place. If something has not been done before, does not mean it cannot be done at all – it is just a matter of perspective and practice.” she underscored. As to her, things that seem to be impossible for most of us, limit or restrict our capacity. Thus, rather than trying them, we prefer to quit to trying it. If we want to be successful, we have to follow our instinct and dare to do what seems to be impossible.
She said that she enjoys listening to Ethiopian and international songs, especially the 90s music. She particularly like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and also enjoy more modern artists like Ed Sheeran. Talking about her favorite traditional Ethiopian dish, Captain Amsale stated that Doro wot is her favorite traditional food- Ethiopian food prepared from chicken with different homemade organic spices.
The Captain sincerely believes and said in her many of her interviews that women, when given the opportunity to and work hard, can achieve anything whatever they desire across all fields. Captain Amsalu Gualu, who is the first female pilot in the history of the Ethiopian Airlines to reach the rank of captain, is a mother of three. The captain has logged 4475 flight hours as a co-pilot. Since becoming a captain, she has flown nearly a thousand hours.
After eight years of flight service and continuous evaluation, all of which was conducted on a state-of-the-art simulator, she was promoted to captain on October 4, 2003. Enat Bank also renamed its Bole Branch located around Bole Olympia near to Assay School by this exemplary heroine woman, Captain Amsale, where she attended her primary school.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 8 JUNE 2023
