View From Arada | Feb 16,2019
May 15 , 2021
By Eden Sahle
Early Tuesday morning, I woke up to the heartbreaking news of the passing of a dear friend and mentor, Zemi Yenus. She was the founder of the first autism centre in Ethiopia and the public face of the compassion that needs to be shown to those that live with a psychological condition. Her passing is yet another tragic loss to the nation caused by the unmerciful killer, the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
As the thousands the nation lost, Zemi, wife, mother, daughter, and sister, passed away at Saint Paul’s Hospital. She was treated for kidney failure after recovering from COVID-19 at the treatment centre in Millennium Hall.
All of us were happy when she recovered from the virus, but it had done enough severe damage that it created a kidney complication. She suddenly slipped into a coma to never wake up again. She shocked her doctors, who were confident that she was going to be well. It was a far more significant blow to her loved ones.
We were not able to visit her on her last days. But before she went into a coma, medical professionals were kind enough to connect her with us through a text.
“Please keep on praying for me,” were her last words to us, the heart-wrenching response many that have lost loved ones must have gotten.
Zemi, founder and director of Nia Foundation and Joy Autism Centre, courageously and tirelessly worked for the rights of children with autism. She was a voice to the voiceless and highly engaged in human rights, mental health, developmental challenges, awareness creation and equality. Death is cruel – she passed before witnessing the completion of the large facility under construction for the Centre.
Her journey on this path started with her youngest son, who was born with autism. Her life made an unexpected turn in a direction that she was not prepared for. Living abroad, one day, she and her son were kicked out from a public bus because of his condition – it was a microcosm of the social ostracism he was facing. She was not discouraged. She came back to Ethiopia not only to give a safe haven to her son but also to open the first autism centre in East Africa.
She has advocated for the rights of vulnerable children and brought a paradigm shift among the public, empowering parents from hiding their children with autism to seek help to better support them in their life journey. When meeting people, either on social occasions or in her professional life, she never tired of speaking proudly of the children at the Centre.
Over the two decades, the foundation has helped children and young people with communication, eating, keeping personal hygiene, writing, painting, cooking, and basic academic lessons. I have had the great pleasure of testing the children's colourful cooking. It is a Centre that would warm anyone's heart.
Zemi was a model of unwavering strength, openness, flexibility and compassion. The great number of people who pour out their love and admiration for Zemi following her passing indicates what a hero she was for many.
She has now rested, but her mission should be carried forward. She has built an institution. Most importantly, she has brought awareness to the country that mental challenges and conditions should not be taboo subjects. They could be managed and supported through the bare minimum of empathy. It is a legacy we have the responsibility of carrying over.
Her passing is also a potent reminder of the human cost of COVID-19 and how it takes without mercy the best and kindest amongst us. It is our prompt that the pandemic is far from over and of the need to observe social distancing and hygiene measures and not hesitate to get the vaccine.
PUBLISHED ON
May 15,2021 [ VOL
22 , NO
1098]
View From Arada | Feb 16,2019
Sponsored Contents | Jun 17,2021
View From Arada | Jan 04,2020
News Analysis | Aug 28,2021
Editorial | Jan 12,2019
Editorial | Apr 20,2024
Featured | Oct 25,2020
Fortune News | Jan 19,2019
Covid-19 | Mar 21,2020
Films Review | Dec 26,2020
Photo Gallery | 96975 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 89191 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 67242 Views | Aug 14,2021
Commentaries | 65785 Views | Oct 02,2021
Feb 24 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Abel Yeshitila, a real estate developer with a 12-year track record, finds himself unable to sell homes in his latest venture. Despite slash...
Feb 10 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In his last week's address to Parliament, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) painted a picture of an economy...
Jan 7 , 2024
In the realm of international finance and diplomacy, few cities hold the distinction that Addis Abeba doe...
Sep 30 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
On a chilly morning outside Ke'Geberew Market, Yeshi Chane, a 35-year-old mother cradling her seven-month-old baby, stands amidst the throng...
Apr 27 , 2024
The Prosperity Party (PP) - Prosperitians - is charting a course through treacherous...
Apr 20 , 2024
In a departure from its traditionally opaque practices, the National Bank of Ethiopia...
Apr 13 , 2024
In the hushed corridors of the legislative house on Lorenzo Te'azaz Road (Arat Kilo)...
Apr 6 , 2024
In a rather unsettling turn of events, the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (C...
Apr 28 , 2024
A dire situation unfolds across public universities, where students face the harsh re...
Apr 28 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
A European business lobby in Ethiopia issued a scathing review of the tax system last...
Apr 28 , 2024
The Federal Supreme Court has recently ruled in the prolonged commercial dispute surr...
Apr 28 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Transport authorities placed blame on driving schools and vehicle inspection centres...