A birthday to remember!

Thursday 9th October

Last night I went to a restaurant called Castelli’s for dinner. According to some sources it is the best restaurant in Addis and is proud to have served a number of celebrities including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I got talking to a lady on the table next to me who worked as a Water Policy Advisor for the U.S. Department of State. We decided to join tables and enjoyed a lively discussion over dinner.

I had tried to keep today free from meetings and to give myself a well-needed day off as today was my birthday but duty called. I had a meeting with Daniel Tedros from a project called Alchemy World. We drove to his office where he gave me an in-depth account of the work they are doing to strengthen entrepreneurship in Ethiopia. A typical programme they run involves selecting 30 or so bright students aged about 17-18 from poor backgrounds for a year-long study programme. The students spend the first month in intensive English language classes, followed by a month in Microsoft Office classes. They learn about networking and computer maintenance, and then are trained in a number of business areas whilst developing their own business plans. They take part in a placement with a local business and by the end of the course they should be ready to start their own businesses.

The school that Ethiopiaid supports through Alchemy World is slightly different from the others – its pupils are blind. Blind people are still very much discriminated against when applying for jobs. The Sabatre Blind School is due to start teaching its first class next week. We very much hope that this course will open up new doors for them and help them achieve their potential.

I got back to my room at the hotel to find a birthday cake with a personalised message in icing waiting for me, along with a letter from the manager. It was a really nice gesture! I had time to scoff down some cake before meeting Dr Abye from Addis Ababa University in the lobby bar. I had a drink with him and his colleagues, then a second cake arrived and the entertainer sang Happy Birthday to me!

We went on to the Alize Jazz Club. There were no free tables but Dr Abye seemed to know all the right people and we were quickly accommodated. Daniel, from Alchemy World, spotted me across the smoky room and cake over to introduce his wife and daughter to me. They were all really lovely! The jazz was great and was clearly the haunt of Addis’s elite and well-connected. We sipped Remy Martin and listened to the Blues – it was certainly a birthday to remember.