A Birr for a Compatriot

Dear Editor,

This is in response to your editorial headlined, “The Business of Giving Goes beyond Telethon Circus,” [Volume 9, Number 431, August 3, 2008].

I found it interesting to reflect on the motivations of those who give - whether they are wealthy American philanthropists or successful Ethiopian businesspeople. You made a good distinction between those who give to promote their own interests - what you call “reciprocal altruism” - and those who give with a more genuinely altruistic motivation of wanting to help others “because they deserve to be supported.”

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Dev’t Assistance: Long Term Solution to Drought

Dear Editor,

Ethiopia is once again the attention of the world media as the news of recurring drought, disease, and ravaging poverty claims the headlines; as the faces of malnourished children are displayed on the pages of the international media to highlight what seems to be a continuous cycle of devastation, for which neither the government of Ethiopia nor the international community seem to suggest a lasting solution. It seems that the adage that ‘the more things change, they remain the same,’ holds true as we look back at the promises of the current government, at the early stages of its transition to power to end hunger in Ethiopia.

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IT Age

Dear Editor,

I liked your feature story headlined, “Hounding the IT Age” [Volume 9 Number 429, July 20, 2008] on the WiFi accesses in a café [Swiss Café] in Ethiopia.

Even though I found the story to be heavily technical, it made a point on the high demand for IT, and how IT could boost revenue for small businesses. While you are at it, I would like to point out that there has been intense competition among hotels in Addis Abeba sparked by the WiFi phenomenon. You could check this out at the Ambassador Hotel’s marketing strategy and RedZebera IT provider.

Samuel Hassen

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