Julay 04, 2021
Addis Ababa Junly 4/2021 (ENA) Abebech Gobena, an Ethiopian prominent philanthropist who devoted her life to help destitute orphans in Ethiopia, died on Sunday at the age of 85, after receiving medical treatment due to Covid-19.
Often called by many as the Mother Teresa of Ethiopia, Abebech, was the founder of Abebech Gobena Children’s Care and Development Association, the oldest orphanage in Ethiopia that have changed the lives of over 1.5 million children.
Abebech had been instrumental in serving churches in and outside of Addis Ababa. While in pilgrimage, she encountered two children who lost their parents due to drought in Ethiopia in 1980.
With the two children as ground for action, she founded Abebech Gobena Child Care and Development Association the same year.
Over the past four decades, she had cared for hundreds of thousands of children and supported 1.5 million people through different poverty reduction programs.
As a result, she had received great awards and accolades from various national and international organizations as well as an honorary doctorate degree in humanity from Jimma University.
Abebech Gobena passed away due to COVID-19 on Sunday morning after being treated in intensive care at St Paul’s Hospital in Addis Ababa.
ENA
