I called him “the Unsung Hero” because I have never heard about him until today, on his funeral day!
Engineer Simegnew Bekele! Oh, how I love his name!
Hearing his stories, what he had accomplished, the sacrifices he made so he would stay next to the project, my heart sank in sadness. I tried to comfort myself but the sadness went deep into my bones!
Eng. Simegnew was the chief engineer of the Ethiopia Grand Renaissance Dam project (Abyi River).
The picture attached with this post is Eng. Simegnew with his beautiful three kids. He was found shot dead in his car, not in the middle of the night but in the morning, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday, July 26.
I pray for God to comfort his father, Ato Bekele, who prayed and received Simegnew from God as the only child and today Ato Bekele stood and buried his only son.
As a mother, I can’t image the pain and hurt his father is feeling. May God comfort him, the mother of Eng. Simegnew, his wife, beautiful kids, families and friends and all Ethiopians who are mourning the death of this hero.
He is a hero to all of us, Ethiopians, especially to the young Ethiopians who are seeing all these stories unfold before their very eyes.
And this is my message to all Ethiopian young people especially to those who are in different universities in Ethiopia:
Be the next Engineer Simegnew Bekele!
Let his innocent blood encourage and fill you with better dreams so you become part of the solution to all Ethiopia’s problems! Don’t let this sad news sap your energy! Rather let this news propel you to pursue better and greater dreams, dreams to free, not a sub-group of Ethiopians, but all Ethiopians, all 83+ tribes, from illiteracy, poverty, narrow mindedness (a mind that only cares about one tribe) and hunger, just like Eng. Simegnew! No, don’t let this sad news destroy your brilliant mind as it has a tendency to fill your mind with anger, rage, hatred and unforgiving spirit. Rather, let this sad news fill your mind and heart with brilliant plans and dreams so you become a beacon of hope to all Ethiopians and the rest of human race in a small or big way!
But know this: No dream can be a blessing to many unless the dream itself comes from God. So, first seek God and His righteousness (Matthew 5:33) with pure heart, a heart that is free from hatred, unforgiving spirit, grudge and rage. Then pray to God like Jabez:
“Oh,” God, “that You would bless me and enlarge my territory!” (1 Chronicles 4:10) ///