Alewana (ኣለዋና!)

America got Talent: EriAm Sisters

GYPSY OF THE MONTH: Asmeret Ghebremichael of 'The Wiz'

Ghebremichael is in the cast of the Wiz that begins performances June 12 at City Center, this year’s installment of Encores! Summer Stars. When she was in high school, she landed her first professional job in a production of The Wiz at Pittsburgh’s Bynum Theater, directed by Billy Porter (like Ghebremichael, a native of Pittsburgh). She’d had her first-ever role in a musical when she played Dorothy in The Wiz in middle school.

After that sixth-grade Wiz, Ghebremichael announced to her family: “Okay, I want to move to New York, I want to go to NYU, and I want to be on Broadway.” Her mother and father, a nurse and electrical engineer who’d immigrated from the north African nation of Eritrea, were nonplussed: “When I said that I wanted to do this for a living, they had no idea what it entailed.” Yet their daughter managed to achieve all three goals within the decade: She made her Broadway debut in Footloose at age 18, just a few months into her freshman year at NYU.

Now, with another decade under her belt, Ghebremichael can also list these achievements: a featured role on Broadway, a scene in a major motion picture, ensemble parts in a string of hit musicals, and the female lead in an award-winning independent film.

A voice for the voiceless Helen Berhane

 Helen was in detention in Eritrea for refusing to denounce her evangelical Christian faith. She was arrested from Asmara and stayed for 32 months in prison. She suffered numerous beatings that resulted in severe nerve damage and has permanently impaired her mobility.

Helen was invited to the Kirchentag by a Germany organization called International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) which focuses on religious persecution. Helen was also a prize winner of this organization while she was still in prison in 2005 for her strong tolerance against torture. She got her prize last June in Frankfurt Germany. 

Feben Solomon aka Bisrat Tewelde

"Make it a habit to tell people thank you.
To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it."
Ralph Marston