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W/t Fikerte Gebre was born in Zato, a village in South Western Ethiopia. From a family of 14, W/t Fikerte came to the United States in 1974 to get a college education. She eventually earned a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Labor Relations at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a second Master's Degree, in social work, at the University of California, Berkeley. In California, she organized the first multicultural, multilingual Ethiopian community resource center in Oakland, which she directed from 1983 to 1990. With the help from many Massachusetts residents, she launched her Siljo project in 1991. She raised funds by manufacturing and marketing Siljo to create the first water supply system in her drought-stricken hometown of Zato. Ms. Fikerete died at the age of 42 on June 9, 1998 in California. Sadly, we honor Fikerte Gebre posthumously.
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Honored Members 
