A human rights lawyer healed from blindness after baptism

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By Anko Zuta,Blogger of De Birhan Blogspot

26-6-2011

A graduate of the Addis Abeba University Law School ,Fikerte Tibebu, has been healed from blindness after being baptised with Holy Water in St. Stephen's Church of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ,Addis Abeba , Ethiopia. Fikerte was blinded some 19 years ago when she was a 7th grade student . Before joining Ethiopia's Human Right Commission as a Legal Expert, she worked at different departments of the Addis Abeba City Administration.

Many couldn't beleive their eyes when they noticed the lady they knew for many years writing with a braille and walking with a stick, suddenly running.

The above videos supported with an audio News reporting from the Addis Abeba based private FM Radio,Sheger 102.1 and live scene of the the baptism and ''exorcism'' explains that she has been blind for almost two decades and able to see after being baptised in St. Stephen's Church of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ,Addis Abeba , Ethiopia.

This is a miracle! It has been also proved by the modern world science .

Her last message to the Radio audience and people at large was unifingly principled "May the Creator visit all those people who are worried like me , according to their own faiths/religions! "

When i was at home , I have been able to see first hand similar types of religious miracles in Entonto St.Mary Church, one of the oldest churches in north of Addis Abeba , built by King Menelik II and his wife Empress Tayetu a century and half ago.

Since coming to Europe I have been hearing of similar miracles happening in St. Stephen Church in the middle of Addis Abeba.

The head preacher and baptiser ,now ''Priest'' according to sources, Girma Wondimu , also on the above video has been the person religiously helping the process of healing and cure in St. Stephen Church . There are around two dozens of video CDs produced so far showing the types,means,and ways of healing by the same Priest exorcist . All these miraculous healing are done according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's ways and practices .

It was part of my plan to interview Priest Girma Wondimu in the past few months ,tough. I promise to interview him as soon as possible and produce a good report.

Until then ,I leave you with an article I wrote some five years ago about some of the amazing miracles i witnessed in the Entonto St. Mary Church.

I had witnessed and heard of testimonies of people cured from various diseases such as HIV/AIDS,Cancer and so on and also people were able to be healed from complete blindness,and other disabilities in the Church of Entoto St.Mary .

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Filling the gaps is crucial

By Anko Zuta

31-8-2005

The unstoppably disseminating TB/HIV co-infection has taken the life of thousands in Ethiopia . In the world over two billion people are estimated to live with tuberculosis where about 62-70 percent of Africa ’s population is infected by tuberculosis.

Ethiopia is one of the top 10 countries which are severely affected by TB standing seventh in the world and second in Africa next to Nigeria . Each year 300 out of 100,000 people are infected by TB in Ethiopia where in at this time around two million people are said to be contaminated.

As to Program member of the TB and Leprosy Control of the Ministry of Health Tuberculosis is a chronic infection caused by Micro-bacterial tuberculosis. It’s inclined by factors such as poverty, malnutrition, and crowded living and HIV infection.

The disease is especially becoming more associated and mounting with HIV infection.

As to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH) 2003/2004 report, an estimated number of 1.5-1.6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. And with a national prevalence rate of 4.4% over 700,000 of them being adults, the problem is even ever-increasing each year.

Deaths due to AIDS also brought down life expectancy gains from 53 to 46 in 2001. If the current death trend continues the anticipated life expectancy gain to 59 years will be reduced to 50 years.

Eventually, an increasing number of people living with HIV are turning into AIDS patients. For instance 263,000 patients in Ethiopia are in need of Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) however only 8 percent or 20,000 of them reach ART.

HIV infection is by far the greatest risk factor for developing active tuberculosis and is also the leading cause of death among people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Progress to control TB cases has been slow, with Directly Observed Treatment (PDT) coverage increasing by only six percent between 1998 and 2001 in Ethiopia. Though, in the 2001-2002 the coverage increased to 95 percent. This means that nearly all existing TB clinics now provide treatment under DOTS. However, detection of new TB cases stands at just 33 percent far short of the WHO 2005 target of 70%. This reflects that over 50% of Ethiopia ’s population doesn’t have access to primary health services and little infrastructure exists to expand DOTs. Unless there is rapid TB detection, DOTS and health services are extended, the rising rate of HIV/AIDS could cause the TB epidemic to spread out of control, as to the Open Society Institute report.

According to recent reports, in 2004 in Ethiopia 121,000 new TB patients were admitted. HIV is 30-50% present among TB patients where in the urban it is 40-60% and 20-30% prevalent in the rural. In the same way, the estimated number of TB deaths reached 60,938 with a 71% of new TB cases in adults (15-49 years), and 32% TB deaths that are HIV positive.

Though all these endeavours are being geared up by both the government and nongovernmental organizations to prevent and control both TB/HIV most of the society opts to head to the spiritual side than strictly follow medication. As soon as people find out they are HIV positive or are infected by TB they directly set off to their religious fathers and proceed as to what the religion advises.

The best example here is the increasing number of patients who walk to The Entoto Virgin Mary Church of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in search of cure form HIV/AIDS and other ailments. As to the main baptizer, Hermit (Bahratwi) Gebremedhin Demese , in this Ethiopian fiscal (1997/8) year alone around half a million patients of different diseases were baptised with Holywater
of which over 40 percent of them were HIV/AIDS and TB patients .

“The number of patients is increasing from year to year . They follow the rules and regulations of the Church and get healed either from TB or HIV/AIDS in a short period of time” he says.

Disease Prevention and Health Program Department member at the Ministry of Health says the breach to the spiritual option is mainly due to the expensive price of the drugs.

“Any patient can take normal diet in administering the drugs.” The Doctor states of the AIDS drugs.

He adds “if the population is well informed about the medication and that the drugs are available with the least price, the gaps will be plunged.”

“I don’t think that religion forbids taking drugs and we don’t oppose anyone going to the religious cult.” he says.

He noted that in the coming fiscal year more will be done in decreasing the price of drugs and more mobilization will be carried out, so that the predicament will be reduced

On the one hand, big efforts are being through by several bodies to tackle the spread of TB and HIV, while on the other hand the patients are roving to the opposite for the above stated factors.

The first basic cause for the of the gap is economic factor. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, over 50% of the Ethiopian population is below the poverty threshold and the other 25% is on the poverty line which totally makes 75%. This number of population can’t afford either the TB or AIDS drugs, so they go for the spiritual sect. In a condition where a single anti retroviral drug is sold over 200birr or 25 dollar it would be imprudent to expect any Ethiopian buy the drugs. The second is lack of proper diet. Though, doctors memo that any AIDS patient taking ARV can eat normal diet, for the recovery of the patient, its fact that it is much necessary to have a balanced diet for any patient as well for TB patients and which is impossible in our context. The third but not the least is the attitudinal background or typecast that exists towards medication and spirit/religion. It is that, when anyone gets sick, they are urged or suggested to go to the spiritual fathers than administer medication. Today, when this TB/HIV reached their max out, the number of people who stop the scientific medication and go to religious places also increased. All these three accompanied by other factors, make the gap even extensive and impossible to accomplish.

.Tewodros Mekbib is gives a testimony that he was cured from HIV/AIDS within 9 days of baptism in Entoto Mariam Church.

“I was born in Addis Ababa city district 12, Kebele 21 in home number 268. When I was very sick and bed ridden due to AIDS, a friend called Kibrom told me to go to the Entoto Mary Church .Because I was extremely sick and as there was no hope of revival in me, I decided to confess my sins and die in the church. However, after nine days off baptism, I got fully cured from the disease” he enlightens. He also shows his HIV test reports pre and after the baptism from a recognised medical Hospital.

Like Tewodros in the 2003/4 calendar over 800 and 1000 HIV and TB patients were healed respectively of the thousands of patients admitted to the Church, official documents of the church reveal.

The Pope of the ETO Church is advising that baptism and taking of the ART drugs go along; this is their way of filling the gaps.

There mayn't be a need of filling the gaps at all, though.