GCIV recently hosted a single visitor from Ethiopia who came to Atlanta to discuss civil and human rights. Pastor Daniel Gebreselassie, an ordained minister, began advocating in 1992 for prison reform in Ethiopia and adherence to international human rights standards. Since that time, his organization, which is still called Prison Fellowship, has evolved into a group dedicated to justice reform, democracy and good governance. As a participant in the International Visitor Leadership Program, he met with a wide variety of professionals in Atlanta from May 5 - 9, 2007. He also had the chance to meet many members of the Ethiopian community in Georgia.

After arriving from Washington DC, Pastor Daniel was able to attend Sunday services at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pastored with his father. This experience was followed by a tour of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.

Pastor Daniel began his professional program on Monday by sitting in on a conference of the Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, followed by a meeting with Joe Beasley, the Director of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Southern Regional headquarters. Mr. Beasley spoke of his efforts in the civil rights movement, past and present. Later that afternoon, Ms. Sandra Barnhill, Executive Director of Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers met with Pastor Daniel to discuss her organization’s work with prisoners and their children. Created in 1987, AIM seeks to diminish the impact of the mother's incarceration on family relationships through a variety of support services to the children and other family members.

On Tuesday morning, Pastor Daniel met with Anthony Sanchez, a Project Attorney for the Georgia Justice Project. The GJP works to break the cycle of crime and poverty by providing legal services, individual counseling, job training, addiction counseling and educational assistance. Pastor Daniel then visited the Morehouse School of Medicine to speak with Drs. Henrie Treadwell and Ronald Braithwaite about providing primary medical care to underserved populations. After such an informative meeting, Pastor Daniel and representatives from the School of Medicine have begun to plan trainings in Ethiopia, where Morehouse has never organized a program before. Pastor Daniel concluded his trip with a visit to the Carter Center to discuss their peace and democracy programs. He also met with Ms. Ketura Brown from the Center’s Ethiopia Democracy Program.

While in Atlanta, Pastor Daniel greatly enjoyed the chance to meet with Ethiopians in America, including as Ms. Selaeet Seyoum. Ms. Seyoum works with the University of Georgia International Center for Democratic Governance, and is planning to facilitate an exchange of professionals between ICDG and schools in Ethiopia. Pastor Daniel was also happy to report that members of the Ethiopian Church community in Atlanta are going to donate money to pay for the much-needed bathroom facilities for the 120 prisons in Ethiopia.

GCIV was honored to have this distinguished visitor come to Georgia and meet with our many valuable professional resources. We were very happy to hear that Pastor Daniel was thrilled with his professional program and "fell in love with Atlanta." His experiences here in Atlanta gave him a first-hand view of the many different human and civil rights programs, in addition to programs working with prison populations. We eagerly anticipate hearing about the progress of linkages made in Atlanta.