Mendi, Ethiopia
Encyclopedia
Mendi is a town in western Ethiopia
. Located in the Mirab Welega Zone
of the Oromia Region
, this town has a latitude and longitude of 9°48′N 35°6′E and an elevation of 1538 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Mana Sibu
woreda
.
Mendi hosts an airport (ICAO HAMN, IATA NDM), with an unpaved runway 1250 meters in length. Upgrading and rehabilitating the 131 kilometers of the all-weather gravel road connecting Mendi with Nejo
was completed in January 2009, while the road connecting Mendi to Asosa
was still being improved.
. "This sealed the right of the centre to fiscal control over Nekemte, a right that Addis Abeba was never to abandon in the years to come."
By the 1930s, Mendi had become an important market of coffee
. It attracted the attention of a Swedish pastor who established a mission there. The missionaries were accused of wrong-doing by the local Ethiopian priest to the Italians in 1938, who eventually expelled them; the Swedish mission was not revived until 1946. Mendi hosted a conference of Ethiopian Evangelical Churches in January 1954; the mission had to confront Muslim
missionaries from Sudan
in the next year, who converted 1000 people in a neighboring locale.
John Young believes that "at least a small contingent of the OLF
is able to operate in the Mendi area ... on a semi-permanent basis" since the 2005 Ethiopian general election.
in 2005, Mendi has an estimated total population of 18,020 of whom 9,199 are men and 8,821 are women. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 10,070 of whom 4,989 were males and 5,081 were females.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Located in the Mirab Welega Zone
Mirab Welega Zone
Mirab Welega is one of the 12 Zones in the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone is named after the former province of Welega, whose western part lay in the area Mirab Misraq now occupies....
of the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
, this town has a latitude and longitude of 9°48′N 35°6′E and an elevation of 1538 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Mana Sibu
Mana Sibu
Mana Sibu is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Welega Zone, Mana Sibu is bordered on the south by Jarso, on the southwest by Begi, on the north by the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, and on the southeast by Nejo. Mendi is the administrative center; other towns in...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
.
Mendi hosts an airport (ICAO HAMN, IATA NDM), with an unpaved runway 1250 meters in length. Upgrading and rehabilitating the 131 kilometers of the all-weather gravel road connecting Mendi with Nejo
Nejo
Nejo is a town in western Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1821 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Nejo woreda...
was completed in January 2009, while the road connecting Mendi to Asosa
Asosa
Asosa is a town in western Ethiopia and the capital of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Asosa Zone, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 1570 meters....
was still being improved.
History
Dejazmach Gebre Egziabher constructed a church in Mendi in 1893. However, when the Dejazmach regained his rights to levy taxes over his father's former kingdom in 1907, the central government excepted the "gate" of Mendi, which was retained to the customs office in NekemteNekemte
Nekemte is a market town in western Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Welega Zone of the Oromia Region , Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,088 meters....
. "This sealed the right of the centre to fiscal control over Nekemte, a right that Addis Abeba was never to abandon in the years to come."
By the 1930s, Mendi had become an important market of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. It attracted the attention of a Swedish pastor who established a mission there. The missionaries were accused of wrong-doing by the local Ethiopian priest to the Italians in 1938, who eventually expelled them; the Swedish mission was not revived until 1946. Mendi hosted a conference of Ethiopian Evangelical Churches in January 1954; the mission had to confront Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
missionaries from Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
in the next year, who converted 1000 people in a neighboring locale.
John Young believes that "at least a small contingent of the OLF
Oromo Liberation Front
The Oromo Liberation Front , or OLF, is an organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people against what they call "Abyssinian colonial rule". It has been outlawed and labeled as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government...
is able to operate in the Mendi area ... on a semi-permanent basis" since the 2005 Ethiopian general election.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, Mendi has an estimated total population of 18,020 of whom 9,199 are men and 8,821 are women. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 10,070 of whom 4,989 were males and 5,081 were females.