The late Tesfaye Meskele is remembered as a loving father, devoted husband, and the heart of our family. He was a provider who carried his responsibilities with quiet strength, humility, and deep dedication to those he cared for. Throughout his life, he served in humanitarian, development, and diplomatic missions across Ethiopia, often in very challenging conditions, and we are proud of the humanitarian work he did and the lives he touched through his service. Beyond his professional life, we remember his kindness, resilience, and strong sense of duty, which defined both his career and the way he cared for us. His memory will always remain a source of love, pride, and lasting gratitude in our family, and he will always stay in our hearts.
from his family
About Tesfaye
Tesfaye Meskele is remembered as a disciplined and highly respected professional driver whose career was closely connected with major humanitarian, development, and diplomatic missions across Ethiopia. Over the course of several decades, he earned recognition for resilience, discretion, and exceptional operational skill under some of the most challenging conditions in the country.
He began his service under the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), the government body established in 1974 to coordinate national disaster response, resettlement, and humanitarian operations. During the 1980s resettlement programs, the Metekel-Pawe area in Gojjam was developed as a relocation site for populations moved primarily from northern Ethiopia, including Tigray. In this demanding environment, Tesfaye carried out extensive overland transport missions across remote and underdeveloped terrain. He delivered essential food supplies and relief materials, including nutritional support items and sugar intended for malnourished children and vulnerable communities. His work required endurance, mechanical expertise, and precise route planning. Throughout these assignments, he faced severe hardships, including desert travel, extreme weather, malaria illness, brake failures in isolated regions, and even attempted hijackings. Despite these risks, he consistently completed his missions with professionalism and courage.
He later contributed to Ethiopia's national infrastructure development through the Tana-Beles Dam Project, a major hydro-engineering initiative linking Lake Tana to the Beles River basin. There, he served as a mobile clinic driver, ensuring medical personnel could reach workers in remote operational areas. He subsequently worked with Salini (Salini Impregilo), the Italian engineering firm involved in large-scale dam and infrastructure projects, further strengthening his experience in multinational technical environments.
Tesfaye later joined the Italian Development Cooperation (Cooperazione Italiana), supporting tuberculosis control initiatives in the Oromia Region, particularly in Asella. He transported Italian physicians and public health professionals working to strengthen TB prevention and treatment programs. As the initiative expanded under Ethiopia's Health Sector Development Program (HSDP), he once again undertook nationwide overland expeditions, transporting doctors and technical specialists to remote regions across the country.
In the final stage of his distinguished career, Tesfaye served in the Motor Pool Department of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. He completed certified offensive and defensive driving training and was entrusted with high-level diplomatic transport responsibilities. He drove U.S. Ambassador Patricia Haslach and the USAID Mission Director Dennis Weller during official engagements and field missions. He also supported VIP security coordination with the Presidential protection team during President Barack Obama's historic 2015 visit to Ethiopia. His professionalism and advanced driving capability earned him formal recognition from the White House motorcade unit.
Tesfaye Meskele's career reflects a lifetime of disciplined service across humanitarian response, national development, international public health, and diplomatic missions - distinguished by technical skill, discretion, and unwavering dedication.
U.S. Department Contribution
After contributing to numerous projects throughout Ethiopia, Tesfaye transitioned to the U.S. Embassy's Motorpool Department, where he dedicated over a decade of service. His role allowed him to collaborate with the POTUS VIP team and earned him multiple awards, including one directly from the White House Motor Department.
Childhood Journey
As Tesfaye reached school age, he began his education with traditional spiritual lessons, known as Kollo Timhirt, led by elderly priests called Yenieta. However, the British government and a local landowner named Abate Amberbir supported the establishment of a modern primary school, named after Abate Amberbir, in the town of Tefki. Tesfaye and his peers were among the first students to enroll in this new school.
Awards
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Safe Driving Award
Appreciation from White House Motor Agency
Oromia
After spending considerable time in the Amhara region working on the Tana Beles and RRC projects, he briefly returned to Addis Ababa following the rise of the TPLF. He later joined an Italian Cooperation aid project and was assigned to the Oromia region, focusing on tuberculosis control in Asella and surrounding areas. Over time, his work expanded across several parts of Oromia, including Abomsa, Arba Gugu, Asella, Robe in Bale, Borena, Dolo Mena, Ginir, Gambo, Huruta, and across West Wollega, including Nekemte, Nejo, and Kelem Wollega, as well as Mettu in Illubabor.
Amhara
According to Tesfaye's account, he spent approximately eight years in the Amhara region, working with the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) and on the Tana Beles dam projects. He described the Metekel Pawe area as the most challenging, with its harsh, scorching climate. During this time, he navigated numerous adventurous road conditions and overcame difficult living environments.
Tana Beles Project
During the Derg regime (1974-1991), the Tana Beles project was among Ethiopia's most ambitious and debated development initiatives, aligned with the Derg's socialist-driven efforts to modernize agriculture and the economy. Tesfaye played a crucial role, contributing tirelessly through his work with Salini Construction. His experiences during this period were filled with adventure and will be detailed in his upcoming book.
Afar
Tesfaye Meskele often traveled to Afar as part of the Italian Cooperation initiative, later contributing to a project known as the Health Sector Development Program (HSDP). This program focused mainly on rural primary health care—especially maternal and child health, disease prevention (malaria, TB), and expanding basic health services in underserved areas of Ethiopia.
As noted by Tesfaye and other references,From 2001 until the corridor's major modernization years later, the roughly 900 km Addis Ababa–Djibouti highway served as Ethiopia's primary overland gateway to the sea, with nearly 90% of the country's import and export traffic moving through the corridor after the Eritrea war.¹
The route passed through Nazret, Metehara, Awash, Gewane, and Mille, carrying continuous flows of fuel tankers, humanitarian convoys, diplomatic missions, and cargo trucks across the Afar lowlands. Awash, located about 230 km from Addis Ababa, became one of the corridor's most important regrouping points where drivers refueled and prepared for the harsher desert sections ahead.² Further east, Gewane and Mille evolved into critical stop destinations for long-haul drivers, known for roadside mechanics, overheated engines, tire replacements, and convoy rest stops under temperatures that regularly exceeded 40°C in the Afar region.³
Road conditions during the early 2000s were demanding and inconsistent. While sections between Addis Ababa and Nazret remained paved, heavy freight traffic rapidly damaged the highway. Beyond Awash, drivers regularly encountered cracked asphalt, collapsing shoulders, rutting caused by overloaded tankers, gravel diversions, and isolated stretches with limited recovery services.⁴ By the mid-2000s, thousands of trucks were estimated to move along the corridor weekly, making it one of East Africa's busiest and most strategically important overland routes.⁵
References
¹ African Development Bank, Ethiopia–Djibouti Road Corridor Development Reports
² John Markakis, Ethiopia: The Last Two Frontiers
³ World Food Programme (WFP), Horn of Africa Logistics Assessments
⁴ UNECA Transport Corridor Studies on the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Route
⁵ African Development Bank Infrastructure and Regional Integration Reports
Tigray
Gallery
Photo credits for some images featured on this website are attributed to Dr. Carlo Resti and other contributors to the archive.