Committed to Cultural Diversity
M etro
<Lt l |Jo rtla n b ÖOhserüer
O cto b er 2 0 . 2 0 0 4
Make a Difference Vote
Voters who have ehanged their names or addresses can still vote
in the Nov. 2 presidential eleetion if they make the change
official at Multnomah County Elections. Call 503-988-3720.
SECTION
C
o in ni u n i t y
a le n d a r
DNA Safety
Safety Program prom otes aw are
ness and educatio n for parents
and children about violence p re
vention. Parents can receive a
free and non-invasive DN A "fin
g erp rin t" o f their child at the
A cura o f Portland. 12020 S.E.
Stark St. from 10 a.m . to 4 p.m.
S aturday. O ct. 23. F o r m ore in
f o r m a tio n , v is it w w w .d n a -
lifeprint.com .
Learn about Lupus
A L upus Education Sym posium
is from 1 to 4 :3 0 p .in . on O ct. 30
at Good Samaritan Medical Build
ing, First Floor A uditorium , 1040
N .W . 22nd A ve. Free. F or m ore
inform ation, call 877-774-2992.
Blanket, Towel Drive
A local teen and M ultnom ah
C ounty A nim al S ervices v o lu n
teer. Jen n ifer C ross, is o rg an iz
ing a drive fo r donated tow els
an d b la n k e ts to be u sed by
county shelters fo r stray dogs
and cats throughout the w inter
m onths. T he public is en co u r
aged to d ro p o ff used blankets
and tow els at the C o unty A n i
mal S helter, 17(X) W. H istoric
C o lu m b ia R iv er H ig h w ay in
T routdale through O ct. 24 T u es
d ay, T hursdays and Fridays from
11 a.m . to 6 p.m ., W ednesday,
from noon to 6 p.m . and w eek
ends from 11 a.m .to 4 :3 0 p .m .F o r
information, call503-988-7387or
visit w w w .m u ltco p ets.o rg .
Learn to Swim
Fall Sw im m ing Lessons are avail
able at the C olum b ia Pool, 7701
N. C hautauqua B lvd and M att
D ishm an Pool, 77 N.E. Knott.
For inform ation, call the A quatic
Division at 50 3 -8 2 3 -5 130.
Business Conference
A G o v ern o r's M arketplace busi
ness co n ference for m inorities
and w om en will be held T h u rs
day, Oct. 21 from 7:30a.m . to4:30
p.m . at th e H o lid a y Inn in
W il s o n v i ll e .
V is it
w w w .govm p.org fo r a full pro
gram schedule and on -lin e reg
istration.
B
Success Brings Growing Pains
Queen of
Sheba needs
more space
by L ee P eri mas
T he P ortland O bserver
For A lein G ebreh iw o t. success in the
restaurant business h asn ’t brought a life
o f leisure, ju s t new challenges.
A fter 10 years his Q u een o f S heba
E thiopian restaurant at 2413 N .E. M artin
L u th er King Jr. Blvd. has becom e such an
institution th a t's often full to capacity.
T h a t's w hy A lem is looking fo r a larger
space to b etter serve his public.
His preferred location would be in o r near
the Eliot neighborhixxl where he has set down
rootsm one with good access to a freeway, a
nice-sized kitchen and especially off-street
parking, which his current space does not.
" I t's a nice co u rtesy o f service w e 'd
like to o ffer,” he says.
M ost o f all. A lem w ould like to o w n the
building.
"I w o u ld n 't m ind b uilding on an em pty
lot, m aybe w ith h o u sin g ,” he says. "It
w o u ld n ’t have to be fancy; w e 'd m ake it
co m fortable, with the taste o f E thio p ia."
A lem ’s path to the Q ueen o f Sheba is
both a series o f accidents and a natural
extension o f his background. Bom inTigray,
Ethiopia, the son o f a school adm inistrator,
he taught school in A ddis A baba, the capi
tal, then studied fixxl science in B ulgariaon
a scholarship. A civil w ar made it im possible
for him to com e home, so he m ade his way
to Athens, then to B altim ore, and eventu-
Emergency
Food Needs
Set Record
PHOTO BY
M ARK W ASHINGTON/T h E PORTI ANI) ÖBSERV ER
Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has been good to Alem Gebrehiwot and his
Queen o f Sheba Ethiopian restaurant.
( A P ) — T h e O reg o n F ood B ank is d is
trib u tin g a reco rd n u m b e r o f e m e rg en cy
fo o d bo x es.
“ F o o d is fly in g o f f th e s h e lv e s a n d
n o t k e e p in g u p w ith d e m a n d ,” s a id
R ach el B ris to l, e x e c u tiv e d ir e c to r o f th e
O re g o n F o o d B a n k N e tw o rk . " O n c e
a g a in , w e h ad an in c r e a s e in th e n u m b e r
o f w o rk in g p o o r, fo lk s w h o k in d o f fa ll
th r o u g h th e c r a c k s ."
O v er the last y ear. 7 2 1,0 0 0 b o x es have
been d is trib u te d to n e e d in g fa m ilie s and
in d iv id u a ls in O reg o n an d C la rk C o u n ty ,
W ash ., re p re se n tin g an 11 p e rc e n t in
c re a s e fro m th e p re v io u s year.
R e p e a te d s u rv e y s sh o w O re g o n to
hav e o n e o f th e n a tio n 's h ig h est rates o f
h u n g e r.
In its rep o rt, c a lle d th e “ 2 0 0 4 H u n g er
F a c to rs A s se ss m e n t," th e fo o d bank said
allyto Lebanon, Ore. tostudy Linn-Benton
Community College. He later continued
his studies at Portland Community Col
lege and Oregon State University.
In 1991, he rented space in a bu ild
ing in the heart o f Eliot and P o rtlan d 's
E thiopian com m unity. At first he sold
blended spices and health foods and
then later assorted goods and ser
vices. He put in one table so that
custom ers could sample the foods. O ver
time the on-premises cooking took over,
the restaurant expanded into the space
next door, and both w ere refurbished
with help from a loan from the Portland
Developm ent Com m ission.
T he restaurant offers traditional
recipes and others that A lem has "d e
veloped over the years." T hey feature
beef, chicken, lam b and vegetables,
seasoned to be hot o r m erely "flav o r
ful," placed in the center o f injera
bread and consum ed by hand. B eer
and w ine are available, but so are
custom -blended coffee and teas. Each
meal is cooked from scratch.
In an interview several years ago
Alem said, "C ooking is like a (lower. It
should be fresh, not w ilted.”
A long the w ay he brought his
mother, his brotherG etachew , and some
cousins to Portland, and all work at the
restaurant. He recently celebrated the
birth o f his first child, Rowie.
He has acquired what hecalls “loyal
custom ers" - other E thiopians, Peace
C orps graduates, and people brought
in by w ord-of-m outh, including a pub
lic endorsem ent several years ago by
actor Danny G lover.
continued
on page 116
O reg o n c o u ld ease its h u n g er n eed s w ith
b e tte r-p a y in g jo b s , a m ore g e n e ro u s fe d
eral fo o d -stam p program and m ore a ffo rd
ab le h o u sin g and ch ild c a re .
M ore than half the households in the
fixxl bank survey said they turned to em er
gency food pantries because their food
stam ps ran out. O ther reasons given w ere
low w ages, high rent, m edical costs and
unem ploym ent.
Adoption Seminar
Inform ation on the process o f
adoption and a variety o f ad o p
tion opportunities will be shared
on T hursday, O ct. 21 from 7 to
8:30 p.m . at the N ew H ope C o m
m u n ity C h u rc h , 11731 S.E .
S tevens Rd. in C lackam as. For
inform ation, call 503-659-5683..
Aquatic Fitness
P rovidence has a full schedule
o f fitness classes including w a
ter exercising at the P rovidence
Aquatic C enter,4805 N .E.Glisan.
Foraschedule,call 503-215-6301.
Women in NAACP
W o m e n in N A A C P , a new
w om en' s group, meets from 10:30
a.m. to I p.m . the first Saturday o f
each m onth at the A m erican Red
C r o s s B u ild in g . 3 131 N.
Vancouver. Call 503-249-6263.
Children's Healthy Growth
A free 4 0 -m inute sessio n on
Rolling, a holistic system o f soft
tissue m anipulation and m ove
ment to insure health grow th and
m ovem ent patterns, is available
for children ages zero to 10 on
Saturday, Oct. 23, from 1 -5 p.m. at
Wild Oats Market. 2nd floor. 3535
N .E 15'\ F orquestions about this
clinic, call 503-753-7653 orem ail
rolfer@ earthlink.net.
In Charge
T he A m erican Red C ross O r
egon Trail C hapter offers W hen
I'm in C harge, a 2.5 h o u r course
that prep aresch ild ren ag eseig h t
to 11 how to respond to and be
safe in situations. T he next class
is held W ednesday. O ct. 20 from
6 to 8 :3 0 p .m . at Mt. Hixxl M edi
cal C enter, 24800 S.E. Stark St..
G resham . T he fee is $ 18. T o reg
ister. call 503-280-1440.
I
Support Doubles for Youth Program SEI
Tony Hopson
overwhelmed by
successful night
S elf E nhancem ent, Inc. reached a fu n d
raising m ilestone O ct. 9 w hen it raised $2
m illion at its I l lh annual A rt + Soul G ala.
M ore than 5(X) people packed the C en ter for
S elf E n h an cem en t's g ym nasium , w hich was
converted into a ballroom , for an even in g o f
food, philanthropy and perform ance.
O rganizers b elieve it is one o f the m ost
successful single-night fund-raising events
ev er held in Portland. T he results nearly
double the m ore than $ I m illion record set at
last y e a r 's a u c tio n , w h ich h ad s im ila r
attendance. T he event w as sold out for the
fifth co n secu tiv e year.
The proceeds support S E I's aw ard -w in
ning academ ic p rogram s for local youth,
w hich have greatly ex p an d ed this y ear to
include new o fferin g s such as its new ly
opened ch arter school, the SE I A cadem y.
SEI program s now serve m ore than 2,(XX)
underserved youth and their fam ilies a n n u
ally in com prehensive in-school, after-school
and su m m eracad em ic program s, the highest
num ber ev er served by the nearly 25-year-
old nonprofit. Kids as young ase ig h t though
age 25 participate in SEI program s in school,
out o f school, on w eekends and vacations
through a variety o f co m p reh en siv e, results-
driven program s.
T his year. 98 percen t o f SEI students
graduated from high school and 85 percent
will go on to co llege, m any on scholarship.
In addition, SEI is now o n e o f P o rtlan d 's
largest m inority em ployers, with 67 full-tim e
and 32 part-tim e staff, as well as m ore than
K XIsum m erhires.
T ony H opson, founder, p resident and
C E O o fS E l, was overw helm ed by the e v e n t's
photo by M ark W asiiington /T iie P or i land O bserver
Tony Hopson oversees Self Enhancement. Inc. at 3920 N. Kerby Ave. SEI is an award winning academic program for local
youth and one o f the Portland’s largest minority employees.
success, w hich greatly exceeded ex p ecta
tions.
"In o ur nearly 25-year history, this year
m ore than ev er w e'v e stretched our resources
to help a grow ing n u m b er o f youth realize
their full potential." said H opson. "O u r e f
forts w ould not be p ossible w ithout the help
o f the local com m unity, w hich year after year
continues to am aze us w ith even greater
generosity and support."
A s is th e tra d itio n at A rt + S o u l, the
p ro g ra m p a u se d m id w a y th ro u g h th e
ev e n in g to let g u ests d o n a te d ire c tly to
w ard stu d en t sp o n so rsh ip s. A reco rd $ 1 .6
m illio n w as raised d u rin g th is p o rtio n o f
the e v e n in g , w ith b id d in g led by lo cal
b u sin ess lead e rs and p h ila n th ro p is ts , and
longtim e SEI supporters H ow ard H ed in g er
and E li M organ.
R eturning co-chairs for the event w ere
I .inda W right. V.P. and NW R egional M an
ager o f US Bank, and Jan T urner o f J.T.
D esigns. M ajor sponsors w ere M aybelle
C lark M acdonald Fund. P rovidence H ealth
System s, US Bank. M organ Fam ily F ounda
tion. R om bauer V ineyards, Sil verSea C ruise
L ine, and O regon Steel Mills.