Jember Teferra (1943–2021) was an Ethiopian development worker, director of the Integrated Holistic Approach Urban Development Project in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

and a great-niece of Emperor Haile Selassie.

Life

Jember Teferra was born on 21 May 1943 in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, the daughter of Generemaria Tereffa and Shiferraw Tereff. Her great-uncle was

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

, the last emperor of Ethiopia. She attended primary school in Ethiopia, but received her secondary education at

Clarendon School for Girls Clarendon School for Girls was a girls' independent boarding school, which began in 1898 in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It moved three times: first to Kinmel Hall near Abergele in Denbighshire in 1948 and then to Haynes Park in Bedfords ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She then studied nursing at Tunbridge Wells School of Nursing, becoming a registered nurse in 1965. She later studied for a master's degree in

primary health care Primary health care (PHC) is a whole-of-society approach to effectively organise and strengthen national health systems to bring services for health and wellbeing closer to communities. Primary health care enables health systems to support a pe ...

from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. Returning to Ethiopia, Jember worked at St. Paul's Hospital, Ethiopia before working for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. Her husband, Dr Haelegiorgis, was

Mayor of Addis Ababa The Mayor of Addis Ababa () is head of the executive branch of Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 c ...

from 1969 to 1973. When the

Derg The Derg or Dergue (, ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when they formally "Civil government, civilianized" the ...

seized power in 1974, both she and her husband were imprisoned. The pair would spend a total of 13 years in prison. While imprisoned, Jember opened a clinic and school in the prison. In 1990 Jember started the Integrated Holistic Approach – Urban Development Project (IHA-UDP), a community development project tackling slum areas in Addis Ababa. Project staff, all Ethiopians, worked together with community representatives who set project priorities. Jember Teferra lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 2017. She died unexpectedly in hospital there on 14 January 2021.Dr Jember Teferra
Testa Sponsorship Trust, 17 January 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jember Teferra 1943 births 2021 deaths People educated at Clarendon School for Girls Alumni of the University of Manchester Urban planning Ethiopian nurses