When Bosse Lindquist, the director of “Give Us The Money”, approached Bob Geldof for an interview, Bob’s reply was that if he wanted to know more about Ethiopia and what had been achieved then David Stables was one of the people he should speak to...

David Stables set up the charity The African Children’s Educational Trust (A-CET). He has lived and worked in Africa for 50 years, the last twenty in Ethiopia. 

In Ethiopia today amongst the 30-to 40-year-olds, Bob Geldof, if not actually a saint, is certainly a legend. As with many legends there are probably more myths than facts about him and the Band Aid he created.

The A-CET is a relatively small educational support charity working in the Northern Ethiopia that caught Bob’s attention and from our perspective the story is this:

Bob saw Michael Buerk’s BBC 1984 documentary on the Ethiopian “biblical” famine; they included shots of Red Cross Nurse Claire Bertschinger deciding who or not to feed in the Mekelle Feeding Station. Bob decided that something must be done, which initially was the Band Aid Concert, followed by other initiatives.

During the famine, Band Aid brought food to Ethiopia both through the despotic Marxist dictatorship -  “Derg” channels in the capital Addis Ababa and, probably more importantly, directly over land through Sudan to the Tigray Region in Northern Ethiopia. Tigray was the base of the freedom fighters and was being systemically starved, bombed and “resettled” by the Derg regime.

Undoubtedly Band Aid saved lives, how many will never be known. Bob, criticized for sending food through the government which was diverted to feed the regime’s new armies - even nicknamed “Wheat battalions” - said: “If I just saved just  one life, it was worth it”.

One life that was undoubtedly saved was that of the starving three year old girl Birhan Woldu suffering with pneumonia. She featured in the video footage shot by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) that was shown around the world and you may remember her being introduced by David Bowie at the Band Aid Concert in 1985.

A Legend Is Born

Sorry but Bob Geldof did not say “Give us the f**king money” which reputedly translated into a flood of donations. It was after the video footage of Birhan was shown that the donations took off. Bob did however say “Don’t go to the pub and send us your money instead” - and there were no expletives, look at the film. 

Legends may often be more colourful; but the truth is infinitely more moving.

So where does that leave A-CET and where does Bob and Band Aid fit in?

Birhan, the famine survivor is now with A-CET support, a graduated Nurse. After her maternity leave she will go back to working with the World Food Programme Nutritional Children’s Team based in Mekelle.

Birhan also appeared on the “Live Eight” show in Hyde Park London in 2005 with Bob and Madonna (and was on the US Oprah Winfrey show “Children who changed the World”.

She is also a Director of A-CET’s partner charity Ethiopian Youth Educational Support (EYES). 

Nurse Claire is now Dame Doctor Claire Bertschinger and is a senior tutor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and regularly revisits Ethiopia as a Trustee of A-CET.

Bob and his Band Aid support A-CET, whose partner charity EYES is based in Mekelle. EYES helps the rural farming community famine survivors build and furnish their elementary schools to educate their children so that Ethiopians can, in the future, develop Ethiopia into a food secure nation that no longer needs to rely on famine relief.

Oh and yes there are still a very few ancient trucks trundling around the Tigray Region with a very worn “Band Aid Trust” stenciled on their sides!

Sorry for those who dare say Bob Geldof made no difference.

Saint or legend take your pick, to Ethiopians he is their saviour, then and now.

Watch the Give Us The Money trailer 

Find out more about A-CET, including how you can support its work 

Find out more about Birhan’s life today

Find out when to watch the documentary