Asfaw Yemiru died on May 8th
The founder of Ethiopia’s best school for poor children was 78 or 79
IT WOULD TAKE a long time, Asfaw Yemiru reckoned, to walk the 75 miles from his village in Bulga to Addis Ababa. The family had last gone by donkey, so that he and his 11 brothers could be made deacons in the cathedral. That trip had taken two days. He was going barefoot now, and he was only nine.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “The long walk”
Obituary May 22nd 2021
More from Obituary
David Lynch mesmerised filmgoers with mystery, beauty and horror
America’s strangest and most surreal film-maker died on January 16th, aged 78
Peter Fenwick became the world expert on near-death experiences
The neuropsychiatrist and promoter of “the art of dying” died on November 22nd, aged 89
Chiung Yao taught the Chinese all about romantic love
The bestselling novelist and screenwriter died on December 4th, aged 86
Jimmy Carter was perhaps the most virtuous of all America’s presidents
The humble peanut farmer who went to the White House died on December 29th, aged 100
Brother Harold Palmer lived alone in the wilds by choice
The Northumbrian hermit died on October 4th, aged 93
Shalom Nagar was picked by lottery to kill Adolf Eichmann
The Israeli prison officer turned ritual slaughterer died on November 26th, aged 88