Lucy's People

Lucy's People: An Ethiopian Memoir is the inspiring story of a country and a life. Did you know that Ethiopia is mother to all her people? Under her sun and moon, women walk tall. Many are warriors. Young Mesfin learns their stories from his mother and grandmother. Another symbolic mother is Lucy. She was an early hominid from the Rift Valley. For 3.2-million-years, the fossil of her skeleton endured.

In 1974, the communist revolution had destroyed life under Emperor Haile Selassie I. Teenage Mesfin's survival under the communist Derg is miraculous. His underage conscription leads to Airborne service at the front. How does his spirit remain intact? What is it about Ethiopian culture that gives her people their strength? 

What do you know about Ethiopian building and agricultural use of water? Mesfin studies ancient Abyssinian construction techniques dating from the time of Saba (Sheba) - more than 3,000 years ago. He qualifies as both a construction and civil engineer. Specialising in water development, he works all over Ethiopia. Then fresh disaster comes. Youth must choose: stay or flee?