Hagere Mariam

Bule Hora /X-Hagere Mariam/ is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located on the paved Addis Ababa-Moyale highway, in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of coord|5|35|N|38|15|E and an altitude of 1716 meters above sea level.

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Hagere Mariam has an estimated total population of 22,784 of whom 12,046 were males and 10,738 were females. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Table B.4] The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 12,718 of whom 6,533 were males and 6,185 were females. It is the largest town in Bule Hora district.

History

Bule Hora /X-Hagere Mariam/ was settled by Amharic colonists at some point before 1934. It was occupied by the Italians on 22 July 1936, who renamed it "Alghe". They rebuilt the village and constructed a fort nearby; the Italians also bestowed honors and powers to a local Guji chief. [http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/A/ORTAF.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 27 May 2008)]

In the following decades, Bule Hora became isolated: a group of Swedish missionaries traveling to the Burji in March 1950 brought the first motorized vehicles seen in the town since the Italian occupation. A Norwegian Evangelical Mission was established at Bule Hora on 15 August of the same year, with the goal of reaching the Guji. Its first leader founder was Karl Bogetvedt who worked from a little rented house inside the town, with dwelling, school and clinic in the same building. The mission station in Bule Hora continued into the 1980s.

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