Gimbi

Gimbi (Amharic "Stone house, castle") is a town in western Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of coord|9|10|N|35|50|E with an elevation between 1845 and 1930 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Gimbi woreda.

Gimbi has had telephone service from some point between 1954 and 1967. Iron had traditionally been produced in the area. A North Korean team of specialists investigated the deposits in the mid-1980s. [http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/g/ORTGIA.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 15 February 2008)]

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Gimbi has an estimated total population of 36,612, of whom 18,623 were males and 17,989 were females. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Table B.4] The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 20,462 of whom 10,100 were males and 10,362 were females.

History

An Ethiopian Orthodox church was built in Gimbi around 1895. By the 1930s, Gimbi was one of the most important markets of Welega Province and a meeting point of roads. The extension of the main road to Nekemte had not yet reached as far as Gimbi by 1935.

A school for the blind was opened in Gimbi by the Western Synod of the Mekane Yesus Church in 1971. However by 1981 all Evangelical churches in the neighboring region were closed, except the one in the town itself.

Seventh Day Adventist Churches, and Schools, have being serving the city. The Seventh Day Adventist Hospital is the one and only inpatient hospital.Fact|date=August 2008

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