OPride.com, a multimedia website that aggregates Oromo, Ethiopian, and Horn related news, made its debut in April 2008.
Mission: To Give a Voice to the Voiceless through Citizen Journalism.
Vision: By lifting the bar of reporting, OPride strives to connect the Oromo around the world, tell the stories of the growing Oromo Diaspora and advocate for a social justice in Ethiopia. We unabashedly and proudly offer a uniquely Oromo perspective. However, not in its narrow sense but in its transcendental sense of freedom, peace, justice, human dignity, and redemption.
History
OPride.com began as a simple business venture where two friends at the University of Minnesota Duluth joined forces to create and sell custom-made items. With a detailed business plan, the duo created phone covers, key chains, t-shirts, pens, and many other items for the online market. The first of OPride.com products (then called Sabboona and Sabboontu Line) were made available at the 2008 North American Oromo Sports Federation and the Oromo Convention week events.
A few months later, the founders added a non-stop Oromo Music (OPride.com/music) streaming page featuring mostly classic ballads by pioneering Oromo Artists. Then, they added the OPride.com/video page. In January 2009, bringing together a passion for social justice and art, the team started Oromsis blog. Oromsis is a derivation from an Oromo word “Oromsiisu/Oromoo taasisu” literally meaning to Oromonize.
Under a now defunct b2evolution open-source platform, Oromsis Adula began writing short commentaries at the time primarily building upon the euphoria around Barack Obama’s election. The blog was first, officially, launched on January 27, 2009 with Oromsis Adula’s comments on President Obama’s declaration to close the Guantanamo Bay Prison, then later a report card on Obama’s 100 Days in office and other Ethiopia related events.
OPride.com has since grown to become the fastest growing website of its kind serving the Horn of Africa, mainly the Oromo and Ethiopian Diaspora. Twice, ranked among the top 20 Ethiopian websites by EthiopianReveiw, OPride.com is the second most popular Oromo website, after Gadaa.com, featuring regular relevant news and news commentaries (according to Alexa, a web-traffic reporting site).
The OPride.com team has been at the fore reporting on Oromo events, including multiple live broadcasts from Minnesota. Minnesota is home to an estimated 20,000 Oromo people. Oromsis Adula’s articles has also been featured on many similar websites including Gadaa.com, EthioMedia, Ethiopian Review, AddisVoice, the NewLiberian.com etc to name just a few – and a recent mention in Minnesota Public Radio’s Daily Digest.
Aside from serving as a media outlet that seeks to empower Oromo communities around the world to tell their stories and add perspective to the news that come out of Ethiopia, on many occasions, OPride.com has partnered with community and youth organizations in Minnesota sponsoring cultural events. We take pride in our visitors’ loyalty, continued support and grateful to all our contributors and fans. We hope to continue giving back to the community that gave us so much.
We uphold the Oromo identity (Oromummaa) but not affiliated with any political organization or group. To those on whose shoulders we stand; many who vanished while fighting for what is just and right, and millions whose selfless sacrifices are known only to God, we say, You are Gone but not Forgotten.
As much as we take to task anti-Oromo views, we will not relent in subjecting Oromo views to our critical pen, introspective microscope and reflective lense. We may not have crisp answers but will persistent in raising questions that would tear down old biases and help us all imagine new and better possibilities.
At the core of our belief is also the idea that “Every Opinion Matters!” Beyond the rants, slants and the sound bites, we work to offer a discrete perspective on the news not only about the Oromo people and the Ethiopian state but also the troubled Horn of Africa region.
* OPride.com News Tip Line: Call or Text Us (414) 367-6642 or (612) 564-583