The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) holds his roots within the Canadian and Ethiopian culture. English and Amharic are the languages he speaks, with Amharic being the language he perfected as a youngster. His mom and dad worked “24/7” so his grandma raised him until he was five, speaking one of the native languages from Addis Ababa. He is now giving back to his Ethio culture by donating $50,000 to the University of Toronto’s Ethiopic Studies Program.


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It didn’t take long for Tesfaye to reach back out to the Bikila Awards organization, which was more than grateful for Tesfaye’s contributions to the program.

“It’s unbelievable,” Tam Gebeyehu, board member of the Bikila Award told the Star. “He grew up in Toronto as an Ethiopian-Canadian, and now he’s giving back to the community.”

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Bikila Awards awarded Tesfaye with the Professional Excellence Award back in 2014, but Gebeyehu didn’t know the young Toronto native would elevate his career to this level.

“Back then he was doing a lot of stuff, but was still a boy from Scarborough just rising to fame,” Gebeyehu said. “His donation helps us preserve our culture and share it with everyone else.”