Honoring and Celebrating Diversity for a Better Humanity

Over the past 10 years, Getachew Teklu has helped thousands of clients build lifelong memories through their travel experiences. On May 30, 2020, he discovered his business, Admas Travel had been looted and destroyed by fire overnight during the civil unrest in response to George Floyd’s murder. Like so many business owners along the corridor, Getachew has not lost hope, he believes his business’ future is bright and that things will get better.

Getachew Teklu opened Admas Travel on Lake Street in 2010 because he loved the corridor’s celebration of diversity. Getachew’s family describes his values on their GoFund Me page, “Getachew believes that honoring, respecting, and celebrating each other’s differences would make our world a better place for humanity.”

In the past year, the agency’s business decrease by over 95%, as Covid-19 pandemic brought most non-essential travel to a standstill. With little room for more loss, Admas Travel’s office at 2941 Chicago Ave inside Chicago Furniture Warehouse was then completely destroyed by fire during the civil unrest. 

Luckily, Admas Travel received a lot of support from the community through a GoFund Me and a grant from the Lake Street Council’s We Love Lake Street Recovery Fund. With this support, Getachew was able to pay outstanding bills, purchase equipment, and upgrade the Admas Travel website to continue to serve customers remotely.