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Home / AboutABOUTBuilt to inform.
Built to inform.
Made to connect.
The idea behind Focus on Habesha and the person building it.
HI, I’M TARIKU HASSAN
Hi, I’m Tariku Hassan.
Curator · Local Explorer · Community Connector
I’m the founder of Focus on Habesha. Originally from Ethiopia and based in Maryland, I created this independent project to make useful information easier to find and meaningful experiences easier to share.
My idea is simple: a welcoming place to ask questions, share what we know, discover local opportunities and connect with our community. We begin around Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia, with a special connection to Ethiopian and Eritrean culture and an open welcome to everyone.
Photography is part of that journey. I enjoy exploring nearby parks and gardens, especially Brookside Gardens in Wheaton. Through my photographs and personal place notes, I hope to help others discover a peaceful walk, a beautiful view or somewhere new to visit.
More about Tariku · Personal profile coming soon.
Useful information.
A shared sense of belonging.
Celebrate our voices
Community stories, artists and cultural features will grow as approved contributions become available.
Build it together
Suggestions and questions help shape the project. Submissions are reviewed privately before anything is considered for publication.
Let’s connect.
Have a question, a correction or an idea for the website? Use our contact form to send it to Tariku for private review.
Messages are saved for review in WordPress. Replies are handled personally; an immediate response is not guaranteed. Please avoid sending passwords, payment details or sensitive personal records.
Your information.
Handled with care.
Staging draft · Updated October 6, 2026. Submission handling and manual retention reflect our current plan. Hosting, plugin, cookie and security-log details still need final review before public launch.
Who runs this website
Focus on Habesha is an independent community project founded by Tariku Hassan. Use the contact section for questions about your information or our photographs.
What the contribution form collects
When you send a question or suggestion, the form records your name, email address, contribution type, message and the date and time of your consent. This information is stored in the website’s WordPress database for private review by authorized site administrators.
How submissions are used
Your submission is reviewed privately by authorized site administrators in WordPress. The form does not send email notifications or automatically publish your information. We use submissions to review questions, suggestions and possible website content. We will seek your permission before publishing your personal story or identifying information. Providing your email address does not subscribe you to a newsletter. If a reply is appropriate, Tariku may contact you personally. Replies are not automatic or guaranteed.
How long we keep submissions
We manually review resolved submissions and delete them within six months after they are resolved, unless they are still needed for an ongoing conversation or an approved contribution. Automatic deletion is not enabled. Copies may remain in hosting backups until those backups expire.
Security and hosting records
The form uses a short-lived value derived from the visitor’s IP address to limit repeated submissions. It does not save the raw IP address with the submission. The hosting service may keep separate technical logs and backups. Security logs and hosting backups have their own retention periods, separate from our submission policy.
To request access, correction or deletion of your submission, use the contact form and identify your earlier message. We may ask you to verify your identity. Please do not submit passwords, payment details, identification documents or sensitive medical or legal records.
Login protection uses Limit Login Attempts Reloaded in local mode to process login IP addresses, count failed attempts and apply temporary lockouts. Its optional cloud service is not connected. Security-log retention still needs to be confirmed before launch.
Cookies and third-party services
WordPress and the staging access system may use cookies for sign-in and access. The theme loads its fonts from Google Fonts, which receives technical connection information when those fonts are requested. External links to event providers, resource websites or any enabled social profiles lead to services with their own privacy practices. The privacy behavior of installed plugins and hosting services still needs review; this draft is not a complete inventory of those services.
Our photographs and your contributions
Original photographs credited to Tariku Hassan are currently offered for viewing. No download, reuse or print license is granted by displaying them here. Contact us to request permission. Please only submit text or creative work you own or have permission to share. Submission does not transfer ownership or automatically grant permission to publish it.
Email updates
Email subscriptions are coming soon. The current theme does not collect newsletter signups. This notice will be updated before a subscription service is introduced.
A helpful starting point.
Focus on Habesha shares local information, personal experiences and links to outside resources. Listings are not endorsements or guarantees. Confirm event dates, prices, eligibility and availability directly with the organizer or provider.
Educational, employment and other resource links are for general information. For decisions requiring professional advice, consult a qualified professional.
Send corrections through our contact form. Contributions are reviewed, and submitting information does not guarantee publication. Please be respectful and avoid sharing someone else’s private information without permission.
Photo and creative-work permissions are explained in the privacy and permissions section. Please check this page for updates to these guidelines.