Haligonians have begun to make plans to honour the 157 people who died in Sunday’s crash involving an Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft bound for Nairobi, Kenya crashed shortly after it took off. 

Among the 157 who died, 18 passengers were Canadian. Two of them have been identified as having connections to Halifax.

The Ethiopian community in Halifax is small but members are reeling after this weekend’s crash.

Father Les Zewdie, the head priest at St. Gabriel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Hammonds Plains, says that the news was heart-wrenching.

“It was very sad for the whole entire community and after the church service we go downstairs and we talked about that and everybody was very sad and in an emotional mood and this was very sad for our history as well as Ethiopians as a whole,” said Zewdie.

He and his congregation are planning a prayer ceremony this Saturday at 10 a.m. to remember all those who lost their lives in the crash.

Both Danielle Moore and Angela Rehhorn studied marine biology at Dalhousie University.

Moore also volunteered at the Ecology Action Centre and her former colleagues say that this doesn’t feel real.

Joanna Bull is the volunteer co-ordinator at the centre and had the pleasure of working with Moore on many occasions.

“I get to meet a lot of really amazing people as volunteer coordinator here at EAC and Danielle was one of just the brightest lights,” said Bull.

“She cared so much about the ocean and the climate and was so dedicated to making a difference in the world and had so much enthusiasm and energy and passion to put toward all of those causes and was one of those people that just inspires you to want to do more yourself.”

Bull said that Danielle had a spirit like no other.

“I think that if more of us had that same spirit that she had a lot of the problems in our world would be solved by now I think she was a really exemplary person in that way. And you know a great was to honor her legacy to continue that spirit in our own lives as much as we can,” she said

Moore was on her way to Nairobi, Kenya to attend the United Nations Environmental Assembly to discuss global environmental issues — something Bull says she was extremely passionate about.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation said Monday that Rehhorn, one of the organization’s Canadian Conservation Corps participants, was aboard the plane when it crashed.

Rehhorn was on her way to Kenya with the United Nations Association of Canada,

“Being selected to attend this UN Assembly is a testament to the tremendous contributions and value Angela and her fellow CCC cohorts bring to the future of conservation,” read a statement by the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

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