Great Ethiopian Run launches “Running for a Cause” and children’s races
By Dawit Tolesa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The Great Ethiopian Run is launching its official fundraiser in connection with the 2014 Great Ethiopian Run International 10 km united under a “Running for a Cause” banner and its annual children races.
The UN and Great Ethiopian Run use the excitement of the annual 10 km international event to raise more funds each year to benefit local charity organizations.
During the 2013 Great Ethiopian Run, over 1.3 million birr was raised and handed over to four beneficiaries and this year a fundraising target of 1.4 million birr has been set.
The Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs has selected the following four beneficiaries: Meseret Humanitarian Organization, Sewasew Genet Charity and Development Organization, Sisters and Brothers Charity Organization (Gambella) and Benishangul Women Association.
The Great Ethiopian Run called upon participants who will take part in the race to raise money for this campaign, either through sponsorships or donations. Race t-shirts for the international 10k race planned for Sunday 23rd November were sold out in April 2014. However, there are some charity T-shirts still available for individual participants (at 250 birr of which 100 birr goes to charities) and organizations willing to donate to the campaign.
According to the organizers, the UN in Ethiopia and The Great Ethiopian Run remain committed to work together to raise all care on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Ethiopian progress towards their achievement by the global target date of 2015.
In the children races, Plan International Ethiopia has renewed its support this year for the sixth time with its “Because I am a Girl” campaign to build the human capital of girls through knowledge and skills, aiming to equip, enable and empower girls of all ages to acquire the assets, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life. Key to these is safe and quality learning environments for girls, both formal and non-formal.
On Monday October 6 T-shirts will go on sale, from the Great Ethiopia Run office and the Addis Ababa Hilton Hotel. Regarding this as the previous years the race shirts are entry to the children’s races and there will be three categories for the races under five-year-old girls and boys, under eight-year-old girls and boys and under eleven-year-old girls and boys. These races take place on Saturday 22 November at Jan Meda recreation ground, as part of the international 10 km race weekend.
Source: The Reporter
