Sonia O'Sullivan and Myles Wickstead take part in the Great Ethiopian Run
Friday, 22 December 2006
The Great Ethiopian Run, which took place at the end of November in Addis Ababa, was this year graced by the presence of Irish star Sonia O'Sullivan, Olympic silver medalist and the first woman ever to win the World short and long cross-country titles in the same year.
As an Irish national, Sonia is very aware of Concern Worldwide's work, and was delighted to take some time before the race to visit one of our projects in the Ethiopian capital, the Women In Self Employment project (WISE).
The project is located in the north western part of Addis Ababa and supports 664 petty traders, mainly women. The project aims to help these women become self sufficient by providing them with training, support and small loans to start-up, or develop, their businesses.
The project assists the women to organise themselves into saving and credit cooperatives. These cooperatives are then provided with business training, saving and credit services, and support to set up a health insurance scheme. By organising into cooperatives the women are better able to avail of their rights, and their position in the market is strengthened.
Sonia was very moved by what she saw:
"It was a great experience and a joy to meet some of the women who have been trained through the Wise project, funded by Concern. To see the women at work in the markets that they had set-up and to visit them in their homes was something that will stay with me forever."
The Great Ethiopian Run was the brainchild of Ethiopia's greatest athlete, Haile Gebre Selassie, who is by common consent the world's best ever middle distance runner. With help from Brendan Foster, Richard Nerurker and Myles Wickstead, former British Ambassador to Ethiopia and Chair of Trustees of Concern UK, the race has now become an annual fixture.
In previous years Concern has supported a Women's 5k run in Addis Ababa, designed not only as an athletic event, but as a way of getting across messages on health and education. In 2007 Concern will again support the Women First 5k Run, which takes place on Sunday 1st April in Ethiopia's capital city.
The 2007 Great Ethiopian Run will take place on 9 September, to coincide with the celebration of Ethiopia's Millennium on 11 September 2007.
