Ethiopian girls' enrollment in school is among the lowest in the world.

Women and girls in Ethiopia are more likely to die in childbirth, due to early marriage, than reach sixth grade.

 

Ethiopia has the highest rate of vaginal fistulas, a tearing of the vagina during childbirth that requires painful reconstructive surgery, often unavailable, in the world.

 

Ethiopia has one of the largest caseloads of AIDS, forcing many girls to quit school to care for sick or widowed relatives.

 

Girls as young as 12 can be sold as brides by parents desperate for dowry payments.

 

These disturbing facts were pointed out by Emily Wax in her December 2005 Washington Post article "Facing Servitude, Ethiopian Girls Run for a Better Life". 

There is hope, however, for girls in Ethiopia. Today, seven of the 10 top-earning athletes in Ethiopia are women, so many girls and their parents have begun to see running professionally as a viable career option. Girls who train are more likely to stay in school. Girls who stay in school are better able to improve their own lives and the lives of their families. Many girls can overcome most of the obstacles in their way.  However, the athletic shoes necessary for professional training and competition are very expensive and simply out of reach for most of them. Inspired by the spirit and determination of girls who are, quite literally, running for their lives and freedom, a group of artists and others who care organized to raise money to buy shoes for the girls; the Girls Gotta Run Foundation was born.

 

GGRF is fortunate to have advice and assistance from a team of people and organizations with years of experience in international development. Together we are making great progress in our quest to establish a variety of reliable identification, distribution and verification systems to get shoes to the girls in training in Addis Ababa and other areas of Ethiopia. Our experts are affiliated with the Population Reference Bureau, Crown Agents,  PACT Ethiopia, and other international aid and athletic groups. Additional critical support is provided by members of the Ethiopian community, both in the Washington, D.C., area and in Ethiopia.

 

We now support 14 girl runner scholars on two teams, Team Tesfa and the Simian Girl Runners, and are stepping it up as rapidly as possible. We provide money for 4 pairs of new athletic shoes and two sets of training uniforms, one for summer and one for winter, per year per girl. Additionally, we provide money for food ("calorie" money) to make sure they have enough to eat...running burns calories!... and  subsidize their coaches' salaries. 

 

All  labor to administer GGRF, including that of the Executive Director, is volunteered, and most services are donated,  so approximately 95% of our funds go directly to provide new shoes* and other support in Ethiopia.  Contributing artists donate at least 50% of the sale of their artworks.  Many donate 100%. 

 

For further information about Girls Gotta Run Foundation, contact pat@girlsgottarun.org.

 

If you'd like to help Girls Gotta Run, you can make a donation via Paypal now.

 

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