Home About Us Programmes Donations Fundraising & Events Vita Challenges 2011   1) Village to Village Walk   2) Walk on the Wildside   3) Great Ethiopian Run   Fundraising Support Vita Carbon Credits Green Giving Just World Gifts Schools Vita Volunteers Vita Shops News Links Section Contact Us          Sign up for our email newsletter If you would like to hear more about Vita’s work , fill in your email address below Name Email                            Vita Challenges 3: The Great Ethiopian Run 2011 Online Secure Facility Overview Further Information Photos & Stories (2010) Travel & Fitness Advice Registration Latest News 2010 Trip Report 2010 Photos 2010 Stories from the Team          Congratulations to the Vita Team 2010          Vita is delighted to announce the wonderful success of the innaugural Vita Great Ethiopian Run event. All team members made fantastic efforts in fundraising, awareness raising and training. In turn, we returned truly inspired by this experience of a lifetime. Ca. €55,000 was raised for Vita's sustainable livelihoods projects in southern Ethiopia. The Vita Team included 24 people of all ages and walks of life; from from Accountancy to the Defence Forces plus many staff from the Ethiopia office. On the hilly course at high altitude times ranged from sub-1 hr to almost 3 hrs... but crossing the finish line surrounded by tens of thousands of Ethiopians was a huge victory for all. In what must be one of the best people's races in the world; almost 35,000 people took part -yellow t-shirts as far as the eye could see, music and dancing and a route packed vibrant supporters. In a display of true comraderie, an Ethiopian runner began to run alongisde a Vita team member who was looking a little tired... by the end of the race, he was still there after encouraging her the whole way through - making sure that the hills never got the better of her! When we met legendary Ethiopian athlete, Gebreselassie he explained that this race is more than 10km; we all travel further than that through the awareness raising and fundraising efforts that are done for Ethiopia, the country and it's people. One of the Vita projects funded by the Vita team will provide fuel-efficient stoves for poor women in Chencha, southern Ethiopia. Currently, many walk for up to 6hrs or 30km with back-breaking loads of firewood weighing up to 60kg. With their new stoves, fuel-wood consumption will be reduced by up to 70%. This will result in better health and more time to spend with their families and time to earn a living. Other projects in the area include small-scale horticulture for food security and local cooperatives for income generation such as weaving and pottery.               Feel free to contact the Vita team with any queries about the Vita Challenges or our work in Ethiopia; Phone: (01) 873 4303 Email: info@vita.ie Mobile: 087 2950378 (Deirdre Ruane, Event Organiser) Mobile: 086 0535833 (Rachel, Communications Officer)

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